The ethical obligations of the mathematics teacher

Journal Title: Journal of Pedagogical Research - Year 2019, Vol 3, Issue 1

Abstract

This paper explores the ethics of the mathematics teacher, starting from the ethical obligations that all human being and professionals share towards those in their care. Most notably this involves a duty of care for students, since teachers can be the most influential persons after their parents. The ethics of mathematics teaching is analysed as concerning the aims of school mathematics, the selection of pedagogy, and the selection of content. The equal treatment of all students is also a central principle, although there are ethical dilemmas posed by the spread of achievement levels in mathematics. The ethical content of school mathematics itself is also considered, although this is a controversial issue. The paper notes that the modern tendency is for teachers to be viewed almost as technicians delivering the centrally decided mathematics curriculum. This paper argues that teachers have ethical agency which can and should still be exercised while meeting professional and institutional obligations.

Authors and Affiliations

Paul Ernest

Keywords

Related Articles

How can we unfold the reality of student learning, if there is a reality: Pitfalls – and bridges – of educational research

This paper discusses some of the recurrent issues which the authors have noticed in educational research. These might be concerned with the nature of social science research, such as its representation of the reality of...

The development of Teacher Academic Emotions (TAE) Scale

The purpose of this study was to design a comprehensive and native scale, and to investigate the validity and reliability of teachers' academic emotions scale including anxiety, happiness, anger, pride, hope and despair,...

The promotion of cultivating critical thinking skills in Greek Lyceum: a qualitative content analysis of the first-class Informatics textbook

In order to deal with the constantly and rapidly changing conditions of life, a decision-making capacity is needed. Critical thinking can help effectively in this, and that is why it is an ability that modern education s...

An investigation on the status of resilience among blind adolescent students

Ethiopia has one of the world’s highest rates of visual disability. Among persons with visual disability living in Bahir Dar town, adolescents take a significant share of this population. Living sightless for anyone, whe...

Working identity constructions and workplace learning modes in a global South country: Exploring relations through a narrative approach

This research is placed among the current studies discussing the relationship between working, education and modes of subjectification within the present context by means of specific phenomena in identity constructions a...

Download PDF file
  • EP ID EP599301
  • DOI 10.33902/JPR.2019.6
  • Views 108
  • Downloads 0

How To Cite

Paul Ernest (2019). The ethical obligations of the mathematics teacher. Journal of Pedagogical Research, 3(1), 80-91. https://europub.co.uk/articles/-A-599301