Ethics

It is conceived with much appreciation that education is the fountain for political, social and economic development of any given nation. It is said that through education the cognitive, psychomotive and affectionate development of citizenry is achieved. At the pivot of this important fountain are teachers and the teaching profession. The quality of education is dependent on the teacher implying that the standards of teachers and the teaching profession are directly proportional to the quality of education. However, some arguments have increasingly gained controversies over the professionalism of education.

It goes without mention that education is a profession having all the requirements and features that may compare with other professions. In the paper, a brief discussion on how education is a profession will be covered recognizing the role of teachers in the modelling of a society. As any profession governed by ethical codes or standards of conduct, education presents its rich codes that have to be followed. The paper will identify some of the codes that apply to the teaching profession and will have a mention on who enforces the codes (Shanker, 1996, p.3). Lastly, a discussion of the current ethical dilemma that faces the teaching profession will form the last part of the paper.

What Makes Teaching a Profession
The argument that comes up whether teaching is a profession has gained much debate which is not deserved. The process of moulding a teacher, the formal provision of the services, the organization of membership in the teaching fraternity and the continuing education involved in the teaching career as well as the official licensing of teaching institutions qualify teaching to be regarded as a full profession.

Education and Training Involved In
In any profession, it is expected that individuals undergo a formal training that will equip them with the required knowledge and skills which will prepare one in the offering of services. In a profession such as medicine, students are taught both the theory and the practical part of the treatment process. After the mastery of the skills relevant in the area of medicine in the laboratory and in class, the students are then exposed to the real-life situation where they meet with human patients (Duncan, 2010, p.4). This stage is known as internship which is done under the strict supervision of their senior doctors.

The same happens in education. Students are taught in the university in classroom environment. All the theory and some aspects of practical are done in lecture theatres and learning laboratories. After the students have mastered some of the practical aspects and learnt enough materials to serve as teachers, they are exposed to the classroom environment in what is called teaching practice. Teaching practice among the education students is analogous to internship period common in medical students. This comparison shows how teaching is a profession.

Organizational Memberships
Most professions have some organized body where all the members of the profession subscribe to. The dentist has the Dentist Associations and the doctors have their own body they subscribe to. Teachers also have the teachers association where each teacher registers his or her membership and it is through these bodies that claims are forwarded and solved. Other features that exist in the teaching career such as the continual education and the licensing of the learning institutions further explains why teaching can be regarded as a professional (Seed, 2008, p.113).

Ethical Codes and Standards of Conduct That Apply To This Profession
There various standards in teaching profession which have to be followed by all the teachers. These standards state that teaching is fully a profession and all the practices within the teaching practice have to be done with professionalism. Another standard requires that teaching to be done with full professional efficiency where all systems are organized and working in a cordial manner. The third standard provides that the teachers have to show professional efficiency and finally the teachers have to carry out their duties according to the basic principle and objectives which are set out in the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development.

Some codes have been identified in various states although these have been unified in a majority of states. These codes of conduct in teaching profession will remain to be a standard which will also give a guideline to the proper conduct of teachers in a learning environment as well as the teaching environment. The codes state that the teaching should be made to look more professionalism and the teachers have to undertake some of the courses which are approved for preparing the teachers before they can be absorbed in the teaching employment (Lewis, 2008, p.96). Another code in education is that teachers should practice highest degree of discipline which should also involve sanctions as well as penalties for any form of misbehaviour. This can involve the formation of Teacher Disciplinary committee that can investigate into a majority cases.

Teachers should have full enjoyment of all the academic freedom especially when deciding the content which they should teach, the materials that are appropriate to use as well as the appropriate methodology. There are a number of education materials which can be used however, some of the content has to be used with utmost care to ensure relevance and suitability. For instance, pictures showing violence should not be used in children who are vulnerable to outland perceptual change

The teacher assessment should be done objectively and there should be a right of appeal following such assessments and although there should be respect between the children and the teachers, the teacher should work to fit in the levels of the pupils so as to provide personalized information.

There should be mutual cooperation between the parents and the teachers and this relationship should be maintained while the teacher should always ensure always those high standards of professionalism. The teachers should ensure that they have active participation in some extracurricular activities which will benefit the pupils. In another aspect, the teachers should always maintain cordiality with the members of the administration including other members of the staff for a healthy working relationship. Some of the codes dictate that teachers are not allowed to be involved in some forms of taking bribes from the parents or pupils as this distorts the overall image of the teaching profession (Duncan, 2010, p.15). Some practices also highly rejected include the corporal punishment in schools which should be avoided at all levels unless this punishment has been recommended. Lastly, it is of ethical nature for the teachers to revere for other contractual responsibly as well as the rule of law.

Ethical Dilemmas
The teaching profession requires some practice of ethics and if this is not shown, the practice of teaching will not have qualified the ethical standards that it should first attain for it to be called a profession. There are several ethical dilemmas that are encountered during the teaching practice. The first will be the respect for others autonomy. Each member of the teaching profession has to revere other people as individuals practising superior autonomy. The respect of other individuals is an important aspect that enhances growth in professionalism. It will not be successful to see the teaching profession growing if there is lack of respect for other peoples autonomy (Lewis, 2008, p.90). The respect of others as individuals is the autonomy that is required. However, other individuals fail to treat the problem of autonomy and instead generalize the arguments of people under some groups.

The second ethical concern will be the doing of no harm to others either the physical harm or emotional harm. It is not ethical a teacher to keep to cause any mental or physical problem to any of his colleagues (Seed, 2008, p.115). This is the reason why professional memberships are created to avoid some elements such as emotionally and physical stress that can result in the teaching profession.

The question of fairness and equity is third dilemma where utmost fairness has to be practiced (Duncan, 2010, p.17).  Honesty and fidelity is the fourth ethical dilemma in the teaching profession which must be practiced so that all the system can be put in place in a professional manner (Shanker, 1996, p.9).

In general, teaching is a professional which involve a number of code of conduct and standards of conduct where the teachers get their guidelines. Despite the controversies over the question of whether education is a profession or not, has not affected the growth of education and keep on expanding and getting better.