Code of professional ethics in education : a case study of Ilembe District.

Abstract

The failure of the many township and rural schools to improve learner outcomes is not only recognised as a pervasive and insidious social problem affecting those communities, but also entrenches inequalities and militates social cohesion and unity. The study highlights the challenges experienced in the Ilembe District that hamper the effective delivery of a quality education. The study confronts these challenges from a constitutional and human rights perspective, and seeks to unravel whether or not educators grasp the critical nature of their role in facilitating the achievement, not only of the educational goals but of other Constitutional imperatives as well. Given the turbulent nature of the environment in which educators operate, the study also seeks to establish if educators can keep up with the new challenges of teaching in the twenty-first century. In this regard, the role of continuing professional teacher development and the new competencies required of educators were investigated to ascertain whether they lead to improved teaching and therefore more effective learning. The study further investigated the effectiveness of the Code of Professional Ethics in curbing unethical behaviour and thus ensuring the attainment of objectives. Furthermore, the study looked at the various interventions by the Government in an endeavour to facilitate the realisation of the Constitutional ideals. This involved looking at the legislative and policy framework put in place, as well as campaigns and other initiatives that demonstrate the government’s commitment to these ideals. A literature study added another dimension to it, in that it provided the theoretical basis for the study and another perspective on how these matters were dealt with elsewhere. The researcher used an eclectic approach in an effort to get a better understanding of the problem. The choice of methodology and design used in the study was, to a large extent, influenced by the nature and objectives of the study. The study was premised on the fact that the rurality of the Ilembe District should not be used to deprive the learners from this community of a quality education and that, the many policies that seem wonderful on paper are useless if they do not translate to effective implementation.