Codes of Conduct and Ethical Dilemmas in Teacher Education

This paper reports on a research study into ethics and moral reasoning in schools and undergraduate teacher education. Since the 1970s the utility and efficacy of ethics curricula in undergraduate courses have received heightened global attention. During this time, an 'ethics boom' has occurred designed to counter the disappearance of ethics in education and the marginalization of moral education from higher education. This 'boom', witnessed in most professional programs, is also notable for its absence from teacher education programs in Australia. There is a considerable gap in ethics literature for teachers. This is extraordinary considering the plethora of educational dilemmas and subsequent decision making and reasoning that is currently required for moral and ethical teaching. It seems that undergraduate teacher preparation, in this complex field, presently satisfies teaching authorities requirements by implementing professional standards as derived from global codes of conduct. However, many preservice teachers report of having observed what they believe are unethical experiences in schools and are unsure of how to deal with these situations. Proactive foundational ethics experiences that develop moral reasoning and decision making skills is suggested as a fundamental means of enabling future teachers to cope with what seems to be a deepening area of concern in schools.