CODEOFPROFESSIONALRESPONSIBILITYSecondOnlineSurvey:FeedbackSummary

Oct2016Buildingonourinitialsetofopeningquestions,thesecondsurveyexaminedwhataspectsofteachingshouldbecoveredbyacodeasopposedtoschoolpolicy,howwellthecurrentCodeofEthicsaddressedissuesarisingfromsomespecificscenarios,andwhatelsewecandotomakeiteasierfortheprofessiontocontinuetocontributetothisandotherprocesses.Thesurveywasopenforonemonth,from15Septemberto17October2016.ThelinktothesurveywaspromotedthroughourHighlighter,ourfacebookpage,andthehomepageoftheEducationCouncilwebsiteandpeoplewereencouragedtosharethelinkwithothers.Intheendwereceived542responses,buildingfurtheronthe956responsesfromtheinitialsurvey.Thisdocumentprovidesasummaryofthefeedbackreceivedandthekeythemesthatwereidentifiedthroughtherangeofsupplementarycomments.DEMOGRAPHICSTheresponsescoveredasimilarspreadasthefirstsurvey,withapproximately40%fromthoseworkinginaprimaryeducationsetting,30%secondaryeducation,and20%fromearlychildhoodsettings.WealsohadsmallernumbersofparticipantsfromMāorimedium,tertiary,intermediate,RTLB,areaschools,specialeducationandotherspecialistroles.Themajorityofparticipantsidentifiedthemselvesasteachers(51%),followedbythoseinleadershipsrolessuchasDPs,Deansetc(14%).TherewerealsoanumberofPrincipals(13%),CentreManagers(9%),andasmallnumberothersupportroles(reliefteachers,teacheraides,RTLBteachers,andverysmallnumberofundergraduatesandparentsaswell).Onceagain,longerservingmembersoftheprofessionmadeupthemajorityofparticipants,butwesawslightlyhighernumbersofthosenewertotheprofessionthanlasttime:

• Morethan15years 60%• 10-15years 15%• 6-10years 13%• 3-6years 8%• 0-2years 4%

RESPONSESUMMARIESThefirstsectionofthesurveywasbuiltaroundacoupleofscenarios,basedonactualcasesthathavecometotheEducationCouncilforreview.Theyexploredtheroleofthecode,localpolicy,andtheapplicationoftheexistingCodeofEthics.Q1:Thefirstscenariooutlinedaschoolcampsituationwheresomeoftheteachersandparenthelpersbroughtoutseveralofbottlesofalcoholoncethestudentswereinbed,withanumberofphotosofdrunkenbehaviourfindingtheirwaytofacebook.Thesurveyaskedwhataspectsofthissituationshouldbecoveredbythecodeandwhataspectsbyschoolpolicies.

• Respondentstypicallyfeltthatthekeyissuesraisedbythisscenarioshouldbecoveredinboththecodeandschoolpolicy,butwithdifferentlevelsofdetailoremphasis.

• Theissuesofrolemodelling,damagingthereputationoftheprofession,andspeakingoutifacolleagueisinbreachofthecodewereseenaskeyfocusareasforthecode.

• Whereas,issuessuchasalcoholuse,socialmedia,andcomplyingwithhealthandsafetyregulationswereseenastheprimarilyissuesforschoolpolicy.

Inthesupportingcommentsitwassuggestedthatthecodeshould‘provideguidelinesforschoolstoincorporateintotheirpolicies.’AnotherparticipanthighlightedtheMinistry’sEOTC(educationoutsidetheclassroom)guidelinesthatschoolsshouldbeawareof.Themajorityoftheremainingcommentsexpresseddisbeliefthatascenariolikethiscouldariseintoday’senvironmentandhighlightedastrongviewofthegeneralinappropriatenessofalcoholinthissituation.HowwelltheCodeofEthicsrelatestothisscenarioParticipantswerealsoaskedhowwellthecurrentCodeofEthicscoversthissituation:

• Themajority(56%)feltitcovereditreasonablywellbyprovidinggeneralprinciples• 22%feltitdidnotcoverthesituationwellorprovideanyusefulspecificguidance.• Asmallerproportion(16%)ofpeoplefeltitcovereditperfectly

Intheadditionalcomments,thegeneralthemesincludedsuggestionsthat:• TheCodeofEthicsdoesn’taddressthiswell,butitdoesn’tneedto–it‘sprimarilya

matterforschoolpolicy.• TheCodeofEthicsisbasicallyverygoodbutneeds‘atweakortwo’toreflectsocial

mediaandcontemporaryhealthandsafetyrequirements.(Theneedtoupdatethecodetoreflectmoderntechnologyandsocialmediawasastrongrecurringtheme).

• Areminderthatit’sacode,notahandbook–itsjobistoprovideguidingprinciples• Twoparticipantssuggesteddrugusewasamoresignificantissuethanalcoholintoday’s

environment.Q2:ThesecondscenariooutlinedasituationwhereabeginningteacherisaskedbythePrincipaltoprovideadditionalcareforastudentwhoishavingadifficulttimecopingwiththeseparationofhisparents.Thestudentindicateshe’dprefertodiscussitawayfromschoolandasksfortheteacher’smobilenumbersohecantextherandarrangetocatchupafterhours

ThesurveycitedthreerelevantstatementsfromthecurrentCodeofEthicsandaskedparticipantsiftheyfelttheseaddressedthesituationsufficiently.Theresponseswereasfollows:STATEMENTFROMTHECODE SUFFICIENT?

Yes NoCommitmenttoLearners:1.a)developandmaintainprofessionalrelationshipswithlearnersbaseduponthebestinterestsofthoselearners.

45% 55%

CommitmenttoLearners:1.f)promotethephysical,emotional,social,intellectualandspiritualwell-beingoflearners.

59% 41%

CommitmenttotheProfession:4.a)advancetheinterestsoftheteachingprofessionthroughresponsibleethicalpractice.

63% 37%

WealsoaskedpeopletoindicateoverallwhethertheCodeofEthicsprovidesadequateguidanceforthissortofsituation:40%answered‘Yes’,and60%answered‘No-moreisneeded’.ThegeneralconsensusfromtheresponsesaboveandthesupportingquestionswasthattheCodeofEthicsaddressesprinciplessuchasprotectingthereputationoftheprofessionandpromotingthesocial,physical,emotionalandspiritualwellbeingoflearnersverywell,butislesshelpfulfornavigatingthespecificissuesanddetailsofcircumstancesthatarise.Itwassuggestedthatprovidingmoreguidanceforbeginningteachersupfrontwouldbevaluable(ratherthan‘relyingon[negative]mediacoverage…togetasenseofwhattoavoid’).Anotherrespondentadded:‘Thecodeneedstocontaintheoverarchingstatementsfortheprofession[but]theneedforPDaboutvariousscenariosiscritical.’InadditiontoanumberofcommentsregardingtheinappropriaterequestofthePrincipalinthescenario,theremainingresponsesoutlinedtwokeythemes:i) Thecodecan’tcovereverysituationindetailanditshouldn’ttry• WeMUSTavoidalistofparticularsituationsinanycode.• Acodeofethicsdoesn'tneedtospelloutscenarios.That'stheroleofPLD.Acodeneedstoprovideguiding

principles.• TheCodeofEthicsdoesnotprovidespecificguidanceforthissituationandshouldn't…theprincipalshould

managethiswiththeyoungteacher.

ii) TheseissuesraisedinthesescenariosshouldformpartofongoingPLDandpracticediscussions-arangeofscenariosanddiscussionmaterialswouldbehelpfulforthis.

• Youngerteachers,especiallythoseinsecondaryschoolswhoarecloserinagetotheirstudents,needtohaveveryclearguidanceonwhatisacceptableasaprofessional

• Youcan'tdoeverythingwiththeCode.Thereiseducationalmaterialneededaswell,quitealotofit.• Thereneedstobebetteruseofcodeinschoollevelpolicy-orexamplesofexpectedbehaviour-many

principalsandteachersIhaveworkedwitharetotallyunawareofthecodeanditsexpectations.• Ithinkmoreisneededbutnotnecessarilyintheseoverarchingstatement-thescenariosandadditional

guidelinesprovidemuchoftheadditionalguidancethatisneededandperhapstherejustneedstobemoreexplicitpointerstosomeofthis"second-tier"material.

• Thereperhapsneedstobe"guidancedocuments"developedthatoutlineawiderangeofscenariosanddiscusstheseinanethicalsenseforteacherstohaveexemplarsofwhatthestatementsmeaninarangeofcontexts.

Q3:ThefinalscenariooutlinedasituationwhereoneteacheratanECEcetnrewaswithholdingfoodfromatoddleruntiltheyusedthetoiletproperly,whileanotherteacherraisesconcernsandquestionstheapproach.Theoriginalteacherexplainsthatthisiswhatthechild’sparentsaskedthemtodo.Thescenarioraisedanumberofpracticeissuesandparticipantswereaskedtoindicatewhatguidanceshouldbeprovided,andwhere,forthesesortsofissues.Responseswereasfollows:(Note:peoplecouldselectmultipleresponses)TYPEOFGUIDANCE WHEREITSHOULDBEPROVIDED

IntheCode InSchool/ECECentrepolicies

Inspecificpracticeregulations

Inlegisation(ieVulnerableChildrensAct)

High-levelprinciplesandcommitmentsforhowweshouldtreatlearners,theirfamiliesandotherteachers

73% 66% 59% 48%

Clearstatementsaboutinappropriatebehaviours&practices(witholdingfood,isolationetc)

30% 79% 66% 37%

Clearpoliciesanddirectionforaddressingspecificissuesandchallengesamonglearners(toileting,aggressivebehaviouretc)

24% 87% 57% 24%

Theseresultsandthesupportingcommentspresentastrongviewthatthecodeneedstoprovidetheoverallguidingprinciplesbutthatmorespecificsituationsandbehavioursandbestaddressedinlocalpolicy,withfurthergeneralsupportfromtherelevantlegislativeandregulatoryenvironment.• Acodeisanoverarchingguideforprofessionalinteraction…anylistwouldalwaysomitsomethingsand

couldnotfitallscenarioes...itistheunpackingoftheoverarchingstatementsthatprovidessomeofthemostpowerfulpersonalgrowth

• Ifweasasectordeemitwrongtowithholdfoodinordertogaincompliance,thenweshouldeducateourfamilies.Itisaboutgettingourparentstoseethenegativelearningthatcanarisefromsuchasituation.

• Ingeneral,thecodeshouldhavemoreover-archingprinciplesandguidelinesforinterpretationtoavoidcomplexcaseswherethecodeistoonarrowtoapplyeffectively.Somespecific,usuallyextreme,examples(suchasphysicalpunishment/assault)shouldbespecificallycoveredinlawand/orthecode.

• Ilikethepresentcodeandliketheroleofthecouncilinspellingoutanethicalframework(autonomy,justiceetcasoverarchingeducationalprinciples)ratherthandetailedpracticalpolicy.Practicalpolicyissuesareconstantlybeingrefinedatalocallevelwithinschools.

Q4:Finally,weinvitedfeedbackonthewayweareengagingwiththesectorthroughthedevelopmentofthecode–includingwhat’sworkingwellsofarandalsowhatelsewecoulddotomakeiteasiertocontribute.Theresponsesincludedalotofverypositivefeedbackabouttheopenandinclusiveapproachwearetryingtotake,aswellasverypositivecommentsabouttheuseofsurveysasasimple,brief,andeasytousewayofprovidingregularfeedback.

Inadditiontothepositivefeedback,anumberofparticipantsraisedconcernsaboutthenumberofteacherswhoarenotparticipatingintheseprocessesandwhetherwewereengagingotherkeystakeholders,suchasparents.Thesecommentsalsoincludedanumberofveryusefulsuggestionsforincreasingawarenessoftheseopportunitiesforteachersandotherstoengageinensuretheirvoiceisheard.Wearelookingathowwemighttakethesesuggestionsonboardaswecontinuethisprocess.Finally,asmallnumberofpeopleremaincynicalabouttheEducationCouncilgenerallyandexpressedthatopenly,whichwe’vereflectedbelow.Wewanttoacknowledgetheseopinionsaswell,andhopethatwecancontinuetobuildtrustandconfidencewithsomeofourcriticsovertime.Asummaryofrepresentativever-batimquotesreflectingeachofthesekeythemesisincludedinanappendixattheendofthisdocument.NEXTSTEPSAsindicatedearlier,ourintentionistorunanongoingseriesofsurveysandkeeptestingourthinkingandprogressateachstageofdevelopment.Wewillrunonemoresurveythiscalendaryear–exploringsomeofthevaluesbehindthecodeaswellasgivingsomethoughttoitspotentialasanaspirationalandinspiringreferencepointfortheteachingprofession.Wewanttorespectthebusynessandpressurethatoftengoeswiththeclosingmonthsoftheyearforteachers,soduringthistimewewillrevisitallthefeedbackandsuggestionsyouhaveprovidedanddrawontheseaswebegintoframeupadraftstructureandsomeinitialsuggestionsforthecontentofthenewcode.Weplantotestthoseinitialthoughtswithyouagainatthestartof2017andthencontinueouriterativeapproachoftestingandadjustingthecontentandstructuretowardsfinalisingthedocumentbyJulynextyear.Intheinterim,wewillcontinuetoworkcloselywiththeCodeWorkingGroupaswereviewthefeedbackandbegintodevelopaninitialstructureandsomedraftcontenttogether.Theworkinggroupismadeupofrepresentativesfromeveryaspectoftheprofession,includingearlychildhood,primaryandsecondaryschooling,MāoriMedium,thePasifikaPrincipal’sAssociationandothers.(YoucanlearnmoreaboutCodeWorkingGrouprepresentativesontheEducationCouncilwebsitehere).Wealsoneedtoconsiderthemostappropriatetitleforitandwillbeseekingyourinputonthataswell.Hopefullythatanswersanyquestionsregardingtheremainingprocessandoveralltimeframes.Wewillalsogivesomethoughttotheotherkeyissuesraisedinthefeedbackhere(suchasengagingwithparentsandothernon-teachingstakeholders)andletyouknowhowtheywillbeincorporatedintoourapproach.Thankyouonceagainfortakingthetimeandbeingsoopenandcandidinyourfeedbackandresponses.Thefinalproductwillbedirectlyinfluencedbyyourinput.Welookforwardtocontinuethedialogueprocesstogether.

APPENDIXONE:ADDITIONALVERBATIMQUOTESWe’veprovidedaselectionofcommentsandquotesfromtheresponsesundereachofthethemesthatreflecttheykeypointsthatweremaderegardingtheapproachthatisbeingtakentoengagewiththeprofessioninthisprocess.Positivefeedbackabouttheopportunitytoengageandtheuseofongoing,briefsurveys:• Thelevelofconsultationissuperb.It'shardtoimaginehowmucheasieritcouldhavebeenmade.• It'seasytocontributeas&whentimeallows.• Iappreciatetheopenandinclusiveapproachyouhavetaken,enablingeducatorstohaveasaythroughthe

ongoingsurveys.Ialsoreallyappreciatedthebreakdownoftheresultsfromthelastsurvey.• IampleasedthatthecodeisbeinglookedatbutI'mmorepleasedthatteachervoiceisbeingconsidered.

Notonlythatbutteachersfromawiderangeofbackgroundsandareas.• Short,regular,focusedsurveyssuchasthisonewouldmakemewanttocontributeagain.• Thiswasagoodclearsurvey.Plentyofdepthofthinkingbutquickandeasytocomplete.Thanks!• Itwasgoodtogetanopportunitytocontributethisway.Itmakesthecodealivingdocumentwhenitis

reviewed/discussed.• Itcanbedoneinmyowntime.Italsoisthoughprovokingandhasgivenmyteamsomesolutionstoissues

thatmayariseinourcentre.• Ilikethefactthatyouareconsultingandthatfinallywearegettingtothenutsandboltsandnotjust

nebulousaspirationallanguage.• It'sgreattoseeyouaskingsomeofthe'hard'questionsthatareoftennotspokenaboutoraddressed.This

willhelpopenuptheseoftennotspokenabouttopicsforstaffroomdiscussions.• Iappreciatebeingabletosharemythoughts,andthatthesurveysarenottoolong.Ialsolikethewayyou

havesummarisedthefirstlotofconsultation,itshowsthatourthoughtsandideashavebeentakenonboard,andarerespected.I

• AsacriticandskepticwhenthecouncilwasfirstformedI'mheartenedbythemeasureofindependenceandcommonsensethatisemerginginpolicystatementsandthisprocess.Wejustmayendupwithsomethingthatisgenuinelyusefulandpositivefortheprofession.

• Ithasalsohighlightedtheneedtocreateamorerobustcodeofethics.

Concernsaboutthosewhoaren’tengagingintheprocess:• Howhaveyouenabledparents/widerwhanautohaveavoice(Ionlyfoundoutaboutitthroughthe

Highlighter'snewsletteranddonotexpectmanyparentstoreceivethis)?• Iamconcernedthatlessthan1000responseswerereceivedfromtheentireteachingprofession.Icame

acrossthelinktothissurveybychangewhenIscannedthrough"TheHighlighter".Ifyoudon'tsubscribetothisyouprobablydon'tknowaboutthisprocess.IfitwassupportedbyPrincipals,completionofthesurveycouldbedoneinstaffmeetings.

• Maybeyouhaveanoverview/processforhowyouwanttodevelopthecodeinstages,yousaidyouwantedtotakethetimetodothis,couldyousharethiswithusoratleastthekeypointsandanapproximatetimeframe?

• ThisisthefirstIhavebeenawareofit-henceIthinkmorepublicityisneeded.• Veryinclusiveifyouknowaboutit...aretherelinksthrougharangeofnetworkstobringteachershere?• Youhaveadoptedagoodprocess.MyonlyconcernisthatIamnotcertainthatthefocusgroupsareacrossa

broadenoughrangeofareas-e.g.cityvsrural;differenttypesofschoolsandECE's;experiencedvsyoungteachers.

• Ithasbeenwonderfultohavetheopportunitytobepartofthesesurveys.Ithoughtitwasdisappointingonly900oddresponses.Thisisaconcernforusasprofessionals....apathy?

GeneralcynicismregardingtheEducationCouncil:• Aswithmostsurveys,thequestionsseemslantedtogainarequiredoutcome.• Pleaseconsultpractitionersthatarenotgovernmentappointees,inparticular,thenationalprofessional

bodiesthatrepresentteachersandpromotetheprofession'sbestpractises.• Ithinkthefocusaimandintentisallcrazywearebeingdestroyedbytheministerandministryandyou

fiddleoverfaddleandpiddle…• Letpeopleknowaboutthesurveys,askpeopleotherthanyourfriends,constructsurveysthatlookfor

people'sviewsnotoneswithonlyresponsesacceptabletoyou.• Thesurveyfeltmorelikeanonlineinterrogationthanasimplesurvey.Thequestions,scenariosandanswers

showabiastowardsadesiredoutcome.

• Youarenotreallycoconstructing-buttellingusstill• TheECandTCreallyhavenoideawhatgoesoninclassrooms:studentbehaviourandengagementarethe

mainissue,notteacherconduct!• Processsofar:adequatewithopportunityforcomment.Thereisnobeliefthatitwillmakeadifference.

Consultationseldommeanschangewhenanorganisationhasanagenda.Trustiscontinuouslybeingerodedyetwecarryoninhope.

Specificideasandsuggestionsforengagingagreaternumberofpeopleintheprocess:• Mailinglist?• Ifoundthissurveyonsocialmediaviaafriend.FacebookandTwitterreminders• Ifindteachersskimreademailsandoftendon’tpickupthatsurveysorfeedbackisrequested-notsurehow

toovercomethis-butlotsofcoverageviadifferentavenuesmayassist• HavemoreconversationsaroundourCodeofEthicsandcometoacommongroundofagreement.Maybe

thiscouldbeagreatworkshopatthenextNZEITERIUROA.• Whereistereo,professionalism,supportbullyingcyberbullyingetc-idosupportyoureffortsbut…geton

withit!• Directcontactwithincentres.Beingsentletters,emailsaskingforcontribution.• Togetarandomselectionfromacrossthesectorandcountrythereshouldbeanumberofsurveyresponses

fromeachschool/learningcentre.Couldbesentbymailorlinkstoadmintopassontostaff.• Tomethequestionsarereallynegative.Istherenothingpositiveaboutthecodeofethics?Tomeitshould

beadocumenttobeproudofandonethatguidesmetobethebestteacherIcanbe.Morepositivescenariosareneeded.Theyneedtobeourguideaswell.

• Usingdifferentwaysofcommunication,eitherpost,text,emailorphonecall.• Thecodeshouldbeguidephrasedinpositivelanguage,andshouldnotincludeexamplesofbehaviour.The

approachyouaretakingwillonlybemeaningfulifyouuseittocreateaCodethatupliftsandcelebratesthestatusoftheprofession,ratherthandemeaningitbecreatingaprescriptivelistofbehaviours.

• Istherealinkwecancopyandpastetosocialmediaforcolleaguesinothersectors,sothattheycanaccessthissurveyeasily?IwonderhowmanyteachersactuallymaketimetoreadTheHighlighter.

• ItwouldbegoodtohavetheopportunitytotakepartinfocusgroupsbutIamnotsurehowtoaccesstheseorhowtobecomepartofthem.Ithinkitisreallyimportantthatthecodeconsistsofbroadstatementsandthatthedetailisuptoschoolsandothereducationalsettings.

• Pleaseensuretheprovincesareincludedinfocusgroups.Consultationisnotaboutfillingin'surveymonkey'.• Onewaytomakethis'real'wouldbetoadvertiseitattheworkplace-atschool.Throughprincipalsorflyers.

Thehighlighterisgood,butIworryit'sdisconnectedwiththeworkplace.• Yourexamplesareveryextreme.Theseareclearlyinneedofpolicy.Amoreambiguouscasewouldbemore

usefultodeterminetheinterpretationofinterestedparties.• Sendouttoschoolsthesurvey-maybeasadiscussionstarterinaDept/staffmeetingbuttimeisvaluable.

Thanksagaintoeveryonewhotookthetimetosharetheirideas,thoughts,feedbackandsuggestionswithus.Wearetakingthisonboardasweprepareforthenextstepsintheprocess.