Table Of ContentR. Scott Webster · John D. Whelen
Editors
Rethinking
Reflection
and Ethics for
Teachers
fl
Rethinking Re ection and Ethics for Teachers
R. Scott Webster John D. Whelen
(cid:129)
Editors
fl
Rethinking Re ection
and Ethics for Teachers
123
Editors
R. Scott Webster JohnD.Whelen
Schoolof Education Faculty of Education
Deakin University MonashUniversity
Burwood, VIC,Australia Clayton, VIC,Australia
ISBN978-981-32-9400-4 ISBN978-981-32-9401-1 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-32-9401-1
©SpringerNatureSingaporePteLtd.2019
Thisworkissubjecttocopyright.AllrightsarereservedbythePublisher,whetherthewholeorpart
of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations,
recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission
orinformationstorageandretrieval,electronicadaptation,computersoftware,orbysimilarordissimilar
methodologynowknownorhereafterdeveloped.
The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this
publicationdoesnotimply,evenintheabsenceofaspecificstatement,thatsuchnamesareexemptfrom
therelevantprotectivelawsandregulationsandthereforefreeforgeneraluse.
The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this
book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the
authors or the editors give a warranty, expressed or implied, with respect to the material contained
hereinorforanyerrorsoromissionsthatmayhavebeenmade.Thepublisherremainsneutralwithregard
tojurisdictionalclaimsinpublishedmapsandinstitutionalaffiliations.
ThisSpringerimprintispublishedbytheregisteredcompanySpringerNatureSingaporePteLtd.
The registered company address is: 152 Beach Road, #21-01/04 Gateway East, Singapore 189721,
Singapore
Scott wishes to dedicate this book to Ross,
Isaac, Brice, Clairissa, Tim and Katya, and
John wishes to dedicate this book to James,
Eliza, Patrick, Finn, Edward and Penny.
That through education they may experience
and contribute to a better world.
Contents
1 The Importance of Rethinking Reflection and Ethics
for Education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
R. Scott Webster and John D. Whelen
Part I Professional Standards, Codes, Ethics and Values
2 Understanding and Interrogating Professional Standards. . . . . . . . 15
R. Scott Webster and John D. Whelen
3 Teaching Through Ethical Tensions: Between Social Justice,
Authority and Professional Codes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Daniella J. Forster
4 Teacher Responsibility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Alex Kostogriz
5 Teacher Reflexivity: An Important Dimension of a Teacher’s
Growth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
Ann Ryan and R. Scott Webster
6 Teachers, Clergy, Schools and Paedophilia: Making a Mockery
of the Duty of Care. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
John D. Whelen
7 Reflecting Together on Spiritual Possibility. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
Audrey Statham and R. Scott Webster
Part II Reflection for Teaching and Learning
8 How Have You Been? On Existential Reflection
and Thoughtful Teaching . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
Gert Biesta
vii
viii Contents
9 What Are We Doing? Reflecting on the Purpose of Education—
And Where Such Reflection Might Lead. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
John D. Whelen
10 Reflection, Contemplation and Teacher Problem Solving
in the World(s) of the Classroom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
John Quay and Christopher T. McCaw
11 Renegotiating Reflective and Ethical Practice in a Liquid
Education System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163
Andrew Skourdoumbis and Sue Bennett
Part III Transitioning to Professional Practice
12 A Socially Critical Approach to Community and Parental
Engagement: A Matter of Professional Ethics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179
John Smyth
13 Postscript: To Fabricate or Authenticate Our Self as Teacher? . . . 193
John D. Whelen and R. Scott Webster
Chapter 1
The Importance of Rethinking Reflection
and Ethics for Education
R.ScottWebsterandJohnD.Whelen
Abstract Inthisintroductorychapter,theauthorsexpresstheiruneaseaboutteach-
ing in general and explain why the idea of reflection, in the context of education,
needstoberethought.Itisidentifiedthateducationisprimarilyamoralandpoliti-
calendeavourwhichaspirestoenhancethequalityoflifebothforindividualsand
for society in general. Consequently, it is emphasised that there is the necessity
for increasing teachers’ awareness of ethical issues both in their work and in their
livesasteachers.Thischapteridentifiesthatoneofthemainobstaclestotheraising
of such an awareness is that government departments of education actively work
againstallowingteacherstoaccessideasthatmaychallengetheirpolicies,claiming
thatteachersaretoosensitivetobeabletohandlecontroversialideas.Despitethese
obstacles,theauthorsarguethatcontributingtowardsraisingsuchawarenessbetter
enablesteacherstopursuetheirhopes,expectations,desires,commitmentandindeed
theirsenseofself.
Introduction
This book has its origins in a profound disquiet with contemporary teacher pre-
service education (generally referred to as Initial Teacher Education, or ITE) and
with the world of work into which newly graduated teachers find employment. It
is directed, therefore, to teacher trainees in their final years of preparation before
becomingteachersaswellastothosewhoarealreadyworkingasteachers.Wehope
thatitwillfindawillingreadershipinWesterncountries,butitsconcernsmaywellbe
recognisedmorewidelywhereverpre-serviceteachereducationcoursesareoffered,
especiallyinthepost-industrialworld.
B
R.S.Webster( )
SchoolofEducation,DeakinUniversity,221BurwoodHwy,Burwood,
VIC3125,Australia
e-mail:[email protected]
J.D.Whelen
FacultyofEducation,MonashUniversity,19AncoroImparaWay,Clayton3800,Australia
©SpringerNatureSingaporePteLtd.2019 1
R.S.WebsterandJ.D.Whelen(eds.),RethinkingReflectionandEthics
forTeachers,https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-32-9401-1_1
2 R.S.WebsterandJ.D.Whelen
Inthisintroduction,wewilloutlinereasonsforouruneaseaboutcontemporary
teacher education/training and about teaching in general, explain why the idea of
reflectioninthecontextofeducationneedstoberethoughtandhighlighttheneces-
sityforvastlyincreasingteachers’awarenessofethicalissuesnotonlyintheirwork
butintheirlivesasteachers.Oneoftheobstaclestotheraisingofsuchanawareness
isthatgovernmentdepartmentsofeducationactivelyworkagainstallowingteachers
toaccessideasthatmaychallengetheirpolicies,claimingthatteachersaretoosensi-
tivetobeabletohandlecontroversialideas(Gulsen,2012).Forexample,Professor
MichaelApple,oneofthe50mostprominentscholarsinthefieldofeducation,was
invited by Melbourne University as part of a seminar series to speak to principals
andteachersinthestateofVictoria(Preiss,2012).However,theVictorianEduca-
tionDepartmentofEducationcancelledProfessorApple’slectureclaimingthathis
ideas, which did not align with their pursuit of performance related pay, were too
controversial for their employees. Professor Apple’s response to this cancellation
was to express a concern for the state of democracy in Melbourne because he had
experiencedgreateracademicfreedominSerbia(Gulsen,2012).
Hopefully,itwillbecomeclearthatpractisingteachersinAustralia,theUKand
NorthAmericaarealreadydevelopingsuchanawarenessinresponsetoincreasing
demandsontheirperformanceandworkingconditionswithintheneoliberalpolicy
environmentinwhichtheywork,butthisisnoteasytoachieve.Despitethesepres-
sures, we trust that the chapters in this book will contribute towards raising such
anawarenessinordertoenableteacherstobetterpursuetheirhopes,expectations,
desires,commitmentandindeedtheirsenseofself.Therefore,weconsiderthatthe
contentsofthisbook,whilenotshyingawayfromthecontroversialnatureofteach-
ers’work,offersomeencouragingandpositiveopportunitiesforteacherstoreflect,
individuallyandcollectively,onhowtheymightrediscoverteaching(Biesta,2017)
andtoreclaimitforeducation.
In this book, we take the view that education is primarily a moral and political
endeavour which aspires to enhance the quality of life both for individuals and
for society in general. In recent years, however, ITE programs and professional
in-service workshops have been increasingly characterised by the pervasive, yet
highly reductive notion that teaching consists of strategies which, if mastered and
implemented well—even clinically, are presumed to impact students’ learning. At
the same time, ‘reflection’ and ‘ethics’ have too often been presented uncritically
andbeensimplifiedasaresultoftheprioritygiventotheacquisitionoftechnique,
forexample,byurgingteacherstoreflectontheperformanceofparticularstrategies
andtheirimpact.Asaresult,bothreflectionandethicshavetendedtobeunderstood
inlimited,attenuatedways.Inmakingthisclaim,weareawareofthemultiplicity
ofITEcoursesthroughouttheworld,butareneverthelessconfidentinthegenerality
ofourclaimduetothegrowingliteraturerecognisingthepersistenceofanumberof
regrettabletrends,e.g.thefragmentationoflearningfromeducation,ofthinkingfrom
doing and of ethics from teaching (Apple, 2000, 2004; Biesta, 2006, 2017; Blake,
Smeyers,Smith,&Standish,2000;Furlong,2013;Lagemann,2000;Postman,1995;
Taubman,2009).Thisbookispresentedasareproachtosuchaview,whichweargue
has offered teachers a limited, partial and caricatured vision of what teaching and
1 TheImportanceofRethinkingReflection… 3
learning might be. Without the teacher being urged to reflect on this turn towards
themeaningoftheirwork,andperhapsintheabsenceofhavingsufficienttoolswith
whichtodoso,thetaskofconfrontingaconstantlydemandingpolicyenvironment
is made all the more difficult. In order to maintain or even regain a sense of one’s
authenticitywhileatthesametimeworkingtowardsamorereflectivelyandethically
nuancedunderstandingofteachingisachallengebeingfaceddaily,frequentlywith
verylittle,ifanysupport.
Inthechaptersthroughoutthisbook,weseektorethinkthisdominantparadigm
by reinvigorating a more holistic understanding with education being placed front
andcentreofteachers’work.Thismeansthatbecauseteachersexistashumanper-
sonsinaholisticsense,withtheiremotiveandaspirationaldispositions,theysharean
existence(sometimes‘online’)withotherpersons;therefore,aninescapableethical
contextarisesinwhichwemustbecontinuouslymindfulof—reflecton—ourrela-
tionshipswithandinfluenceonothers.Teachingandeducation,thusunderstood,are
primarily moral endeavours because they offer experiences considered ‘good’ and
worthwhile for the lives of students and their communities, but the value inhering
insuchendeavoursandexperiencescanonlybemaintainedasaresultofconstant
criticalreflection.Suchreflectioniscriticalbecauseitgoesbeyondassessingmerely
‘whatworks’intermsofmechanicalstrategies,inordertoengagethoughtfullyand
evenmeditativelyonhow‘good’one’steachingpracticesareandindeedhow‘good’
theoverallsystemmightbeinwhichonefindsoneself.Ethics,insuchaview,can
never be an ‘add on’ to teaching and learning because it permeates all activities
involving the teacher’s interactions and especially all aspects of the experience of
being a teacher. In this sense, ethics, understood as the ‘good’ manner of interact-
ingwithotherpersons,isindistinguishablefromcriticalreflectiononwhateverone
does,andthinks,asateacher.Consequently,wemightthereforeviewtheteacheras
ethicist.
WhyRethinkingIsNeeded
Education is a highly contested practice involving different perspectives regarding
what is most desirable to do. In order to conduct oneself professionally in such a
contestedenvironment,wearguethatteachersoughttobeabletotranscendtheoften
perceivedfragmentationsofexperiencethatcharacterisecontemporaryteachingand
learningastheygrapplewithhigh-stakestestingandanationalpanicoverstudents’
achievements relative to achievements in other countries. In order to teach in this
environment,demandsfromeducationalbureaucraciesthatteachersmeetstandards
definedbytechnicalcompetencehaveledinexorablytocomplianceandperformative
anxietiesasthecapacityforprofessional,criticaldecision-makinghasbeenstripped
awayfromteachers.Smallwonder,then,thatteachertraining,whichdevotessomuch
time to psychological theories of learning, is emphasised over teacher education
in order for teachers to be ‘classroom ready’. In this environment, understandings
of reflection tend to be dominated by three models, viz. Kolb’s (1984) reflective
