Professional Practice

The Ethical Standards for the Teaching Profession and the Standards of Practice for the Teaching Profession establish the core ethics of teaching and guide teachers’ professional practices.

Standards describe, in a transparent way for the members of the profession and the public, the foundational values and professional practices of the teaching profession.

Standards Education and Research

In order to fulfill the College’s mandate “to establish and enforce professional standards and ethical standards” and “to provide for the ongoing education of members,” the Standards of Practice and Education Committee has been involved in developing and disseminating teacher education curriculum and pedagogical resources to support the integration of the standards.

In 2008, the College raised awareness and supported the enforcement of the ethical standards and standards of practice with new teachers, teacher educators, teacher leaders and internationally educated teachers through presentations, institutes and partnerships. The College continued to meet with representatives from l’Association des directions et directions adjointes des écoles franco-ontariennes (ADFO), l’Association des enseignantes et des enseignants franco-ontariens (AEFO), the Catholic Principals’ Council of Ontario (CPCO), the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario (ETFO), the Ontario English Catholic Teachers’ Association (OECTA), the Ontario Principals’ Council (OPC), the Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation (OSSTF) and the Ontario Teachers’ Federation (OTF) to help support effective approaches to integrate the standards within teacher education and professional practice.

The College facilitated with Laval University, a bilingual institute, on ethical decision-making that supported members in applying the ethical standards to their daily practices.

Over 2,000 members attended educative sessions on the standards during 2008. These forums were held as part of additional qualification courses, principal qualification programs, school board sessions and leadership programs.

The College’s scholarly articles and papers on the standards have received high praise at many teacher education research conferences including the American Educational Research Association (AERA), and the Canadian Society for the Study of Education (CSSE). The papers are entitled, Using Case Study and Narrative Inquiry to Support New Teachers and Exploring Professional Practice with Beginning Teachers and Mentor Teachers through Narrative Inquiry. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) also released an international report that reviewed the College’s implementation of the standards. It is entitled Ethics in Education: The Role of Teacher Codes.

Teacher Education

The College has worked in partnership with initial teacher education programs to model the use of the standards-based resources with teacher candidates. A joint research project with Brock University and the following six district school boards: Grand Erie, Halton, Halton Catholic, Hamilton Catholic, Niagara and Niagara Catholic, resulted in the development standards resources to support beginning teachers.

In 2008, the College continued to develop additional qualification (AQ) course guidelines that support the enhancement of professional knowledge and practice. The standards are the foundation for the guidelines. A total of 19 Schedule C AQ course guidelines, four 3-part schedule D AQ course guidelines and 49 additional basic qualification course guidelines were reviewed in 2008. The Principal’s Qualification Program was revised through extensive provincial consultation. A writing team made up of representatives from the following organizations developed the draft version of this guideline:

• Association des directions et directions adjointes des écoles franco-ontariennes (ADFO)
• Brock University
• Catholic Principals’ Council of Ontario (CPCO)
• Conseil ontarien des directrices et des directeurs de l’éducation de langue française (CODELF)
• Council of Ontario Directors of Education (CODE)
• Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario (ETFO)
• Institute for Educational Leadership (IEL)
• Nipissing University
• Ontario Association of Deans of Education (OADE)
• Ontario Catholic Supervisory Officers’ Association (OCSOA)
• Ontario Principals’ Council (OPC)
• Ontario Public Supervisory Officials’ Association (OPSOA)

Ethical Leadership Book

The College, in partnership with the Catholic Principals’ Council of Ontario, has developed an ethical leadership book entitled Exploring Leadership and Ethical Practices through Professional Inquiry.

This practical leadership book has been designed to reflect the standards and support teacher and principal formation in the province. This resource will help support ethical knowledge, awareness and practice.

Supporting the Teaching Profession Internationally

The College’s initiatives capture the attention of educators outside Ontario, influencing the evolution of teacher education in other parts of Canada and other English-language and French-language jurisdictions. For example, teacher education programs in Alberta, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and in Afghanistan, Australia, China, England, Finland, France, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Netherlands, Pakistan and the United States are using the resource kits the College has developed to deepen understanding of teaching’s ethical standards and standards of practice.

The College’s standards describe the universal values and practices embodied by the teaching profession. These standards and accompanying resource materials have significantly influenced teacher education nationally and internationally.