Activity 11

Activity 11- Code of Ethics
Applied and Professional Ethics by Goran Collste

Ethics are at the root of all businesses and professionals. It upholds actions and direction of companies and upholds a professional standard.

Collste describes two forms of ethics:

"Applied ethics is the art or science of reflecting on moral dilemmas and moral problems in different social context." (Collste, 2012, pg. 18)

and

"Professional ethics develops within a community of professionals. For older and established professions, professional ethics is the result of a tradition of moral thinking." (Collste, 2012, pg. 14)

Applied ethics is the human being side, the judgement of social interactions. It is the moral and reflection of situations. Collste describes this in "We engage in ethics when we start to reflect on our moral judgements and actions: why is this behaviour right? What is the reason for this act? Can this act be justified? Hence, ethics is reflection on morality or, one might say, the theory of morality." (Collste, 2012, pg. 2)

Professional ethics is the ongoing reflection and decision making of professionals where situations are discussed in a professional manner. Professional ethics is based on the practice of a profession. Factors are concentrated and argued from and against theory and pedagogy related to each profession. 

"A relation exists between applied ethics and professional ethics. One might even say that professional ethics mirrors applied ethics." (Collste, 2012, pg. 12) As professionals it is important that we consider our applied ethics as this makes us who we are in society, but in as a professional teacher we must uphold and consider the professional factors of good business and the law. In education the Code of Ethics for Certificated Teachers underlines the profession and supports “the requirements of the law as well as the obligation of teachers to honour the Treaty of Waitangi by paying particular attention to the rights and aspirations of Māori as tangata whenua.” (Education Council, 2015, para. 4) These ethics are also a unwritten agreement between parents and teachers, that in its self holds huge importance when dealing with someone's children.


References

Collste, G. (2007). Applied and professional ethics–an introduction.Perspectives on applied ethics, 22.
retrieved from - http://web.usm.my/kajh/vol19_1_2012/KAJH19_1_2012_2.pdf

Education Council of Aotearoa New Zealand. (2015). Code of Ethics for Certified Teachers. 
retrieved from- http://www.educationcouncil.org.nz/content/code-ethics-registered-teachers-0