EF 303

PROFESSIONALISM AND ETHICS

IN EDUCATION

MODULE 1

Mwl. MDEMU. A.Z

 What’s for Today?
 Teacher’s self-introduction
 Lesson Introduction
 Rules & Procedures
 Criteria
 Tasks
 Morality & Ethics - Definition and
Conceptual Dimensions
 Hello! I’m your teacher!

 I tell you a little bit

about myself.
 How to study this lesson
as a 3rd year student?
 In class  After class
 Listening  Reading
 Watching  Thinking
 Time  Writing
keeping  Surfing
 Taking notes more
 What I expect from you?
 Always smile.
 Respect each other.
 Keep everything on time.
 High-quality participation.
 Do read a lot about
professionalism and ethics in
education after class.
 Follow rules & play fairly.
 Definition and
Conceptual Dimensions
 Morality and ethics: Do they
mean the same thing?
 The broad areas of ethics
 why study ethics?
 The ordinary use of the
concepts morality and ethics
 Morality and Ethics
 Morality and Ethics are viewed
as compatible synonyms.
 Both morality and ethics
loosely have to do with
distinguishing the difference
between “good and bad” or
“right and wrong.”
 Morality cont.….
Morality is
derived from the
Latin word Mores
which means
manner, character
or proper behavior.
 Morality cont. ……
 Morality refers to
the set of beliefs and
practices about how
to lead a good life
 It is a set of
principles which
govern human
activity and
relations.
 Morality cont. ……
 In sum morality can be
regarded as the right
conduct on how
individuals ought to live
in relation to each
other.
 trustworthiness
tolerance
fairness
honest
respect
ITY

Desirabl just
RAL

e love
Characte care
MO

r dignity
courage
integrity
responsibility
accountability
 Morality cont. ……

Generally morality can

be regarded as the
quality/degree of
being in accordance
with the standards of
right or good conduct.
It is a system of beliefs
about what is right or
wrong and to behave
accordingly.
 Morality cont. ……
 There is a debate
as weather
molarity is
objective or
subjective. So
what do you
think?
 ETHICS
 It is derived from the ancient
Greek word ēthikós meaning
"relating to one's character",
which itself comes from the root
word êthos meaning
"character, moral nature".
This word was then transferred
into Latin as ethica and then into
French as éthique, from which it
was transferred into English.
 Ethics Cont.…..

Rushworth and Kidder (2012)

states that "standard definitions
of ethics have typically included
such phrases as 'the science of
the ideal human character' or
'the science of moral duty
 Ethics Cont.…..

Richard William Paul and Linda

and Elder (2021) define ethics
as "a set of concepts and
principles that guide us in
determining what behavior helps
or harms sentient creatures".
 Ethics Cont.…..
 Ethics is a branch of philosophy
that "involves systematizing,
defending, and recommending
concepts of right and wrong
behaviour".
 Ethics Cont.…..

Ethics seeks to resolve

questions of human morality
by defining concepts such as
good and evil, right and
wrong, virtue and vice, justice
and crime.
 Ethics Cont.…..

Ethics is a philosophical
study of morality.
 Ethics Cont.…..

It is a branch of philosophy which

focuses on morality and the way
in which moral principles are
applied in everyday life.
 Ethics Cont.…..

That means it deals with critical

reflection of morals, the ability to
make choices between values and
to examine the moral dimensions
of relationships.
 Ethics Cont.…..
 It also focuses on
fundamental questions such
as;
 What is fair?
 What is just?
 What is the right thing to
do?
 Why should I do it?
 What are the alternatives if
I do not do it?
Ethics Cont.…..

Ethics are the rules

you abide by in order
to remain within a
community or
profession.
 Ethics Cont.…..
 The motivation for philosophical
study of morality (ethics) is that
personal values (morality) are
necessary foundation, but they are
not enough to guide professional
behavior.
 Ethics Cont.…..
 These could include
Professional ethics
i.e. lawyers, policemen, doctors
and teachers have to follow
ethical code laid down by their
profession regardless of their own
feeling or preferences.
 Ethics Cont.…..
 Generally, Ethics is usually
associated with a practical set of
rules that are to be followed in a
professional setting.
 Ethics vs Morality
Ethics Morality
 Studies the  The rightness
rightness and the
wrongness of an wrongness of
action. an action.
 Doing the action
because is rightly
 Doing an action
to do so. because we
(reasoning) have been
THE BROAD AREAS
OF ETHICS
 The Broad Areas of
Ethics
The major recognized areas of
study within ethics are;
Normative ethics
Analytical ethics
Descriptive ethics
 Areas of ethics Cont.….

 Normative ethics
 Concerns about applied ethics.
 It involves creating or
evaluating moral standards.
 Areas of ethics Cont.….
 It focuses on how to act/ live or
what kind of person should be.
 It examines the standards of
rightness and wrongness of
actions.
Areas of ethics Cont.….

 It is normative ethics
that sets the norms and
standards of living a
moral life.
 Areas of ethics Cont.….

 Analytical ethics.
 This involves analysing the
concepts that are used in
discussions about ethics.
 Areas of ethics Cont.….

Analytical ethics covers two

things
 Moral epistemology and
Moral semantics
 Areas of ethics Cont.….
 Descriptive ethics.
 This concerns with the factual
description and explanation of
moral behaviour.
 Areas of ethics Cont.….

 It studies the code of conduct of

a particular society in
comparison to the other or
across period and time. That is
why sometimes it is called
comparative ethics.
 Areas of ethics Cont.….

 Descriptive ethics incorporates

research from the fields of
anthropology, psychology,
sociology and history as part of
the process of understanding
what people do or believe about
moral norms.
 Why Should We Study Ethics?
 Ethics helps to deepen our reflection
on the crucial questions about life. (as
raised by societies)
 Ethics helps to create a stable society.
It sets a code of conduct which guide
the relationship of people in the
society.
 Ethics allows us to cultivate inner
peace. Ethical life makes one calm,
focused and more productive.
 Why Ethics Cont.…
 It allows us to live an authentic life.
An authentic life enables one to
live with a sense of integrity
(ability to make commitment and
sticking to them).
 Ethics helps us to pursue
goodness.
 It helps to sharpen our thinking
about moral issues.
 Why Ethics Cont.…

 Studying Ethics will give you the tools

and capabilities you need to become
an inspirational leader in the
community and in your working life.
 The study of ethics leads one to
develop skills in articulating your
own values, to provide others with
reasons for your actions
 Why Ethics Cont.…
 The study of ethics helps a person
to look at his own life critically and to
evaluate his
actions/choices/decisions
 Ethics serve as a guide to moral daily
living and helps us judge whether our
behavior can be justified
 It assists a person in knowing what
he/she really is and what is best for
him/her and what he/she has to do in
order to attain it
 Why Ethics Cont.…
 Study of moral philosophy can
help us to sharpen our general
thinking processes.
 It trains our mind to think
logically and reasonably and to
handle moral issues with
greater clarity
 The ordinary use of the
concepts morality and ethics
 Morality and ethics are
used in different
[Link]/areas
Ethical issues
insisted at home
include honest,
responsibility, respect
for others, love for
others and care for
others.
At this level parents are
the key players for moral
 Use of Concepts cont.
…
School/college
Here students are
taught
responsibility,
discipline, honest,
love, respect etc.
 Use of Concepts cont. …
Work place
At work place one is
familiarized with
professional ethics. Thus
doctors, teachers,
lawyers, engineers,
founds the codes of
conducts laid down by
their professions to
guide their behaviour in
undertaking their duties.
 Use of Concepts cont.
…
Religious institutions
There are various ethics in different
religions like Islamic ethics,
Christian ethics, Hindu ethics etc.
such ethics finds expression in the
laws of God.
MORALITY AND ETHICS IN THE
CONTEXT OF INDIGENOUS
AFRICAN EDUCATION (IAE)
 Morality and Ethics in The
Context of Indigenous
African Education (IAE)

For a better understanding of moral

values and ethical conduct of a
society today, one has to trace back
from indigenous African education
(I.A.E).
In this regard African indigenous
education can acts as a fundamental
moral paradigm.
 To understand moral values
from African context these
questions need to be
addressed.
 Can one reasonably speak of
indigenous African education?
 Was there a place of morality in
I.A.E?
 How were these moral values
taught/ reinforced?
 questions cont.….

 How were the moral practices

justified in A.I.E?
 What lesson can the
contemporary societies learn
from African indigenous moral
education?
 Can One Plausibly Speak
of I.A.E?
An attempt to reject the existence
of education in Africa prior the
coming of foreigners is to do
unjust to Africans. (Lauo, 1971:
Nyerere, 1967).
 If there was education,
how was it pursued?

Education in I.A.E was practiced

in two ways
i. Informal teaching and
learning process.
ii. Formal teaching and learning
process.
 Informal Teaching and
Learning process.
 In this way education took place in
several informal settings (contexts).
It was not limited to classes. It
included
Wise nurturing by family
Learning through experience
Imitation from the lifestyle of elders
 Informal cont.…..
 They learned through social,
political and economic contexts
through their clans.
 Formal Teaching and
Learning Process
 Like the European education, in
the I.A.E there was a well and
systematic organised system of
learning new skills and values.
 Features of formal teaching and
learning durin I.A.E

 Specialized formal instructors – eg..

Teachers in medicine
 Practiced within specific period of time
for a particular purpose.
 Features of formal cont.….

 There were special areas for

learning.
 What Were The Aims
of I.A.E?
 The aims of I.A.E can be
summarised in moral
perspective. Specifically it
aimed at;
 Developing child’s physical
skills
 Developing character and
moral values. Eg respect for
 Aims cont.….

 Developing intellectual skills.

 How Was Its
Curriculum Like?
 The needs/problems of the
society determined what to be
taught/learned.
 Curriculum cont.…

 The curriculum content

originated from physical, social
and spiritual aspects.
MORAL ISSUES IN THE I.A.E
CURRICULUM.
 Moral Issues in the I.A.E
Curriculum.
 Moral values were central in I.A.E.
African education was for trying to
mould the character of the child.
 Zannoli (1971) argued that
traditional African education
system focused on good manners,
good character, obedience and
respect for others.
 Moral issues cont.….
 Every family and society expected a
child as a future adult to be a moral
agent in his/her daily conducts.
 Moral values basically reflected the
culture and customs of African societies
and communities.
 The moral code of the tribe is bounded
up by this custom and that it symbolizes
the unification of the whole tribal
organization
What moral values
really children taught?
Eating in acceptable manner.
To value work
Respect for elders
A strong sense of responsibility
to the family
Sex education
Citizenship education
 Methods Towards Moral
Education
Imitations and hands on practice
Verbal admonition
Drama/dramatization
Story telling
Proverbs
Idiomatic expressions coming from
parents and elders
Traditional games
GROUNDS OF MORAL
PRACTICE
 What were the grounds of
moral practice in the
past?
i. Presence of code of
conduct.
 Every society had codes of
conduct which in principle
justified moral practice
 Grounds Cont. …

ii. Societal norms.

 Norm is a prescription for
societal action. Norms defined
social expectations about the
correct and proper behaviour.
 Grounds Cont. …

iii. The divine power of God

 In most African societies people
believed the existence of God.
They acknowledged God as a
final guardian of law and of
moral and ethical code.
 Grounds Cont. …

iv. Golden rule

This is sometimes referred as
the ethics of reciprocity
 This rule insists people to treat
others the same way they
would like to be treated
(kantian theory of reciprocity)
Lesson Worthy of
Pursuit and Reflections
The following are some
lessons we can learn
from the African
indigenous moral values
education framework:
 Lessons Cont. …

i. Every adult was not only

responsible for moral education
but also a moral model (exemplar)
or simply moral values educator.
ii. Moral values in I.A.E did not
operate in vacuum (isolation).
Instead it was part and parcel of
day to day social, economic and
political undertakings.
 Lessons Cont. …

iii. Women played a very important

role in moral development.
iv. The teaching of morality aimed
at shaping the conduct of all
members of the society
v. Morality was a gauge that
measured the seriousness of
parents in teaching their children
 Lessons Cont. …

[Link] values were a unifying

factor within a family, clan or
community.
[Link] teaching and learning of
moral values was part and
parcel of socialization process.
 Questions for Discussion
1. What is that traditional values
have to offer towards the
promotion of moral and
character development?
2. Is it possible to rejuvinate the
declined social, ethical and
moral values in Tanzania?
3. What can families today do to
orient children to moral values
 Questions for Discussion
3. In the context of globalization
process which has exposed
tanzania to international
community, what kind of
traditional moral values could
Tanzania revisit?
4. To what extent has money
economy destroyed foundations
of moral values and character in
MORAL PHILOSOPHERS
Moral Philosophers

i. Plato
ii. Aristotle
iii. Lawrence Kohlberg
iv. Deontological
theories
v. Utilitarianism
 Plato (428/427 – 348/347)

 Plato was a Greek philosopher

and a student of Socrates.
 He was the founder of Platonist
school of thought and academy,
the institute of higher learning
in the western world.
 Plato cont.…..

 Like Socrates Plato raised the

question “ what is to live happy
life?” or
 what things most people would
take to be good and thus
components of happy life?
 Plato cont.…..

 The findings revealed that

people becomes happy if the
following things are provided to
them namely;
(i) Health (ii)beauty (iii) strength
(iv) wealth etc.
 Plato cont.…..
 He challenged such ideas of most
people. He pointed out that in
believing that way and putting
little attention to virtue, they go
disastrous wrong in trying to live
happy life.
 He believed that VIRTUE is a
crucial aspect to happy life.
 What is Virtue?

Moral excellence
 Trait that is deemed to be
morally good and thus valued
as a foundation of principle and
good moral being.
 Plato cont.…..

 According to plato the value

of conventional goods in life
depends on them being used
wisely (properly).
 Plato cont.…..

 Clearly Plato is making the point

that most people who think that
they will achieve happiness by
becoming rich, famous and powerful
are fundamentally mistaken and
need to revise their priorities
radically.
 Plato cont.…..

 He supports Socrates who

tells his fellow Athenians that
they are wrong to care for
wealth because wealth does
not bring about virtue.
 Plato cont.…..

According to plato
a. While conventional goods do not
make us happy independent of
virtue, they can make virtuous life
better.
b. Virtue is the only good thing.
 Plato cont.…..
 The value of conventional goods
depends on their use of which they
are put.
 By having them not only makes
good life but also makes bad life
 Plato cont.…..

The classic central virtues are

i. Temperance
ii. Piety
iii. Courage
iv. Justice
v. prudence
 Aristotle 384-322 BC
 Was a Greek philosopher who made
important contributions in various
fields including ethics. He was a
student of Plato.
 According to him the highest aim of
human being is EUDAIMONIA
 Aristotle cont.….

 A good life makes happiness

possible
 What is good life and what makes
that possible?
 Aristotle on happiness

 Three things contribute in the

attainment of happiness;
 Wisdom,
 Pleasure and
 Goodness
Aristotle on happiness
cont….
 Happiness as the highest
human good is actually
an activity of the soul in
accordance with virtues.
Aristotle on the nature
of ethical knowledge

Aristotle considered
ethics to be a practical
rather than theoretical
study,
Aristotle on the nature
of ethical knowledge
cont…..
Aristotle divides human
thinking into three
categories namely
 Theoretical thinking
 Practical thinking and
 Production thinking
 Aristotle on the nature
of ethical knowledge
 Ethicscont…..
produces practical
knowledge which is vital to people
in their effort to achieve happiness
(eudaimon)
 However, practical knowledge
becomes insufficient to achieve
happiness without wisdom
(phronesis) and the strength of will
 Aristotle on wisdom
(phronesis).

 Aristotle's practical
ethics is based on
wisdom and virtues.
What is wisdom?

 It is the quality of
having experience,
knowledge and good
judgement.
 Wisdom cont.……

 Phronesis (wisdom) is also

necessary part of good life because
one cannot achieve happiness
without active exercise of wisdom
(phronesis).
 Lawrence Kohlberg
(1927-1987)
 This was an American psychologist,
influenced by Piaget. He proposed the
stages of moral development.
 According to him moral development
is the process through which children
develop proper attitudes and
behaviours towards other people in
the society based on social and
cultural norms, rules and laws.
Kohlberg came up with six stages
of moral development which are
grouped in three levels. Namely
a) Pre conventional level
b) Conventional level
c) Post conventional level
 Pre conventional level

 This is common and applies to

children up to 10 years age. It
is concerned with avoiding
punishment and getting the
needs met.
 Pre conventional cont.
…..
 Stage 1; punishment
obedience stage.
Children obey rules because they
are told to do so by an authority
figure (eg parent, teacher), and
they fear punishment if they do
not follow rules.
 Pre conventional cont.
…..
 Stage 2; individual,
instrumentation, and
exchange stage.
Here the behaviour is
governed by moral
reciprocity.
 Conventional level

 This level broadens the scope of

human wants and needs.
Children in this level are
concerned about being accepted
by others and living up to their
expectations. This stage begins
around 10 yrs but lasts well into
adulthood.
 Conventional cont.…..
 Stage 1 ; interpersonal
conformity. Often called
“good boy/good girl stage.
 Here children do the right thing
because it is good for the family,
peer group, team, school or
church. .
 Conventional cont.…..

 Stage 2; law and order or

social system and
conscience stage.
Children and adults at this
stage abide by rules of the
society in which they live.
 Post conventional level

 Some teenagers and adults

move beyond conventional
morality and enter morality
based on reason, examining the
relative values and opinions of
the groups with which they
interact. Few adults reach this
stage.
 Post conventional level
cont.…
 Stage 1; social contract and
individual rights stage.
Individuals in this stage
understand that codes of conduct
are relative to their social group.
This varies from culture to culture
and subgroup to subgroup.
 Post conventional level
cont.…
 Stage 2; principled conscience
or the universal ethical
principles stage.
Here individuals examine the
validity of society’s laws and govern
themselves by what they consider to
be universal moral principles,
usually involving equal rights and
respect.
 DEONTOLOGICAL ETHICS

 Derived from Greek word “deon”

meaning “duty”
 Deontology is a category of
normative ethical theories that
encompasses any theory which is
primarily concerned with
adherence to certain rules or
duties.
 Deontology cont.…

 Deontological theories hold that

actions that are morally right are
those in accordance with certain
rules, duties, rights or maxims.
 Actions can be morally good
required, permitted or forbidden.
 Deontology cont.…

Example of deontological
theories are
a. Natural law theories
b. Kantian ethics (Kantian
theory of reciprocity)
c. Divine command theory
 Natural law theories.

 This is a theory in ethics and

philosophy that points that human
beings possess intrinsic values that
govern our reasoning and
behaviour.
 It maintains that these rules of right
and wrong are inherently in people
and are not created by society or
court judges.
 Key assumptions:

 Humans possess and intrinsic sense

of right and wrong that governs our
reasoning and behaviour.
 Natural law holds that there are
universal moral standards that are
inherently in humankind throughout
all time and these standards should
form the basis of a just society.
 Human being are not taught
natural law per se, but rather
discover it by consistently
making choices for good instead
of evil.
 Kantian ethics
 Propounded by Emmanuel kant
(1724-1804), German
philosopher.
 Kantian theory of ethics is based
on the view that only intrinsically
good thing is a good will.
 That means an action can only be
good therefore if the principle
behind it is in conformity with the
 Kantian ethics cont.…
 Kantian theory stresses on
universal principle stating that one
should always respect the
humanity in others and that one
should only act in accordance with
rules that could hold for everyone.
 Kantian ethics cont.….

 According to Kantian theory

one should act in ways that
one would wish others to act
when faced with the same
circumstance.
 Divine command
theory
Divine command
theory (theological
voluntarism)
 is a theory which proposes that an
action can only be morally good if
it is equivalent to God’s
commandments.
 The theory asserts that what is
moral is determined by God's
 Utilitarianism theories

Two main pioneers of this theory

namely
i. Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832)
ii. John Stuart (1806-1873)
 Also referred to as ethics of
welfare
 concerned with behavioural
school of ethics
 Assumptions of
 All utilitarian
humans have only two
motivators namely
(i) Happiness
(ii) pain
 Assumptions cont.…
 Morality should be based upon the
principle of maximizing happiness
and minimizing pain, not only in
the current but also in the long run.
 Circumstances dictate what is
right and what is wrong.
 Utilitarian has the advantage of
being capable to explain why we
hold that certain actions which are
wrong (like lying, killing, stealing)
and why others are right ( telling
the truth, honest, not breaking the
promise).