A Survey of Ethics Curriculum in Canadian Initial Teacher Education

Abstract

This paper reports the results of a survey on ethics education in initial teacher education in Canada. Using an online survey and an academic calendar analysis, data was collected on ethics course requirements, perceptions about ethics content, institutional factors mediating the implementation of ethics courses, and teaching and learning objectives. Unexpectedly, the results showed that a required ethics course is as common in teacher education in Canada as it is in medical education and that an ethics curriculum is regarded highly by Canadian teacher educators as an aspect of teacher education. The paper concludes by suggesting directions for future research and underlining the need for network building in the area of ethics education for teachers in Canada.Cet article présente les résultats d’une étude par sondage sur l’éducation à l’éthique professionnelle dans la formation initiale des enseignants au Canada. À l’aide d’un questionnaire en ligne et d’une analyse des offres de cours, des données ont été recueillies sur les exigences des cours d’éthique professionnelle, les perceptions sur le contenu des cours, les facteurs institutionnels conciliant la mise en place des cours d’éthique et les objectifs de lecture et d’apprentissage. Contre toute attente, les résultats ont démontré que les cours d’éthique professionnelle sont aussi communs dans les programmes de formation initiale en enseignement que dans les programmes de médecine, mais également que l’éthique professionnelle est considérée par les formateurs canadiens comme un aspect essentiel de la formation à l’enseignement. L’article conclue en suggérant des directives pour les recherches futures et en soulignant la nécessité de créer un réseau dans le domaine de l’éthique professionnelle dans les programmes de formations initiale en enseignement au Canada

Do preservice teachers cheat in college, too? A quantitative study of academic integrity among preservice teachers

“…Another preventive method for reducing academic dishonesty preservice teachers would be to include a stand-alone course on academic integrity as part of a second-year undergraduate curriculum in teacher education (Maxwell et al, 2016;McCabe et al, 2012). Through this early coursework, students would review the research behind academic dishonesty, its potential effects on teacher preparation, and the consequences for engaging in academic misconduct as a student.…”

Codes of Professional Conduct and Ethics Education for Future Teachers

“…Full details of the methodology and findings can be found inMaxwell, Tremblay-Laprise, and Filion (2015) andMaxwell et al (2016). 5 Owing to the well-known methodological drawbacks of online surveys(Fowler, 2002), the results of the survey are based on a non-probabilistic sample thus limiting their generalizability to the overall population of teacher educators and teacher education programs.…”

Teacher Ethics Training for Learners With Special Educational Needs

“…When comparing ethics education programmes of various professions, international research conducted in America has found that the teaching profession is far behind other professions such as medicine and law (Maxwell et al, 2015Maxwell & Schwimmer, 2016. According to Boon (2011), pre-service teachers lack ethical training and instruction, stating that ethics training in the field of education is far less progressive when compared to other disciplines.…”

“…Teacher education programmes were more concerned with the technical skill-related aspects of teaching and neglected the ethical considerations associated with teaching (Boon & Maxwell, 2016). During the 1960s, the significance of an ethics education programme began to emerge (Maxwell et al, 2015). In 1986, a movement in the United States sought to align teacher education programmes with the trend toward ethics education in other professional circles, such as medicine and law (Maxwell & Schwimmer, 2016;Maxwell, Tremblay-Laprise, & Filion, 2015;Warnick & Silverman, 2011).…”