Journal of new advances in English Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics

Journal of new advances in English Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics

Iranian EFL Teachers' Views on Professional Ethics and Students’ Success

Document Type : Original Article

Author
Islamic Azad University, Ardabil Branch, Iran
10.22034/jeltal.2023.5.2.3
Abstract
Professional ethics are standards and morals that individuals or organizations adopt in order to provide the best outcome in a profession and eventually create trust in public. In other words, they are the qualities that people expect to exist in workers, teacher etc. Professional ethics have been explored in different vocations and jobs, but it has rarely been discussed in educational context especially in Iran. The aim of this study was to investigate the opinions of EFL teachers on professional ethics and whether teachers qualified as ethical, can improve the success of students. In order to reach to the objectives of this study, the researcher asked 101 EFL teachers to fill out the professional ethics view questionnaire. Based on the results EFL teachers maintained positive idea regarding professional ethics in educational context and they believed that they should adhere to ethics in their profession. The participants also stated that commitment to professional ethics improves their teaching quality and eventually their students’ success in classroom. Finally, the ethical code with the highest mean score was “EFL teachers should up-to-date their knowledge for their classes”. This study has implications for EFL teachers and teacher trainers.
Keywords

Abbott, A. (1988). The system of professions: An essay on the division of expert labour. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
Alemi, M. (2020). EFL learners’ perceptions of ethics in the classroom. Research in English Language Pedagogy, 8(2)349-373.
Banks, S. (2003). From oaths to rulebooks: A critical examination of codes of ethics for the social professions. European Journal of Social Work, 6(2), 133–144.
Barrett, D. E., Casey, J. E., Visser, R. D., & Headley, K. N. (2012). How do teachers make judgments about ethical and unethical behaviors? Toward the development of a code of conduct for teachers. Teaching and Teacher Education, 28(6), 890-898.
Campbell, E. (2008). The ethics of teaching as a moral profession. Curriculum Inquiry, 38(4), 357–385. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-873X.2008.00414.x
Fazlali, F. (2022). Professionalism and commitment among Iranian EFL teachers: do educational context and gender make a difference?. Journal of Foreign Language Teaching and Translation Studies,7(4),37-58.
Fenstermacher, G. D. (1990). Some moral considerations on teaching as a profession. In J. I. Goodlad, K. A. Sirotnik & R. Soder (Eds.), The moral dimensions of teaching (pp. 130- 151). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers.
Gholampour, M., Pourshafei, H., Farasatkhah, M., & Ayati, M. (2020). Components of teachers’ professional ethics: A systematic review based on Wright’s model. AyatiJournal of Curriculum Studies, 15(58)145-174.
Hansen, D. T. (1993). From role to person: The moral layeredness of classroom teaching. American Educational Research Journal, 30(4), 651-674.
Kafi, Z., Motallebzadeh, K., & Ashraf, H. (2018). University instructors’ teaching experience and their perception of professional ethics: postulating a model. International Journal of Instruction, 11(4), 257-270. https://doi.org/10.12973/iji.2018.11417a
Mantiri, O. (2011). Professional ethics in teaching. SSRN Electronic Journal, 17, (1) 12. http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2566122 https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.
Maxwell, B. (2017). Codes of professional conduct and ethics education for future teachers. Philosophical Inquiry in Education,24(4)323-347.
Mohamed, A.R. (2011). Teachers' professionalism: prejudices, problems and promises. Africa-Asia University Dialogue for Educational Development Report of the International Experience Sharing Seminar, 23 (3), 69-87. Hiroshima University: CICE.
Moser, A. & Korstjens, I. (2017). Series: Practical guidance to qualitative research. Part 1: Introduction. European Journal of General Practice 23(1)271-273.
Salehnia, N., & Ashraf, H. (2015). On the relationship between Iranian EFL teachers’ commitment to professional ethics and their students’ self-esteem. Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences, 6, 135–143.
Sockett, H. (1990). Accountability, trust, and ethical codes of practice. In J. Goodlad, R. Soder, & K. Sirotnik (Eds.), The moral dimensions of teaching (pp. 224–250). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Sockett, H. (1993). The moral base for teacher professionalism. New York: Teachers College Press.
Strike, K.A. & Ternasky, P.L. (1993). Ethics for Professionals in Education: perspectives for preparation and practice. New York; Teachers College Press.
Stronge, J., & Tucker, P. (2000). Teacher evaluation and student achievement. Washington, DC: National Education Association.
Stronge, J. H. (2007). Qualities of effective teachers (2nd. Ed.). Association for supervision and curriculum development.
Şahin, F. & Yüksel, İ. (2021). Meaning and uniqueness of ethics and ethical teacher behaviors in the teaching profession. Inquiry in education, 13(2,)1-16. Retrieved from: https://digitalcommons.nl.edu/ie/vol13/iss2/2
Ta, T. (2016). The origins of ethical knowledge in resolving ethical dilemmas in teaching. (M.A thesis). University of Toronto.
Tenny, S., Brannan, JM., & Brannan, G.(2022) Qualitative Study. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing.
Tichenor, M. S., & Tichenor, J. M. (2004-2005). Understanding teachers’ perspectives on professionalism. The professional educator, XXVII(1-2), 89- 95.
Wren, T. (2014). Philosophical moorings. In L. Nucci, T. Krettenauer, & D. Narvaez (Eds.), Handbook of moral and character education. Routledge.
Volume 5, Issue 2 - Serial Number 2
September 2023
Pages 1295-1316

  • Receive Date 23 August 2023
  • Revise Date 06 October 2023
  • Accept Date 10 November 2023