APST Standard 7: Engage professionally with colleagues, parents/carers and the community
Compulsory Response – Integrity in Practice
As a beginning teacher it is not only a responsibility but an obligation to follow the Queensland department code of conduct and standards of practice. The code follows four principles of Integrity and impartiality, Promoting the public good, Commitment to the system of the government and, Accountability and transparency (Lavelle, 2022). The act also contains standards of conduct for each ethics principle, all of which a beginning teacher have an obligation to follow (Lavelle, 2022). This also applies to the standard of practice, which encompasses teacher’s workplace behaviour and personal conduct (Lavelle, 2022). The standards explore areas of Appropriate communication, Workplace harassment/bullying, Personal appearance, Criminal history and registration with QCT, and Alcohol or other substances (Lavelle, 2022).
Mandatory reporting is another obligation of a beginning teacher as they are now one of the first lines of defence when breaches of code of conduct and standards of practice occur (Lavelle, 2022). A beginning teacher has many directions of reporting they could follow, this can be to their principle, supervisor, Regional HR or directly to Intake, a service to refer an allegation and complete forms directly or anonymously (Lavelle, 2022).
The Queensland college of teachers (QCT) defines professional boundaries as the act of upholding professionalism during their relationships with students at all times (Lavelle, 2022). Their guideline of professional boundaries was designed in conjunction with the QCT Code of Ethics for Teachers and provides registered and preservice teachers with an understanding of managing professional relationships with students (Lavelle, 2022).
For beginning teachers, a conflict of interest can be actual, potential and perceived (Lavelle, 2022). However, it is important to be appropriately managed through identifying and declaring, managing and monitoring as per the conflict-of-interest policies and procedures (Lavelle, 2022).
A beginning teacher must be familiar with the procedures of declaring all gifts and benefits to their principle (Lavelle, 2022).It is a teacher responsibility to refuse any gifts/benefits that are given with non-moral intent/influence and any gift that is money related and can do this accordance to departmental procedures (Lavelle, 2022).
Ethical decision making within the school context looks like appropriate and ethical use of public resources including official and best use of resources, procurement policies adhered and apparently delegated when completing tasks, with no personal benefits and publicly defensible (Lavelle, 2022). A beginning teacher can also use the Ethical decision-making model and the ‘REFLECT’ framework to ensure their decision are well-considered and effective (Lavelle, 2022).
Beginning teachers must adhere to their code of conduct and the to ensure personal information is managed and secure against unauthorised use (Lavelle, 2022). This can be achieved by never leaving printing or computer unattended when not in use, ensuring correct recipients on email correspondence, never sharing private information and disposing/storing confidential information appropriately (Lavelle, 2022).
Compulsory Response – The Benefits and Uses of OneSchool
OneSchool is a Queensland government system used to provide, capture, and collect data and information about students and schools (Fitsimmons, 2022). For a beginning teacher this school and class/student information can be highly effective and create strong and confident teachers when beginning in their classroom (Fitsimmons, 2022). A beginning teachers can access the whole school data along with their colleagues to review the school curriculum, assessment and reporting along with NAPLAN results, Queensland NAPLAN results and National NAPLAN results (Fitsimmons, 2022). This data can then go through a cycle of review to improve practice, implementation of interventions and then a review of data to improve practice (Fitsimmons, 2022).
A beginning teacher can also use the class and individual student data available on OneSchool to assist in their everyday practice. On OneSchool are access to Curriculum resources, units and activities, there are also assessment and reporting resources that would be extremely helpful for a beginning teacher to reference and adapt to their own class context (Fitsimmons, 2022). The begging teachers can also use single student records to inform their practice including students’ academic reports, behaviour management, attendance/enrolment information and can implement strategies for individual students (Fitsimmons, 2022). Beginning teachers can use OneSchool to not only track their marking but monitor each students learning and use the data during conversations with other stakeholders (Fitsimmons, 2022).
Professional Engagement (PE) – Resume writing and interview techniques.
‘Submit your resume and two recorded interview questions to the ‘Candidate Pool’ for appraisal.
Career Readiness (CR) – Queensland College of Teachers
“Describe three of the key functions of the Queensland College of Teachers. How are these functions important to you as a beginning teacher?”
The Queensland College of teachers (QCT) is the regulation authority for the teaching profession in Queensland (Watkins, 2023).The QCT three key functions are registration, Professional standards, and professional conduct (Watkins, 2023). Before a beginning teacher is eligible for employment, they must be registered with QCT (Watkins, 2023).The QCT accredits and monitors initial and proficient teachers and implement programs to assist teachers throughout their career (Watkins, 2023).
For a beginning teacher the QCT alignment with the Australian Professional Standards for teachers (APST’s) will shape their practice as they enter, they enter the classroom. The APST’s explore seven standards for all the career stages including graduate, proficient, highly accomplished and lead (Watkins, 2023). A beginning teacher will align their practices and pedagogy to the graduate level as they learn and become a teacher (Watkins, 2023).
The QCT also guides beginning teachers on their professional conduct through committees like the Professional Conduct Unit and legislation like the Professional boundaries guidelines (Watkins, 2023). The Professional conduct unit purposes is to promote student safety at all times and conducts investigations when teacher practice and conduct is breached (Watkins, 2023). The Professional boundaries guidelines can assist beginning teachers to establish and maintain appropriate professional boundaries with students and guides to the potential implications and consequences of engaging in certain behaviours with students (Watkins, 2023).
