7.7.

1 meet
professional
ethics and
responsibilities

Reflective Journal Entry

Nicole Cochrane S00142840
Professionalism in teaching is defined as how you think others see

7.7.2 engage
with the
parents/carers

you and how they feel about you (Mikk, Veisson, & Luik, 2010),
although McCulloch, Helsby and Knight believe that teacher
professionalism is controlling the curriculum, that is what they
teach and how they teach it (2000, p. 13). Professionalism is being
punctual, completing tasks, demonstrating appropriate behaviour
both within school and the community, being approachable,
respecting colleagues and students and being able to work as a team
with co-workers and families (Gill, 2005).

7.7.3 engage
with professional
teaching
networks and
broader
community

I have had the opportunity to witness both respectable and

thoughtless professionalism within educational environments, which
have shaped my professionalism. At an Early Childcare Centre I
observed the director of the centre overruling all other comments by
employees and telling co-workers exactly what to do. She did not
allow for her employees to speak their mind, it was very much a
dictatorship, this therefore made the environment stressful and very
tense. It resulted in her employees becoming overwhelmed when
speaking to parents, as they never knew what the director specifically
wanted them to say, they never knew if they were doing the wrong
thing which made them constantly looking over their shoulder, and it
made the centre socially unstable as colleagues would never speak to
the director but rather speak about the director behind her back. This

EDFD260: Teaching and managing learning environments

Nicole Cochrane
S00142840

Tutorial: Thurs 9am Belinda Beaman

tense environment was often noticed by family members, which

created awkwardness between parents and educators.
This centre unfortunately did not follow the professional codes and
standards that are useful guides for best practice. This code
promotes professional values respect, democracy, honesty,
integrity, justice, courage, inclusivity, social and cultural
responsiveness and education and establishes professional practice
and behaviour in relation to children, families, colleagues,
communities, students and employers, yourself as a professional and
the conduct of research (Waniganayake, Cheeseman, Fenech,
Hadley, & Shepherd, 2012, p. 45). The director took control of this
centre through dictation, which resulted in all the teachers not taking
responsibility to ensure the code of ethics guides their own and their
teams practice and decision-making.
In contrast, at a small primary school, I was fortunate enough to
become part of a community that values each teachers opinion and
their way of thinking. Professional development was organised on
student free days to ensure that the whole teaching team was able to
attend, and also discuss any ideas that may have been brought up
from the training. The teachers know their students and families
personally which makes them feel safe. It was evident that the school
believed everyone is a person, everyone is unique and that examples
should be set by others; as the school did not overrule any student or
teacher, everyone had their own interpretation and it was clear that it
was an honest, trusting and inclusive environment (Heilbronn &
Foreman-Peck, 2015).

EDFD260: Teaching and managing learning environments

Nicole Cochrane
S00142840

Tutorial: Thurs 9am Belinda Beaman

Within Aitsls (Hattie, 2014) organisation of the standards it states

that there are seven standards which outline what teachers should
know and do, which are all interconnected. These seven standards
are grouped into three domains, professional knowledge,
professional practice and professional engagement. Professional
knowledge has the standards; one, know students and how they learn,
and two, know the content and how to teach it. Professional practice
has the standards; three, plan for and implement effective teaching
and learning, four, create and maintain supportive and safe learning
environments, and five, assess, provide feedback and report on
student learning. While professional engagement has; the sixth,
engage in professional learning, and seventh, engage professionally
with colleagues, parents/carers and the community, standards.
I believe that the primary school I attended has achieved these
standards throughout the school, as they know all students
personally, attending professional development regularly, planning
lessons with the corresponding co-ordinator to ensure that teaching is
effective and synchronizes with the standards, all
teachers/aids/parent helpers maintain a supportive and safe
environment, teachers provide feedback to students and families, and
the school has fantastic community relationships with families,
colleagues, other schools and local shops. Teachers use their
professional judgment to make informed decisions, which is valued
and respected by other teachers, and all teachers have professional
autonomy to take responsibilities and make these decisions
(Waniganayake, Cheeseman, Fenech, Hadley, & Shepherd, 2012).

EDFD260: Teaching and managing learning environments

Nicole Cochrane
S00142840

Tutorial: Thurs 9am Belinda Beaman

The Early Childcare Centre had fantastic learning experiences for the
children, the educators cared for the children and wanted them to
succeed but unfortunately from the authoritarian approach I do not
believe the Aitsl standards have been met in certain areas. The
educators that had students on a regular basis knew the children well
with a basic knowledge of their family. Although the centre lacked a
basic knowledge of all students, certain educators struggled with
providing challenging experiences/activities but were not provided
professional development to assist this, the centre always updated
and maintained the learning environment to ensure it was safe, but
the centre did not have a healthy social environment with families,
colleague and the community due to the dictatorship approach from
the director.
In my opinion, professionalism means that I must respect and trust
my colleagues and students, while being punctual, completing tasks,
and behaving in a manner that I would want my students to replicate.
All while getting to know my students and the way they learn,
ensuring the environment is safe and supportive and attending
professional development as this is imperative to student learning.

EDFD260: Teaching and managing learning environments

Nicole Cochrane
S00142840

Tutorial: Thurs 9am Belinda Beaman

References

Gill, V. (2005). The Ten Commandments of Professionalism for Teachers:

Wisdom from a veteran teacher. Thousand Oaks, California: Corwin
Press.
Hattie, J. (2014). Retrieved from Australian Intitute for Teaching and School
Leadership: http://www.aitsl.edu.au
Heilbronn, R., & Foreman-Peck, L. (2015). Philosophical Perspectives on
Teacher Education. West Sussex, UK: John Wiley & Son.
McCulloch, G., Helsby, G., & Knight , P. (2000). The Politics of
Professionalism: Teachers and the Curriculum. Wellington House,
London: British Library.
Mikk, J., Veisson, M., & Luik, P. (2010). Teacher's Personality and
Professionalism. Estonia, Tartu: Peter Lang.
Waniganayake, M., Cheeseman , S., Fenech, M., Hadley, F., & Shepherd, W.
(2012). Leadership: Contexts and Complexities in Early Childhood
Education. South Melbourne Australia: Oxford University Press.

EDFD260: Teaching and managing learning environments

Nicole Cochrane
S00142840

Tutorial: Thurs 9am Belinda Beaman

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