Teaching Professional Ethics

Abstract

Soltis discusses the importance of teach ing professional ethics in teacher educa tion programs. Formal ethical codes, such as the one established by the NEA, provide a foundation for ethical deci sion-rnaking, but they also may leave prospective teachers ill-equipped to deal with the complexities of novel or unique problem situations. Teacher educators, argues the author, should raise the ethi cal corasciousrsess of preservice teach ers to the multiple moral realities of the work world. Once such a sensitivity or consciousness occurs, teachers then need to develop strategies and skills for diagnosing ethical issues and making sound ethical judgments. Soltis pro vides examples for how such ethical in quiry might be fostered in a preparation program without concommitantly en couraging ethical relativism.