CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY

1.1 INTRODUCTION

Every profession has a specific set of professional ethics (MacKinnon & Fiala, 2018). In the teaching profession, teachers are required to fully devote their time and attention towards their job and adhere to the set standards (Tasmania Department of Education, 2016). During their interaction with the learners, parents, co-workers and the community, teachers need to be aware of their moral and ethical responsibilities (Magwa, 2014). This is because the teaching profession requires an individual to have inborn ethical and moral behaviour due to the complexity of the tasks attached to their work. The complexity stems from numerous tasks that teachers are obligated to perform (Curko, Feiner, Gerjolj, Juhant, Kreb, Mazzoni, Mortari, Pokorny, Schlenk & Strahovnik, 2015). For instance, they need to treat all learners fairly and equally, use teaching methods that get learners engaged in lessons and also help the learners with both their academic and social problems. The aim of this is to examine the principals’ role in promoting ethical behaviour among primary school teachers in the Matelile area of the Mafeteng district.

1.2 BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY

Parents across the world entrust teachers with their children daily at school (Durisic & Bunijevac, 2017). The Latin phrase in loco parentis which translates to in the place of a parent signifies the responsibility that teachers have for learners while in their care at school (Mototsune, 2015). Thus, Mototsune (2015) adds that it is vital for teachers to be mindful of their behaviour and maintain ethically sound relationships with the learners. When teachers are not cognisant of such expectations and act unethically, they jeopardise the learners’ wellbeing both at school and at home (Mototsune, 2015). In addition, Sultana (2014) points out that ethics help teachers to set boundaries between themselves and learners, which ensures that no form of abuse will take place because in most societies teachers are held in high esteem as they are perceived to be morally competent (Sultana, 2014).

Graham, Bahr, Truscott and Powell, (2018) highlight a wide range of prevalent unethical behaviours among teachers, especially in their relationships with learners. The use of social
media has heightened the risk of teacher misbehaviour. This observation is substantiated by Graham et al. (2018) who indicate that the use of social media increases the risk of blurred boundaries between teachers and learners which often leads to teacher misconduct. They explained that several strategies can be used to reduce the risks of teacher misconduct and assist teachers to be in line with their professional and ethical responsibilities. These strategies include the development of policies and teacher training.

Grant, Wilkerson, Pelton, Cosby and Henschel, (2017) observe that in the United States of America (US) teachers mainly commit sexual misconduct. Such teachers often hold prestigious positions in their communities while the learner victims are often needy, bullied and come from unhappy homes. Such factors make the victims easy targets for teachers to gain their trust before abusing them. In addition, the learners with some forms of disability are targeted more than those without disabilities (Grant et al. 2017). Sexual misconduct continues in schools because most parents do not have access to the policies that protect learners in school. Despite knowledge of this misconduct, most school authorities fail to report teacher sexual misconduct because they want to avoid any potential stigma attached and they want to avoid any loss of reputation for the school. There is also fear of a legal rebuttal that may lead to financial damage from teachers (Grant et al., 2017).

A study conducted in Australia revealed that the absence of a course on ethics during teacher training leads to unprofessional behaviours among teachers (Boon, 2011). Such unprofessional behaviour included cheating with examination marks, bias against minority groups, collegial bullying and poor work ethics. To promote professional behaviour among teachers, Boon (2011) proposed that ethics education should be included in the teacher education curriculum. A more recent Australian study highlights that teachers need to be aware of their boundaries with learners. This is because in some cases, such boundaries have been crossed while teachers were communicating with their learners through electronic communication and social media platforms. The common misconducts reported include physical and sexual abuse (Graham et al., 2018).

Numerous countries have enacted teacher codes of ethics which are often supplemented by the use of other statutes (Poisson, 2019). In Botswana, a code of ethics (conduct) for teachers is yet to be introduced. However, professional guidance to teachers is provided through statutes such as the Education Act (1967), the Teaching Service Act (1967), subordinate legislation such as the Unified Teaching Service Code of Regulations (1976) and the Public Service Act (2008). The impact of these statutes on the teachers’ conduct is questionable, given that teachers have limited access to them. This results in teachers continuing to have love affairs with learners and this affects their academic performance adversely. The fact that teacher trainees are not taught ethics implies that they go into the teaching field unprepared on teacher professional ethics (Bernard & Marina, 2014).

In Kenya, almost 1400 teachers face various disciplinary cases yearly (Ngoma & Simatwa, 2013). Frequent cases of teacher misconduct in Kenya range from teacher absenteeism, lateness, financial mismanagement, negligence of duty and sexual misconduct. The prevalence of these forms of misconduct is perpetuated by teachers’ environmental conditions and the behaviour of principals can also directly be linked to the reduction or an increase in teachers’ professional misconduct. Ngoma and Simatwa (2013) point out that the management strategies towards reduction of teacher misconduct include due process being applied in all the reported cases of professional misconduct. More importantly, once a misconduct case has been reported it should be taken seriously in order to deter recurrence. Guidance and counselling can also be used to manage teachers’ professional misconduct (Ngoma & Simatwa, 2013).

Mfaume and Bilinga (2017) observed several cases of teacher misconduct in Tanzania; the common forms of misconduct include absenteeism, sexual misconduct, corruption, private tutoring, unethical dressing, drunkenness, unethical language and examination malpractice. Some of the causes of misconduct in Tanzanian schools are poor living environment, a low level of teacher professional knowledge, insufficient salaries, working in the same school for a prolonged period of time, teachers living far from their workplaces and failure to meet teachers’ demands and needs (Betweli, 2013). To combat this surge of teacher misconduct, the Tanzanian Teachers’ Service Commission (TSC) highlights some disciplinary guidelines that are beyond the principals’ power and authority. Among others, these measures include the reduction of salary, demotion and dismissal from the teaching service (Betweli, 2013). Nonetheless, it was recently recorded that 4046 teachers in Tanzania were dismissed from the teaching service profession for various professional misconducts between 2016 and 2019 (Betweli, 2020).

The South African Council of Education (SACE) has made the management of education in schools clear and easy to follow. The SACE codes of professional ethics clearly indicate that teachers should refrain from activities such as sexual activities with the learners and colleagues (Kimathi & Rusznyak, 2018). However Netshitangani’s (2014) study revealed that unprofessional conduct of teachers includes teacher absenteeism, nonattendance of classes and unpunctuality. Netshitangani (2014) further showed that these unprofessional teacher activities result in violence in schools and that schools that are not well-managed are likely to experience accelerated misconduct. Ndungu (2017) adds that the most common misconduct among teachers in South Africa includes missing the classes, absenteeism and absconding from school duties.

In a study conducted in Cameroon, Lekhetho (2013) finds that some members of the school boards alluded to poor learner performance as a result of teacher absenteeism which was observed to be mostly rampant at the end of the month when teachers have received their salaries and during winter months when it is very cold. He further highlights that poor performance among the learners can also be attributed to teachers’ reluctance to work and their hesitation to ask for help when they teach content that they are not knowledgeable in. Lastly, the study notes that learners are of the view that some teachers lack professional ethics. This is illustrated by teachers yelling at learners, lashing them severely and getting furious when learners do not understand what is taught (Lekhetho, 2013). This type of teacher conduct creates an unfavourable atmosphere for learning hence poor learner performance. In a recent study, Tlali and Matete (2020) found that some teacher misconduct includes insubordination, uncooperative behaviour towards the heads of department and a lack of discipline and professionalism.