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Conceptual Framework
College Educational Theme and Core Components: Ethics
The College of Education seeks (a) to create an ethical environment that promotes teaching and learning and fosters effective and fair decision-making, (b) to follow high moral and ethical principles in research, teaching, and service, and (c) to train candidates in acquiring high moral standards in their development as professional teachers, counselors, administrators, and health educators.
In accordance with the University of Akron’s beliefs, the College of Education seeks to promote an ethical environment that supports (a) a culture of intellectual excellence, (b) respect for diversity, (c) caring, (d) civility, and (e) responsibility. We believe these five cultural elements are essential in promoting an environment for effective teaching and learning, and effective and fair decision-making. We believe intellectual excellence is crucial in academic preparation. We believe faculty must maintain high levels of competency in content areas and pedagogical processes and guide candidates in developing parallel professional competence and excellence in their areas of training. We believe respect for diversity creates an environment that increases individual and organizational understanding, enlarges knowledge, and nurtures a safe and secure environment for learning (Banks et al., 2001). We believe care is the primary ethic of teaching that fosters development in both the care-giver and cared for (Maeroff, 1971; Noddings, 1984, 1992). Caring begins with knowing and requires listening, understanding and civil procedures to handle disagreement. For that reason, we also believe in promoting an environment that promotes democratic values as a way to handling conflict and difference, while respecting those whose views are not shared by the majority. Finally, we believe in accepting responsibility for our decisions and assisting candidates in accepting responsibility for their actions and choices. Through effective interaction with candidates, the development of service centers, and the fostering of effective advising structures, faculty and staff enhance the candidates’ ability to engage in effective decision-making and help them develop as competent professionals.
The College of Education seeks to follow high moral and ethical principles in teaching, service, and research (Strike & Sottis, 1998). We believe in fostering a clear moral vision that balances organizational and collegiate goals with individual freedom and integrity in teaching, service, and research. We believe in creating just and fair grading policies, research processes and service plans. We believe in maintaining confidentiality in our dealings with candidates and research subjects. The college values dedicated labor that promotes scholarship and that fulfills collective goals of the College of advancing the professional knowledge base of our departments. We specifically embrace the challenge posed by Hilliard (1991) to foster “the will to educate all students.” Darling-Hammond (1997) contends “widespread success depends on the development of a profession-wide base of knowledge along with a commitment to the success of all students” (p. 294). We believe this is essential in our own teacher efficacy, and we believe it is an essential commitment all our candidates need to have as they seek to be professional educators, counselors, and leaders (Bandura, 1997).
This dedication to ethical environments and high moral and ethical principles is not complete without a dedicated commitment to help our candidates learn and adopt these professional standards in their own development as professional teachers, counselors, administrators, and health educators. First, as stated above, we seek to model these moral standards in our teaching, research, and service. Second, we seek to give direct instruction, where appropriate, about the ethical standards that guide professional practice within each of the disciplines represent through our College. Finally, we seek to promote an environment where ethical discourse is fostered and where our faculty, staff, and candidates are engaged in an on-going examination of the values that shape our practice. To this end, the College of Education follows the guidelines for professional conduct as outlined by The University of Akron Office of the General Council and has adopted an agreed upon list of student dispositions (see Appendix H).
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