The Education Council of Aotearoa New Zealand (the Council) is calling for submissions on a draft Code of Professional Responsibility and Standards for the Teaching Profession, entitled ‘Our Code, Our Standards,' which is intended to reflect what it means to “be a teacher” in New Zealand. The new Code and Standards are to be implemented and applicable to all New Zealand teachers by 1 July 2017.
‘Our Code, Our Standards’ was developed by the Council, in consultation with working teachers and education leaders through surveys, workshops, focus groups and meetings. The Council is the professional organisation for all teachers in New Zealand, aiming to champion strong teaching practices and raise the status of the teaching profession by maintaining a strong voice in education policy-making.
All certified teachers, regardless of their teaching level, setting or role, are required to comply with the Code and the Standards.
The Code of Professional Responsibility
The Code replaces the current Teachers Code of Ethics. It sets out the expectations of behaviour, conduct and integrity for the New Zealand teaching profession, by teachers, students, families and the general public.
The Code is centred around the concept of commitment to various societal groups. The key Principles of the Code are to:
- maintain public trust and confidence in the teaching profession;
- work in the best interests of learners;
- respect the vital role of parents/carers and families in supporting their child’s learning; and
- respect your role in society and influence in shaping futures.
The Code Guidance provides examples of behavior which demonstrates commitment to achieving these Principles, as well as examples of behavior which could be considered to breach them. For example, contributing to a professional culture that supports and upholds the Code may be achieved by fostering a professional culture of openness and self-reaction, but would be undermined by failing to speak out about the behavior of a colleague which is known to be in breach of the Code.
The Standards for the Teaching Profession
Teachers are considered to hold a unique position of trust, due to their influence on education and learning, and how young people comprehend the world. As such, there is an expectation that the teaching profession upholds high standards of integrity, accountability and professionalism.
The Standards were drafted to reflect this complex position, and are intended to serve as a benchmark to guide everyday practice, as well as to enable teachers to aspire for continual growth and development. The Standards set out the core expectations for teachers’ professional practice, and are intended to replace the current Practising Teacher Criteria and Graduating Teacher Standards. The 6 Standards are built around core focus criteria, which are:
- the national context;
- professional learning;
- professional relationships and behaviours;
- learning-focussed environments;
- design for learning; and
- teaching.
Teachers in New Zealand are expected to demonstrate they have met each element of the Standards as part of appraisal or renewal of their practicing certificate.
Child Protection and the Code
Under section 2.1 of the Code, teachers must work in the best interests of ''learners'' by ''promoting their wellbeing and protecting them from harm.'' Section 2.1 is a comprehensive area of the Code, with a detailed definition of ''harm'' which requires teachers to "be familiar with the indicators of, and risk factors for abuse and neglect and take appropriate action where there is reason to believe they may have been, or may be at risk of being, harmed (including self-harm), abused or neglected."
The topic of child protection is also addressed by Standard 4: Learning focussed environments, which requires teachers to "create and maintain learning-focussed environments which are collaborative, inclusive and safe."
The current Code of Ethics also requires teachers to promote learner wellbeing. But while teachers must also "do good and minimise harm to others", there is no requirement to protect from harm, and there is no detailed definition of harm.
The new wording of section 2.1 has its origins in the Vulnerable Children Act 2014 (NZ), which dictates that the government sets priorities for improving the well-being of vulnerable children. Section 6 of the Vulnerable Children Act 2014 (NZ) emphasises that this includes protecting children from abuse and neglect.
Under the Education Act 1989 (NZ) (Education Act), it is only mandatory for an employer (the school) to report possible serious misconduct by an teacher. Under the Children, Young Persons, and Their Families Act 1989 (NZ), a teacher may, but is not required, to report to the police or a social worker if they believe a child or young person has been or is likely to be harmed, ill-treated, abused, neglected or deprived. Consequently, the Code's requirement to "take appropriate action" places more stringent child protection duties upon teachers than imposed by NZ legislation.
The Australian Comparison
Despite sharing common law histories, Australia and New Zealand have marked dichotomy in approaches to education law, which can be traced to differences in our forms of government. While Australia was formed as a Federation - by the authority of the self-governing colonies at the time - New Zealand is a unitary state in which regions are created by the authority of the central government. Education is one area which is mostly dealt with centrally.
The Education Council is a body corporate established by the Education Act and its membership is appointed by the Minister for Education. Among its various functions under the Act, the Education Council is required to establish and maintain:
- criteria for teacher registration;
- standards for qualifications that lead to teacher registration;
- standards for ongoing practice; and
- a code of conduct for teachers.
Section 387 of the Education Act also specifically requires the Education Council to establish and maintain a code of conduct for teachers.
In Australia, these functions are shared between the Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL), as well as state/territory Education Departments and teacher registration bodies. For example, a principal objective of the NSW Education Standards Authority (which has replaced the Board of Studies, Teaching and Educational Standards) is to ensure that teaching quality and professional standards are developed, applied and monitored.
National and state/territory codes do not introduce a child protection obligation as broad as the proposed NZ Code, but this is likely due to the child protection laws in each state and territory which (generally) already impose such a duty under statute.
Our Standards
The obvious counterpart to New Zealand’s ‘Our Code, Our Standards’ are the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (the Australian Standards), developed by AITSL and endorsed by Ministers for Education in all states and territories.
The Australian Standards represent a public statement of expectations for teacher quality in the Australian profession, stipulating requirements for professional knowledge, professional practice and professional engagement. Unlike the New Zealand version which creates a general behavioural benchmark, these Standards also break down expectations across 4 career stages – graduate, proficient, highly accomplished and lead.
While the Australian Standards cover content from both the Code and the Standards, they are predominately focused on professionalism and quality. In particular, achievement of Standard 7 requires, at the minimum ‘Graduate’ level, understanding and applying the key principles of codes of ethics and conduct for the teaching profession.
Our Code
There is no clear code of conduct at the national level in Australia which governs the professional standards and responsibilities of the teaching profession. This can be attributed to the fact that regulation and funding of education, and the registration and certification of teachers, is predominately a matter for individual jurisdictions.
The Australian Standards note that codes of ethics and conduct are established by state and territory regulatory authorities, as well as individual schools and school systems. Consequently they are only applicable to particular jurisdictions/sectors and often vary according to local conditions and expectations.
For example:
In conclusion: upholding professional behaviour and standards
‘Our Code, Our Standards’ may not have direct correlation to the Australian context. However, the development and improvement of standards for professional behavior and practices is not an experience unique to New Zealand, considering the development of the Australian Standards.
Indeed, with the accelerated development of child protection laws and increased expectations of teacher behavior (similar to the increasing child protection requirements under the New Zealand Code), it is certainly possible for codes of conduct and professional boundaries to be developed on a national level in the future, or for jurisdictional codes to become more enforceable by registration/accreditation authorities.
