1|Page

Student name: Max Lawson

Student number: 12054195

Course: Education as a profession

Course code: EDCU11454

Assessment: Assessment 2

Word count: 1566

Lectures name: Peter de Vries

Due date: 12/06/17

Max Lawson
12054195 Assessment Task 2 EDCU11454
2|Page

Teachers are professionals, with codes to work by and ethics to stand by. Teachers need to be ever

adapting to the changes of the society around them, conforming to generic view of the role of a

teacher. The artefact represents critical ideas related to the impacts from social, economic and

cultural changes and how this in turn alters the outcomes of education in the 21 st century. The

Melbourne declaration was the first huge step towards a brighter future as it embarked on goals that

will benefit all children living in Australia, not just kids born in Australia (Barr et al., 2008). The

second goal of this declaration promotes the idea that all young Australians become successful

learners, active and informed citizens, confident and creative individuals (Barr et al., 2008). Australia

is one of the largest multi-cultural countries in the world (Brennan-Kemmis & Smith 2006) ("Face the

facts: Cultural Diversity | Australian Human Rights Commission", 2017) and therefore the acceptance

of diversity is critical to achieve these goals or else they will never be fulfilled. One of the first code of

conducts written for the Australian Education Department is to commit to the highest ethical

standards. For an Australian teacher in the 21 st century it is integral to bide by these rules and that

means to treat all students with respect and compassion. The teacher should have very high

expectations for all students, as this will help motivate them to achieve the necessary goals within

the Australian curriculum. The world is forever changing, with the demands of children evolving to

meet the demands. Children today must learn much more information compared to a student 20

years ago. Therefore, it is critical that this student is felt welcome at the school and knows he/she is

respected by the teachers.

Economic change has been a major factor throughout the schooling experience in many rural areas

around Australia. Teachers need to understand that not all students may come from the same socio-

economic background, and may need altered teaching practices to allow for the greatest learning

experience possible. The learners of the 21 st century need to strive to be active listeners, with a

passion to learn and a drive to push themselves. It is up to the teacher to steer this motivation to

allow them to achieve their goals.

Max Lawson
12054195 Assessment Task 2 EDCU11454
3|Page

The artefact portrays the fact that educators work is affected by issues of social justice, equity and

diversity by displaying the professional standards of teacher and the goals set by the Melbourne

Declaration. Diversity is a major factor within Australian schools in the 21 st century and this

Declaration sets out to help all young Australians and their learning experiences. A teachers

profession is effected by diversity in a big way, for example, if a non-English speaking student arrives

in the classroom. The teacher must mould their teaching practices not only around his existing class,

but also around this new student. By incorporating her in activities she will feel included and

respected, therefore wanting to learn the language presented to her. The misconception that

teachers need little training and discourse is debunked through Darling-Hammonds (2006) study as

she proves the compulsory hardships and the learning curvature of all students to become teachers.

To be a professional teacher in the 21st century, the teacher must have the knowledge of what they

teach and how to teach it. One of the greatest difficulties faced by educators within the 21 st century

is knowing and showing what difference teaching makes to students (Churchill, Godinho, Johnson &

Keddie, 2015). An essential building block for all educators is proof that they are making a positive

difference to the existing arrangements. This can be achieved through positive feedback from the

existing staff and even the students. They must know the knowledge of the learner, to determine

exactly what their discourse has taught them and what the teacher needs to teach them. The

Australian curriculum plays a major role within schools across the nation and can act as a binding

factor to students in disadvantaged situations. Therefore, it is integral to the students success that

the teacher understands the goals of the curriculum and can transition these goals to the kids in a

comprehensive way they can understand in a comfortable method.

Indigenous Australian equity issues have gone a long way in recent years. Over the recent decades,

the educational outcomes of Aboriginals have improved although some of these issues continue to

remain (Marsh, 2010). Before year 10, many indigenous students drop out with only few remaining

for year 11 and 12. Even fewer continue to a university level. Marsh (2010) comments on the number

Max Lawson
12054195 Assessment Task 2 EDCU11454
4|Page

of attempts in the past to try and prevent these problems, with all of them resulting in minimal

effect. A wide-ranging approach to these issues called the Rudd governments Education Revolution

will be taken to try to help improve the education standards of many Indigenous Australians, with

programs centred around quality teaching, school leadership and early childhood education to name

a few. These programs relate back to the Melbourne Declarations second goal of all Australian

students getting the necessary education for a fulfilled career.

The expectations of the stakeholders are that the education department remains strong with

economical gains as well as high educational learning from the students (Churchill, Godinho, Johnson

& Keddie, 2015). Over time the number of stakeholders and how strong their voices are have filtered

down to a select few: The teachers, the students, families and finally, the business. Teaching

Standards have been established to meet the expectations of the teaching stakeholders, as well as

many of the other stakeholders. Many positives have blossomed from these standards, as it gives the

necessary guidelines to teachers that may be inexperienced or needing of motivation. The first

standard Know your student and how they learn (Australian institute for schooling and school

leadership, 2014) allows the teacher having a greater understanding of the strengths and

weaknesses of the student, resulting in a more coherent teaching experience between the individual

student.

The Code of ethics is brought about to encourage and establish a safe learning environment for the

students, and to help create appropriate relationships between the student and teacher. By the

teacher upholding a high level of integrity for themselves, they in turn allow the students to mimic

their actions, distilling the students to want to hold themselves up high through respect and dignity.

The expectations of the parents of which the students are in a safe and respectable learning area are

met as the teachers will follow these ethics. The expectations of the students of them being

respected is also met through these ethics.

The code of conduct helps to meet all the expectations from all the stakeholders as it incorporates all

Max Lawson
12054195 Assessment Task 2 EDCU11454
5|Page

them (Churchill, Godinho, Johnson & Keddie, 2015). The business stakeholders expectations are met

through Commitment to the system of government and Accountability and transparency (Public

Sector Ethics Act, 1994). These points from the code of conduct benefits the business stakeholders as

they result in greater efficiency of resources and greater respect from the surrounding society. The

points under the code Integrity and Impartiality prove to lift the integrity of the teachers, which

help to meet their expectations as stakeholders. The students expectations as stakeholders are also

met through the code of conduct as it results in a higher level of respect shared between learner and

teacher, while also preventing conflicts of interest between the two parties.

One negativity that may arise from these standards is it excludes the necessary action or planning on

how to help the disadvantaged kids within the classrooms. In the classrooms, most beginning

teachers enter, 25% of the students in that classroom live in poverty with many being void of the

essentials such as food, health care and shelter (Darling-Hammond, 2006). These beginning teachers

will not have the necessary experience required to handle these students efficiently and successfully.

As the Professional standards lack the course of action needed for these students, the teacher must

use moral judgement or ethical decisions through having to either bend the guidelines set by the

government or create new guidelines to help the student achieve the most out of their schooling

experience (Darling-Hammond, 2006).

Reference List

Max Lawson
12054195 Assessment Task 2 EDCU11454
6|Page

Barr, A., Constable, E., Pike, B., Bartlett, D., Lomax-Smith, J., & Welford, R. et al. (2008). Melbourne

Declaration on Educational Goals for Young Australians (1st ed.). Melbourne: Ministerial

Council on Education.

Churchill, R., Godinho, S., Johnson, N., & Keddie, A. (2015). Teaching: Making a Difference, 3rd

Edition (1st ed.). John Wiley & Sons.

Darling-Hammond, L. (2006). Constructing 21st-Century Teacher Education. Journal Of Teacher

Education, 57(3), 300-314. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0022487105285962

Face the facts: Cultural Diversity | Australian Human Rights Commission. (2017).

Humanrights.gov.au. Retrieved 12 June 2017, from https://www.humanrights.gov.au/face-

facts-cultural-diversity

Marsh, C. (2010). Becoming a teacher (1st ed.). Frenchs Forest, N.S.W.: Pearson Australia.

Max Lawson
12054195 Assessment Task 2 EDCU11454