A Case Study On Professional Ethical Decision-Making Of Novice Primary School Teachers

Education is essentially a moral exercise.As a moral activist,teachers are full of ethical meaning in their professional practice.In order to solve the ethical dilemma faced by teachers in professional practice,teachers make ethical choices in various action plans according to some value basis.Novice teachers are at the initial stage of their professional development.They will inevitably face many ethical problems,conflicts or dilemmas and need to make ethical decisions.Professional ethical decision making is the only way to improve the professional ethical quality of novice teachers and also the powerful fulcrum to promote their professional development.Previous researches on professional ethical decision making mainly focus on the macroscopic group of teachers and lack of in-depth investigation on novice teachers.So,how do novice teachers make professional ethical decisions in real professional practice? What problems or dilemmas do they face? How to improve their professional ethical decision-making level? These problems are related to the new teacher’s professional growth and ethics development of important issues,worthy of in-depth study.This study adopts case study,selects three novice primary school teachers as research objects through purposeful sampling,and collects data through semi-structured interview,non-participatory observation and object analysis,so as to approach and understand the professional ethical practice of novice teachers.Starting from the relationship dimension in the professional practice of novice teachers,this paper describes the realistic pattern of professional ethical decision-making of these three novice primary school teachers when facing the ethical dilemma of teachers and students,family and school,peers,and teachers and school.On this premise,this paper interprets the factors that influence the professional ethical decision-making of novice primary school teachers,and further discusses the strategies to improve the professional ethical decision-making of novice primary school teachers,so as to provide beneficial reference and enlightenment for the individual professional development of novice teachers.It is found that novice primary school teachers’ professional ethical decision-making mainly has the problems of cognitive bias,narrow decision inference and decision action deviation.The reasons for the problems in the professional ethical decision-making of novice primary school teachers can be divided into three aspects:novice teachers,schools and society,which are manifested as the limited identity of novice teachers and weak professional ethical quality.School evaluation management system hostage,school culture environment;Parental education concept dislocation,social culture worship utilitarian,public opinion pressure.In view of this,the optimization path of professional ethical decision-making for novice teachers can be proposed from three aspects: novice teachers should cultivate professional ethical quality,transcend the limitations of identity traits and strengthen self-ethical reflection to realize the awakening of the subject;Schools should improve the professional ethics system of teachers,create an ethical culture atmosphere,set up a community of professional practice for teachers,and provide multiple support for novice teachers’ professional ethical decision-making.At the social level,parents’ responsibility boundary should be clearly defined,teachers’ professional ethics training should be carried out,and social atmosphere should be created to support teachers’ rights and interests,so as to guide novice teachers’ professional ethics decision-making with a benign environment.