What is education for and how do its purpose and value give rise to a teacher’s ethical duties?

Essay Instructions:

Introduction • Briefly introduce the topic: Discuss the importance of understanding the purpose and value of education in shaping teachers' ethical duties. • Mention key frameworks: Reference the Alice Springs (Mparntwe) Declaration, the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (APST), and the Australian Curriculum as guiding documents. • State your thesis: Present your main argument regarding the purpose and value of education and how they inform a teacher's ethical responsibilities. Section 1: The Purpose and Value of Education • Theoretical Perspectives: Introduce Marples’ and Hand’s perspectives on the aims of education from Bailey's work. o Marples’ View: Discuss Marples' categorisation of educational aims (e.g., personal development, social cohesion, economic progress) and how these contribute to the broader understanding of education's purpose. Hand’s Contribution: Examine Hand's views on education, focusing on ethical and moral development as core aims. • Contextual Analysis: Relate these theoretical perspectives to the Australian context. o Mparntwe Declaration Goals: Critically analyze the two goals of the Declaration: 1. Promoting Excellence and Equity: How does this goal align with Marples’ and Hand’s views on education? 2. Ensuring Young Australians Become Confident and Creative Individuals, Successful Lifelong Learners, and Active and Informed Members of the Community: Evaluate this goal in light of the theoretical perspectives. • Critical Evaluation: Discuss the strengths and weaknesses of these goals in addressing the broader purposes and values of education. Consider how well they encapsulate the various aims of education as outlined by Marples and Hand. Section 2: Ethical Obligations of Teachers • Linking Purpose to Practice: Explain how the identified purposes and values of education inform the ethical duties of teachers. o APSTs and Ethical Teaching: Analyze how the APSTs embody the ethical obligations that arise from education's purposes. Consider standards related to professional practice, engagement with communities, and commitment to student well-being. o Curriculum and Ethical Practice: Discuss how the Australian Curriculum reflects ethical considerations in teaching, such as inclusivity, equity, and fostering critical thinking. • Personal Reflection: Reflect on your own view of education's purpose and value, and how it shapes your identity as a teacher. o Ethical Considerations in Your Teaching: Discuss specific ethical obligations that arise from your view of education, such as the need for fairness, cultural sensitivity, and fostering a supportive learning environment. o Challenges and Responsibilities: Identify potential challenges in fulfilling these ethical duties and how you plan to address them in your practice. Conclusion • Summarize Key Points: Recap the main arguments regarding the purpose and value of education and the corresponding ethical duties of teachers. • Reinforce the Thesis: Reiterate the importance of understanding education’s aims in shaping ethical teaching practices. • Final Thoughts: Offer a brief reflection on the future of education in Australia and the evolving role of teachers in meeting ethical standards. References • Include all cited works: Make sure to reference Bailey (2010), the Mparntwe Declaration, APSTs, the Australian Curriculum, and any other relevant scholarly sources. • APA 7th edition Formatting: Ensure all references are properly cited in APA style. Structure example: What is education for? Why does our community believe it is so valuable that it invests billions of dollars per year in education and, moreover, requires by law that children in Australia participate in formal education for at least thirteen years of their lives? In this paper I will outline the philosophical debate around education’s purpose and value, drawing from the accounts of liberal, vocational, and wellbeing education articulated by Roger Marples and Michael Hand (and other relevant sources, such as Richard Pring, etc). I will then situate the Australian position, Australian’s formally agreed-to goals for education, as espoused in the Alice Springe (Mparntwe) Declaration. Is education’s purpose liberal, vocational, or virtuous? Is it all three? Does any one category of purpose characterise our approach more than the others? In whose interests are the educational goals set? The individual students’ or their communities? Or both…? I will then articulate what I believe education is for. That is to say, why I believe students are made to attend school and who I think the principal beneficiaries are. What are my deep value commitments to education? Why do I think it is valuable? (I must think it is valuable because I am investing at least four years of my life training to be a teacher, and hope to spend a great deal longer practicing as one). Finally, I will outline what I argue to be my obligations as a teacher, given my commitment to education’s purpose and value. In light of what I believe education is for, what kind of teacher should I be…?

Essay Sample Content Preview:

Nurturing Holistic Growth: The Synergy of Purpose of Education and Teacher’s Ethical Responsibility Your Name Subject and Section Professor’s Name Date Knowledge of the purpose and worth of education is crucial when defining the ethical responsibilities of teachers because it defines, to a significant extent, how teachers interact with students. Educational frameworks such as Richard Bailey's The Philosophy of Education: Among the documents, some of the objectives that are of most use to teachers for fulfilling their duties include the following: Richard Bailey's The Philosophy of Education: An Introduction (2010), Alice Springs (Mparntwe) Declaration from the Department of Education, Skills and Employment (2019), The Australian professional standards for teachers (APSTs), and the Australian Curriculum. Generally, these frameworks centralize the vital academic purpose of educating students in terms of knowledge acquisition and the moral, social, and personal growth of the learner. Such a perspective resonates with the concept that a teacher has a cognitive and ethical responsibility to develop a learner into a responsible and permeated citizen. The purpose and value of education, therefore, play formative and normative roles wherein the ethics of the educator can be detected and prescribed. Both Paulo Freire and John Dewey offer philosophical understandings of the function and worth of education in learners’ lives that are consonant with the principles of the Alice Springs (Mparntwe) Declaration (Giroux, 2010; Ye & Shih, 2021). According to Freire, as explained by Giroux (2010), education is viewed as a process of liberation, and as such, the student is encouraged to think, to analyze the context in which he or she is placed, and to challenge it. The author saw education as a means of social change, hence the Mparntwe Declaration, which articulates equity and excellence as the two attainable and desirable horizons (Department of Education, Skills and Employment, 2019). For the same reason, claiming that education has the primary purpose of promoting democracy, Dewey maintained that education is a process that aims at developing the citizens’ ability to think and assume responsibilities for the community (Ye & Shih, 2021). These theoretical perspectives define education as more than a mere acquisition of knowledge, skills, and competencies that would ensure the learner achieves good grades; instead, it is a preparation for the learners to become responsible citizens of society. The Alice Springs (Mparntwe) Declaration reflects these ideas by outlining two core goals: excellence and equity and young Australians becoming valued, creative, informed, and active members of society. The first aim that proposes excellence and equity aligns with Freire's elucidation of education, which translates into forming the social future by developing all learners, regardless of their social context, into the social aspects they hold the potential to shape. For example, promoting learner proficiency and culturally appropriate classroom strategies within the Australian sphere seeks to eliminate learning gaps. The second goal aligns with Dewey's approach to education in that it emphasizes inculcating in learners the skills needed to remain intellectual throughout their lives. They raise the issue of the dangers of excessive academic pressure and the impotent attempts to educate the whole person with moral and social values (Ye & Shih, 2021). Although the Mparntwe Declaration proves a sound framework for achieving a better future, issues still need to be solved before these goals can be implemented. It is worrisome that barriers persist in how Indigenous people access education after such a declaration on equity to facilitate learning (Department of Education, Skills and Employment, 2019). Furthermore, they are compatible with the aims laid down by both Freire and Dewey. Nonetheless, anyone who has tried putting these principles into practice knows that this entails labor and investment. For instance, the unequal distribution of funds to schools and inequality in access to quali...

Updated on November 18, 2024

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