Legal and ethical contexts in my digital practice

With such a changing world including changes in society, education, social roles, rights and responsibilities, global connectivity and ethnic diversity - ethical dilemmas are on the increase. For teachers - arriving at a decision that is respected by all stakeholders as being fair and just is difficult and we are required to go through a process for each incident or possible problem as 'one size does not always fit all'. Hall (2001) suggests asking this question "What I ought to do, all things considered?" when exploring ethical problems. It does make it difficult to provide clear guidelines for teachers with such an individual, case by case approach to issues. Our school has clear policies and procedures to guide most events and activities but they are fairly black and white and do not lend them self to the approach suggested by Hall (2001). 

A possible ethical dilemma linked to digital or online access... 

Digital platforms have publicised the work of students and the feedback they receive from teachers, peers and members of their whanau and wider community. This in itself is a possible ethical dilemma as it exposes the work of students who may or may not feel comfortable about having their work made public. Sometimes this could have a negative impact for students whose opinions and thoughts are different to the majority, or for students who are not able to produce the same quality of work as others and who previously would have had a more private channel between the teacher and themselves. As teachers we see collaboration as a healthy sharing and growth of many skills required to learn and work in the 21st century. These assignments have highlighted the possible ethical dilemmas that modern teaching practice could pose.

The Code Of Ethics for Certified Teachers guides our schools social media policies - some points in particular on our commitment to learners relate directly to this possible dilemma:

Teachers will strive to:

• cater for the varied learning needs of diverse learners,
• promote the physical, emotional, social, intellectual and spiritual wellbeing of learners,
• protect the confidentiality of information about learners obtained in the course of professional service, consistent with legal requirements.

While these points support digital and collaborative practice in eduction - especially as these practices encourage and cater for the sharing of diverse ideas - perhaps greater consideration could be given to a students thoughts about sharing their work on an online platform, receiving public feedback on their work and even consciously noticing whether technology has enhanced the quality of work and wellbeing for the child.

I chose to use the set of questions from Hall (2001) as a guide as I worked through this ethical issue.

• Which stakeholder should be given priority? Why?
• What restrictions are there to your actions?
• Which courses of action are possible?
• How should the course of action be implemented? 

Also this Code of Ethics diagram illustrates 4 important domains that need to be considered when addressing ethical issues in an attempt to make the decision fair and just with "all things considered" Hall (2001).

References:

Education Council. (n.d). The Education Council Code of Ethics for Certificated Teachers. Retrieved from https://educationcouncil.org.nz/content/code-of-et...

Hall, A. (2001). What ought I to do, all things considered? An approach to the exploration of ethical problems by teachers. Paper presented at the IIPE Conference, Brisbane. Retrieved from http://www.educationalleaders.govt.nz/Culture/Developing-leaders/What-Ought-I-to-Do-All-Things-Considered-An-Approach-to-the-Exploration-of-Ethical-Problems-by-Teachers