Values and Ethical Principles and Safety and Pedagogical Welfare
25.01.2023
Values and Ethical Principles
Carlos talked about Ethical and Values and compared two different points of view: ethical and unethical.
The teacher's work has a lot to do with ethics and codes of conduct, policies and regulations help us to understand what behavior is suitable in different situations and environments.
It's surely a sensitive topic and teachers often don't even get any guide lines during their professional training. We all risk to fall into the idealization of the teachers' figure, but it's important to keep in mind that teachers are human beings as well and it's not always easy to decide what is right or wrong.
Teachers have to make choices all the times, but these must be contextualized because most of the time situations are complicated and responsabilities are a lot. Knowing the ethical decision-making models is very important because it helps to think calmly and carefully on the decision. Every choice, even the smallest one, has consequences and teachers have to consider all the aspects. All the responsabilities and the complex situations that teachers have to face might overwhelmed them especially early in their careers, but if teachers are trained on this topic it might be easier to handle that.
In the end, Carlos proposed an activity on a case to reflect on what we had just talked about. We had to pretend to be part of the equality and equity committee of a University and to discover that inside a research laboratory there were no womens. We found out that the professor who had to look at the applications, used to reject those from the womens due to a woman who had become pregnant and who had compromised the succes of the research. We were asked to think and to write on the padlet what we could have done to guarantee equity during the selection.
Safety and Pedagogical Welfare
Tiina talked about Safety and Pedagogical Welfare. Initially we talked about safety and on its four aspects that must be considered by a teacher: psychological, physical, social and legal safety.
This part is not often taken in consideration during vocational trainings but it is the teacher's job to guarantee safety in the classroom, so teachers must be aware of that. Laws and documents were pointed out and explained during the webinar.
The centre is always the student: teachers must guarantee safety to every single student, they must know every student's personal situation and be ready to act effectively according to the different needs. Every student has to feel safe inside schools and classrooms and he must be certain that the teacher is available but above all prepared to help him.
Then we talked about pedagogical well-being: each student must be supported in his both personal and accademic growth, therefore teachers have to make an effort to meet everyone. It is certainly very difficult, but it's our job to teach everyone as well as possible. Each student is important to teachers' eyes and this must be perceived because it helps students to gain self-confidence. There are different teaching methodologies and knowing as much as possible helps teachers to space out and really go towards everyone.
Burnout
Teachers' job is always full of responsabilities and they are asked to pay attention to everything that happens or could happen. Being a teacher is not that as easy as people might think because responsabilities and workload are so much to give importance to.
Because of all this teachers go into burnouts, which is a state of emotional, physical, and mental exhaustion caused by excessive and prolonged stress. It occurs when you feel overwhelmed, emotionally drained, and unable to meet constant demands.
Burnout is a global problem affecting different types of jobs. In Finland, rates are quite low but it is however a phenomenon to consider. Social interactions play a key role in burnouts, but also years of teaching do: young teachers are more likely to burnouts than teachers with many years of career behind them. For this reason I think it's really important to train teachers and accompany them during their studies trying to prevent this situation by giving them the basis to face teaching with serenity.
Among the causes of burnouts there are poor working conditions, coping with change and time pressures and workload. Having a good education behind you helps to face stressful situations which are inevitable.
It is important to be aware of what burnouts are and it's everyone's job to try to prevent it in every possible way. Teachers' well being must be insured to create a serene environment for everyone, not just for students.
References
Pyhältö, K., Pietarinen, J., Haverinen, K. et al. Teacher burnout profiles and proactive strategies. Eur J Psychol Educ 36, 219–242 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10212-020-00465-6
Melinda Smith, M.A., Jeanne Segal, Ph.D., and Lawrence Robinson, Burnout prevention and treatment, https://www.helpguide.org/articles/stress/burnout-prevention-and-recovery.htm#:~:text=Burnout%20is%20a%20state%20of,unable%20to%20meet%20constant%20demands. (Definition of Burnout)
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