TUTORIAL PAPER TEMPLATE

ID of Student: G00396329
Article/Reading: The Teaching Council : Code of Professional Conduct

1. CONCISE SUMMARY OF READING

The Code of Professional Conduct is a document published by the Teaching Council of Ireland that acts as a guide for
practicing teachers, to uphold the teaching profession and navigate an ethical course throughout their careers. The code
applies to all teachers registered with the teaching council. The code acts as a record to inform the public of the teaching
profession and is a legal document used by the teaching council when investigating and handling disciplinary cases.

The code was developed to continue the professional development of teachers, as reflective practitioners and educators.
Within the code the rights of teachers, parents and students are recognised. The role of teachers and the quality of teaching is
recognised, as well as the value of education and the contribution of teaching to social, cultural and economic development
in Ireland. The code establishes an ethical framework and clear conduct standards to be consistently upheld, considering the
broader context. The council recognises the broader factors that may effect the quality of teaching such as engagement of
parents, commitment of students, resources available, opportunity for teacher development, educational change, and
economic factors.

The code highlights the teaching values that reinforce the ethical guidelines adhered to by teachers. These values include
respect, care, integrity and trust. Teachers uphold respect by promoting equality, and cognitive and emotional development.
Teachers exhibit integrity thorough honesty, reliability, professional commitments, actions and responsibilities. Teachers
relationships within the school and wider school community are based of trust. The best interest of the students entrusted in
the teachers care is practised, the teacher must be a positive influence and teach with empathy and professional judgement.

Listed in the code of conduct are sets of standards that apply to all registered teachers. These standards include professional
values and relationships, professional integrity, professional conduct, professional practice, professional development and
professional collaboration. The Teaching Council outline these professional standards as a guide for teachers. To outline
some expectations and requirements of the teaching career. Examples of some standards include, “report, where appropriate,
incidents or matters which impact on pupil/student welfare” and “availing of opportunities for career-long professional
development”. These standards are vital for the development of teachers to grow within their role in the school community
and identify their responsibilities as set by the Teaching Council.

In conclusion, the Code of Professional Conduct crafted by the Teaching Council of Ireland serves as a compass for
practicing teachers, guiding them towards upholding the integrity of the teaching profession and navigating ethically
throughout their careers. The core values that teachers adopt are easily understandable to educators and anybody interested in
education.

2. CRITICAL REFLECTION

© ATU Dept. of Creative Education 2023-2024

 After reading the Code of Professional Conduct I feel comfortable with the broad outlines set by the Teaching Council and
understand the professional responsibilities of a teacher. However, I feel as though more information is required to set clear
boundaries for teachers. The Teaching Council provides a lot of useful information to educators regarding the professional
responsibilities. The values and the definitions provided give an overview into what skills and principles a teacher should
adopt. The professional standards within the code provide detailed explanations of the expectations of teachers within the
classroom. This may be communicating effectively with students in a professional manner and ensure a teacher does not
practice while under the influence of any substance that may impair their fitness to teach.

The strengths of the code lie in its clear layout and concise language. The code is split into 5 sections that are navigable on a
tab on the left hand side of the page. This makes each section very accessible and the information provided in these sections
are relevant to the titles, for example the ethical values infographic is located in the standards of teaching, knowledge, skill,
competence and conduct page. This ease of navigation ties in with the Teaching Councils aim of making the Code of
Conduct understandable for educators and those interested in education. The language used in the Code is coherent and to
the point. It is readable while provoking at the same time. The Code is short which makes it enjoyable to read but may lead
to problems when detailing specifics later on. As I was reading the code I found some parts difficult to read and it took me a
few rereads to completely understand the writing. This was due to the large paragraphs of text. These are found in 4 of the 5
sections. The constant use of comas where full stops would have broken up the text, make the sentences long and by the time
the sentence is over I had to read it again to grasp the meaning. The use of bullet points in the Code greatly improve the
understandability of the text and they have a greater emphasis compared to the paragraphs. Djonov (2013) suggests that
bullet points serve to improve legibility and visually attract the reader to key points, providing “the impact” of the
information.

In terms of the rationale put forward by the Teaching Council, the specific aims and objectives are visible and clear to see.
The reasons why the Code was developed is explained and who the Code is aimed at. The information provided in the Code
regarding professionalism is detailed and it lists what is expected as a practicing teacher and a newly qualified teacher. This
document is useful to us as soon to be newly qualified teachers. If we are starting in a new school as a full-time teacher in
September we already know what is expected of us not only subject wise but also in terms of behaviours and requirements
set by the Teaching Council in The Code of Professional Conduct. From completing school placement modules, I think the
Code can be a very helpful guideline on the responsibilities of a teacher. How to model good behaviour, the expectations and
the values that a teacher should adopt can be referenced and read on the Code easily.

The main weakness of the Code in my opinion is its inadequacies to provide examples and its broad explanations of the
expectations. I believe that providing examples is a key part of learning, this allows the reader to immerse themselves more
into the context of the text. For example in the text it lists the values deeply promoted by the Teaching Council. These values
are respect, care, integrity and trust. In the Code it states upholding respect by promoting equality. As a student teacher I
have no idea how I could promote equality in a wood technology or graphics classroom. The Teaching Council should
provide examples of this in the code of Professional Conduct to get the best quality teaching. I also believe there is a large
grey area about specifying the rules of being a teacher. As a professional teacher do we interfere with students outside of
school if they are misbehaving, how do we deal with issues regarding gender and whether to take them seriously. A lot of
these questions need answers and a step-by-step guidelines to help teachers. The boundaries of both teachers and students
need to be addressed and explained in more detail in the Code. “School administrators will need to help teachers understand
their roles as close advisors and mentors to students, while drawing and maintaining clear and obvious boundaries within
these relationships” Bernstein- Yamashiro, Noam (2013). I think that a failure to adhere to the guidelines and boundaries can
lead to more issues involving the Teaching Council such as the Enoch Burke case. This case raises many questions around
the values outlines within the code. As the world is ever changing and the social norms are constantly evolving, I believe that
the code should evolve alongside it to provide teachers with solutions to previous teacher errors or misjudgements.

3. LIST OF REFERENCES
 Bernstein‐Yamashiro, B., & Noam, G. G. (2013). Establishing and maintaining boundaries in teacher‐student
relationships. New directions for youth development.
 The Teaching Council (2015). Code of Professional Conduct
 Djonov, E., & Van Leeuwen, T. (2013). 14 Bullet Points, New Writing, and the Marketization of Public
Discourse. Critical multimodal studies of popular discourse, 232.

© ATU Dept. of Creative Education 2023-2024