Teacher Ethics: Disagreeing With Principals and Reporting Child Abuse
This paper examines two ethical case studies in teaching practice. The first involves a teacher who disagrees with a principal's decision to ban sports before class and must decide how to respond, including whether to engage on social media. The second case centers on a teacher who discovers signs of physical abuse on a student and must navigate the legal and ethical obligations of reporting suspected child abuse. Drawing on professional codes of conduct and research by Walsh et al. (2005), the paper outlines best-practice guidance for handling both situations, emphasizing private professional communication with school leadership and the importance of teachers understanding mandatory reporting requirements and child protection frameworks.
- Introduction: Two Ethical Dilemmas in Teaching: Overview of two teacher ethics scenarios
- Case Study 1: Disagreeing With the Principal: Teacher disagrees with principal's sports ban
- Professional Advice for Teacher B: Best-practice guidance for handling the disagreement
- Case Study 2: Suspected Child Abuse: Student arrives at school with signs of physical abuse
- Teacher Reporting of Child Abuse: Range of Actions: How teachers should investigate and report suspected abuse
- Implications for Teacher Training and School Administration: Training gaps and systemic recommendations for schools
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What makes this paper effective
- The dual case-study format provides concrete, realistic scenarios that ground abstract ethical principles in classroom-level decision-making.
- Each case is structured consistently — background, competing values, range of actions, and implications — giving the analysis a disciplined, professional shape.
- The paper draws on a professional code of conduct and published research (Walsh et al., 2005) to support its recommendations, lending authority beyond personal opinion.
Key academic technique demonstrated
The paper demonstrates applied ethical analysis: for each scenario, it identifies the competing values at stake, surveys possible responses, and recommends a course of action with reference to professional obligations and research evidence. This structured weighing of values against practical consequences is characteristic of professional ethics writing in education.
Structure breakdown
The paper opens by framing both cases, then handles each sequentially. Case Study 1 addresses professional disagreement and social media use; Case Study 2 addresses child abuse identification and mandatory reporting. Each section moves from problem identification to ethical framing to actionable advice, closing with systemic implications for teacher training and school administration.
Introduction: Two Ethical Dilemmas in Teaching
The two case studies examined here each present a teacher with a genuine ethical dilemma. In the first, a new staff member — referred to as Teacher B — must decide how to respond after a school principal bans sports and games before class, a decision that has drawn significant criticism on the school's Facebook page. In the second, Teacher C discovers physical marks on a student that suggest abuse at home and must decide what to do in the face of family resistance and institutional complexity. Both cases require teachers to weigh their personal convictions against professional obligations, legal requirements, and the wellbeing of students.
A school has set up a Facebook page maintained by parents and friends of the school. It has attracted many commentators and followers, including several members of the teaching staff. Teacher B, who is new to the staff at the beginning of the year, has joined the online discussions. In the second term of the year, the school head bans games and sports activities before class hours, explaining that students need to be energized and ready for study rather than fatigued from active sport. Teacher B is unhappy with the decision. The decision also draws considerable negative attention and response on the school's Facebook page, beginning with criticism of the head's decision but evolving to include numerous other complaints about the principal and the school. The central question is: what is the most appropriate advice for Teacher B?
Case Study 1: Disagreeing With the Principal
The most significant problem in this case is that Teacher B disagrees with the decision made by the school principal. There is also the separate question of whether it is appropriate for Teacher B to post comments about the issue on the school's Facebook page. It is not unusual for teachers and principals to disagree — they subscribe to varying convictions and perspectives. Principals are generally expected to view matters holistically, while teachers often focus more narrowly on their subject area and immediate classroom responsibilities.
Every principal will, at some point, make decisions that sit poorly with some members of staff. These decisions may touch on daily duties, curriculum, procedures, discipline, policy, or the evaluation of teacher performance. The dilemma is how a member of the teaching team ought to handle disagreement with a decision made by the head of the school. Available literature on best practice suggests a general consensus on how such situations should be managed.
Professional Advice for Teacher B
The recommended course of action is for Teacher B to find a constructive way to express disagreement with the school head while maintaining a healthy working relationship. Principals tend to value teachers who are focused, willing to go beyond their basic duties, and committed to the school's improvement. Principals also hold in high esteem those who are courageous enough to voice disagreement directly and privately, rather than resorting to grapevine activity or public criticism.
Teacher B should raise the disagreement with the principal in a private setting. It is equally important to approach the conversation in an impersonal and non-judgmental manner. The teacher should be frank and objective, providing concrete reasons for the disagreement and, where possible, suggesting an alternative solution to the concern the principal was trying to address. It would be counterproductive to challenge the principal in a public forum.
If the head invites staff comments in a formal meeting, it is acceptable to raise objections constructively in that setting. However, if the teacher has strong feelings about the decision, approaching the head privately for a one-on-one conversation is the more appropriate path. Seeking a private meeting specifically to discuss the matter in depth is both a professionally sound and personally respectful approach. Attempting to undermine the principal's authority simply because of disagreement with one decision would risk serious conflict and needlessly escalate the situation.
Teachers are accountable to and act under the authority of the school's chief executive. They exercise authority on behalf of school leadership and are expected to implement government policies and support government educational programs at the school level without favor or exception. They are also required to keep clear records of their decisions. From a professional standards perspective, this obligation is the most significant implication arising from Case Study 1 — public criticism of a principal's decision, particularly on social media, conflicts directly with the professional code of conduct that governs teachers' conduct.
Case Study 2: Suspected Child Abuse
On an early Monday morning, a student named John arrives at school with raised welts on the back of his legs. When his classroom teacher questions him, John explains that on Saturday his father struck him with a belt after discovering he had used the family computer without permission. John mentions that he and his father had resolved the matter by the end of the weekend. Later that afternoon, John's mother arrives to collect him. Teacher C asks her about John's injuries, and his mother tells the teacher to mind his own business and never to question John about what happens at home.
The details of this scenario present a case consistent with child abuse. The responsibility to report suspected abuse is not limited to any single profession — anyone with concern can contact the police or a child abuse hotline. School heads and counselors are also legally required to report suspected child abuse cases, and such reports must be made even where there is no definitive evidence. The ethical complexity in this scenario arises from the inherently difficult nature of identifying child abuse. Difficult questions arise: what precisely constitutes child abuse? Where does the line fall between excessive discipline and abuse? The ethical dilemma lies in answering these questions while acting responsibly to protect the child.
References
Eduflow. (n.d.). Disagreeing with the principal. Retrieved September 22, 2016, from http://eduflow.wordpress.com/2014/09/21/disagreeing-with-the-principal/
American School Counselor Association (ASCA). (n.d.). Personal judgment in reporting abuse. Retrieved September 22, 2016, from
Education Directorate. (n.d.). Teachers' code of professional practice. Retrieved September 22, 2016, from http://www.education.act.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0007/17692/TeachersCode_ofProfessionalPractice.pdf
Walsh, K., Farrell, A., & Schweitzer, R. (2005). Critical factors in teachers' detecting and reporting child abuse and neglect: Implications for practice. Retrieved September 22, 2016, from http://www.academia.edu/2821874/Critical_factors_in_teachers_detecting_and_reporting_child_abuse_and_neglect_Implications_for_practice
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