Physical Education Teachers' Knowledge on the Professional Code of Ethics and Conduct in Tanzania
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Date
2013-08-01
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Scholarlink Resource Centre Ltd
Abstract
Every profession considers the development and application of a Professional Code of Ethics and Conduct
(PCEC) as a means of maintaining acceptable professional standards. As for the teaching profession, teachers
are supposed to exhibit a high level of professionalism, responsibility, integrity, competence, character, respect
and honesty. Such moral virtues are imperative for Physical Education (PE) teachers since their work involves
close interactions with students in and outside the classroom and school contexts. The purpose of this study was
to determine the knowledge of PE teachers on PCEC in Tanzania. The study explored whether PE teachers were
knowledgeable on PCEC and whether their knowledge differed according to their demographic and institutional
characteristics. The study was significant in that knowledge on PCEC could help teachers to understand the
nature of their work, the values they transmit and the implication of those values for those with whom they are
engaged. The study could also help PE teachers to improve and sustain the standards and reputation of the
teaching profession by upholding the best practices and conduct. The study utilized descriptive survey design
and was conducted in secondary schools and teachers’ colleges that had PE and sport programs. Purposive
sampling was adopted to select PE teachers and data were collected through questionnaire. Results revealed that
PE teachers had high knowledge on PCEC (M =4.41, SD = .317). However, knowledge on PCEC differed
significantly across educational levels (p = .001), institutional ownership (p =. 011) and institutional level (p =
.019). There were no significant differences across age categories (p = .056), gender (p = .926), marital status (p
= .153), teaching experience (p =.258) and location (p = .252). It was concluded that PE teachers possess
adequate knowledge on PCEC; and the level of education and religiosity are determinant factors for the
knowledge on PCEC. It was recommended that there is a need to strengthen professional development courses
for teachers and emphasize the teaching of moral and professional ethics in the teacher education programs.
Teachers should also be encouraged to obtain copies of professional code of ethics and conduct, and they should
be emphasized to implement the professional code of ethics and conduct. Moreover, studies should be
conducted to understand the level of compliance with PCEC among teachers in other specialized subjects.
Description
Keywords
Knowledge, PE teachers, Professional code of ethics, Code of conduct, Perception, Demographic characteristics, Institutional characteristics
Citation
Mabagala, S., Mwisukha, A., Wanderi, M.P. and Muindi, D.M., 2013. Physical Education Teachers' Knowledge on the Professional Code of Ethics and Conduct in Tanzania. Journal of Emerging Trends in Educational Research and Policy Studies, 4(4), p.690.