Week 28 - Act in Your Professional Environment (Take Action)

What?

An ethical issue that I have faced was  in the first week of Taking Action part of the Spiral of Inquiry.  In my haste to gather data so I could gain a starting point for my assignment, I made the children to do a maths test on their second day of school. This is not something that I would normally ever do however because of the time restraints of this course I did administer the assessment task.

So What?

The stress and anxiety I was feeling by having such tight time frames around completing a reflection each week as well as the beginning of the year pressures of starting a class with new students meant I put my needs before the needs of my students.

Requiring the students to do a maths test on the second day of school did in fact cause distress and anxiety to some of the students. Even though I tried to explain that the data was for me to gain an understanding of where they were at and it was to help me teach them their next steps at the end of the day - it was for my assignment. I also feel it could have even disadvantaged some of the students I was hoping to help. The students who I am researching are students who dislike maths and are generally disengaged learners. By putting pressure on these students to complete a maths test has done nothing to increase their engagement.

Now What?

In reflection the students should have been given more time to settle into the class and build relationships with me and their peers. I need to slow down and think carefully about my ethical responsibilities as outlined by New Zealand Association for Research in Education (2010). Mainly The rights and welfare of learners, research participants should take precedence over the researcher's self-interest and avoid unnecessary harm or anxiety. Now that I am in the fourth week of school I look back and realise that I could of and possibly should have asked for an extension on the assignment. In doing this it would have given me more time to get to know my students, build relationships, and cause less stress and anxiety. I will endeavour to put the needs of the learners before my own through the final part of the Taking Action part of the Spiral of Inquiry. For future Inquiries I plan I will take into consideration the time to build relationships.

Reference

Ehrich, L. C. , Kimber M., Millwater, J. & Cranston, N. (2011). Ethical dilemmas: a model to understand teacher practice, Teachers and Teaching: theory and practice, 17:2, 173-185, DOI: 10.1080/13540602.2011.539794

New Zealand Association for Research in Education (NZARE). (2010). NZARE Ethical Guidelines. Retrieved from http://www.nzare.org.nz/portals/306/images/Files/NZARE%20EthicalGuidelines2010.pdf