| Teacher Professional Ethics refers to the basic ethical norms and codes of conduct that govern teachers’ attitudes and behavior towards themselves and others in the conduct of their professional activities,with the ultimate aim of improving their professional service and maintaining their professional reputation.As an important component of teachers’ professional development,the level of professional ethics is an important measurement of the level of professional development of teachers.Quality teachers are not just related to professional knowledge and skills but are also inseparable from professional ethics.Pupils are developing physically and mentally,who are now in a critical stage of growth,with their minds not yet mature.Therefore,the elementary school teacher plays a crucial role,and the society has higher expectations for the professional ethical standards of elementary school teachers.This study mainly adopts an empirical investigation method,which focuses on five dimensions of teachers’ professional ethics,namely teachers’ personal professionalism,teachers’ relationship with students,teachers’ relationship with parents,teachers’ relationship with colleagues,and teachers’ relationship with the community,and a questionnaire survey was conducted with a total of 235 teachers in some primary schools in Shanghai,and 10 teachers were randomly selected for interviews.The results of the survey show that the overall recognition level of professional ethics of elementary school teachers is relatively high,but there is still room for improvement.Moreover,there are significant differences among elementary school teachers in regard to gender,the length of service as a teacher and the level of academic title.In addition,most teachers have gained some understanding towards the knowledge related to teachers’ professional ethics but there are still some teachers who do not understand enough.In-depth analysis of the survey data and interview data reveals the following problems: a confused understanding of the concept of teacher professional ethics;the discrepancy between the perception of professional ethical concepts and actual behavior;the lack of professional emotions inherent in some teachers;the need to strengthen the awareness of professional services towards students;the lack of in-depth and equal cooperation with parents;the lack of solidarity towards colleagues;and the need to strengthen the awareness of community social responsibility.These are closely related to the lack of professional ethical knowledge among elementary school teachers,the imperfect professional ethics system in schools,the inadequacy of professional ethical education in teacher education,and the low income and social status of elementary school teachers.Considering this,in order to improve the overall professional ethical cognition and behavior of elementary school teachers,this study proposes four recommendations,including establishing a new professional ethics concept among primary school teachers,improving the system related to professional ethics in schools,innovating the model of professional ethics education for teachers,and enhancing the treatment and social status of elementary school teachers effectively. |
