Integrity in practice
“For each of the following topics, write a short sentence or two about your key responsibilities or understandings as a beginning teacher; Code of Conduct and Standard of Practice boundaries, appropriate communications (social media/electronic communication), conflict of interest, information management and security, gifts and benefits, ethical decision-making, mandatory reporting.”
Code of conduct and Standard of practice
Entrusted by the government and the community, teachers are obligated to act with integrity following the code of conduct which outlines the professional and personal standards for all Australian government employees. The standard of practice from the Department of Education outlines how the department’s core ethics and values are applied in our daily practice.
Professional boundaries
It is our responsibility to act professionally, impartially, and interact appropriately to protect students, the teacher, and the school. This includes our interactions and relationships in person and online with students, families, and colleagues.
Appropriate communication (social media/electronic communication)
Professional boundaries must be maintained by keeping your personal and professional life separate on social media. It is unacceptable to friend or accept friend requests from students or parents both current or past, it is strongly advised to use privacy settings to avoid unethical decisions, and it is advised to be mindful when publishing content on social media. Electronic communication with students must be for educative purposes with principal permission, and between departmental email addresses only.
Conflict of interest
A conflict between our duty to serve the public as a public servant and our personal interests must be disclosed through a declaration and management plan with the principal. A conflict of interest is something that may influence or be perceived to influence the ability to perform the role of a teacher fairly and impartially, including any business, club or group involvement that may affect their role and relationships within the school community.
Information management and security
As public servants with access to private and confidential information, we have a legal and ethical responsibility to protect and manage information and ensure that private information is accessed purely for professional reasons. To ensure this, unattended computers must be locked, emails checked for correct addresses before sending, printed information collected promptly, overheard information and private information must not be repeated, and confidential documents must be appropriately stored and disposed of.
Gifts and benefits
Christmas gifts must be declared with the school and any gifts that may intend to influence support or preference to students including gifts of money are inappropriate and must be refused.
Ethical decision making
An ethical decision-making model is a tool that teachers can use to analyse facts and circumstances to make ethical decisions. This model calls for teachers to recognise the issue, examine the circumstances, find facts and evidence, liaise with colleagues and management, evaluate options to come to a decision, and then reflect on the process and result.
Mandatory reporting
We are obligated to report any possible breaches of the code of conduct or standards of practice by employees to our supervisor, HR or intake, and any allegations of student harm must be reported to the principal and/or Intake.
OneSchool
“Discuss how OneSchool can assist you in meeting your administrative and organisational responsibilities as a beginning teacher, highlighting and elaborating on two key areas discussed in the presentation.”
OneSchool, a Queensland government system designed for collecting and managing student information, serves multiple functions to support teachers in delivering excellent instruction. The first function I intend to utilise involves accessing curriculum resources, unit and lesson plans, and assessment and weekly planners to ensure my planning remains organised and efficient. Before this presentation, I was unaware of this planning capability within OneSchool, prompting my intent to seek further training to integrate it into my practice.
Secondly, the use of class dashboard for accessing and analysing whole class and individual student data through standardised testing and previous years’ data, will be beneficial for successful planning and goal setting. OneSchool allows teachers to adhere to the code of conduct and standard of practice by professionally, confidentially, and sensitively recording students’ data for monitoring and tracking progress. This will identify areas for student improvement and guide the implementation of support and guide future teaching as well as highlight areas to refine teaching practice. OneSchool can also group students according to student data and include comments and specific teaching suggestions for each group. This system can quickly and easily generate individual student reports which form accurate evidence for conversations between principals, staff, and parents.
Strategies for success for beginning teachers – Teacher Learning Centre
“Briefly discuss five key strategies or learnings that you have taken away from this session and that you plan to implement as a beginning teacher.”
The four F’s – Fair, firm, friendly, fun – are familiar to me however it has always been a struggle for me to implement firm boundaries as I lean too much towards the friendly and fun characteristics to make connections with my students. Setting firm, clear, and consistent boundaries is something that I will be mindful of when having a class of my own and ensuring that I follow through with consequences to enforce desired student behaviour.
The know your students table is something that I intend to use and keep a record in my planner to ensure that I have a topic of interest that I can use to build connections with students who tend to fly under the radar.
The key documents outlined to inform classroom decisions were valuable tools that I have printed and included in my planner folder to enable me to not be overwhelmed by the curriculum but that these frameworks are there to support my decisions.
This presentation reminded me of using OneSchool as a valuable source of data and record keeping to effectively manage my administrative and organisational obligations.
The last takeaway from this presentation was the importance of well-being. Personally, that means asking for help early and frequently to ensure I do not burn out mentally and emotionally from the workload and the pressure to do things perfectly. Catching my thoughts when negativity creeps in and turning them into positives through a growth mindset will be a personal challenge for myself and as a model for my students.
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 key function of the Queensland College of Teachers (QCT) is to ensure the eligibility of teachers before they can register to teach in Queensland schools. This includes verifying teachers’ training requirements are met through accredited training providers and adhering to ethical and safe standards for working with children. Thorough screening of teachers before joining the profession guarantees the presence of competent teachers who deliver quality education, safeguard the well-being of students, support teachers in ethical decision-making, and uphold the integrity of the teaching profession. Under the QCT, the Professional Conduct Unit (PCU) monitors the compliance of teachers in adhering to the Education (Queensland College of Teachers) Act 2005, the professional boundaries, codes of practice, and the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers. They enact this by employing law enforcement personnel and legal experts to investigate complaints against teachers, their professional practice, and their conduct. This aspect holds considerable significance for me as my ability to teach relies on successful registration with the QCT. Additionally, the role of the QCT includes certifying teachers as they progress to the highly accomplished and lead career stages of the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers.
References:
Australian Institute of Teaching and School Leadership. (2017). Australian Professional Standards for Teachers. https://www.aitsl.edu.au/teach/standards.
Department of Education and Training. (2016). Standard of Practice. https://qed.qld.gov.au/workingwithus/induction/workingforthedepartment/inductionandonboarding/Documents/code-of-conduct-standard-of-practice.pdf.
Queensland College of Teachers. (n.d.) Code of ethics. Retrieved January 1, 2024, from https://www.qct.edu.au/standards-and-conduct/code-of-ethics.
Queensland Government. (2005). Education (Queensland College of Teachers) Act 2005. https://www.legislation.qld.gov.au/view/pdf/inforce/current/act-2005-047.
