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Promoting Teacher Ethics in Colleges of Teacher Education in Tanzania: Practices and Challenges William A. L. Anangisye, PhD. University of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania wanangisye@edu.udsm.ac.tz wanangisye@yahoo.com This
paper focuses on the initiatives and challenges of promoting ethics in
teacher training colleges. It draws on qualitative data; generated from
Dar es Salaam, Iringa and Mbeya regions of Tanzania in East Africa.
Data collected reflect views of informants, including teacher
educators, school teachers, student teachers, school inspectors,
Teachers Service Department (TSD) officers, and education officers. The
data was generated from both interviews (primary) and documentary
(secondary) sources. Analysis of data involved data reduction,
organization, and interpretation (Huberman & Miles 1994). The
findings unveiled two major initiatives: the use of college regulations
and the teaching of religious code of conduct. Challenges, on the other
hand, ranged from the absence of a course related to teacher ethics,
professional “incompetence” of teacher educators, shortage of qualified
teachers, lack of resources, the moral problem of society or the
irresponsibility of parents and society. The study has concluded that
without a well-defined education policy in favour of promoting teacher
ethics education, efforts to that effect are doomed to fail. INTRODUCTION Teacher education in Tanzania and other nations must prepare and produce not only academically and pedagogically competent teachers, but also professional teachers able to live up to the highest moral standards of their teaching profession. Teacher education is a framework through which trainee teachers are oriented to, amongst others; understand what is “good” and what is “bad” or what is “wrong” and what is “right” with reference to day-to-day teaching commitments. The orientation is very important and inevitable for several reasons. Ethical questions are complex and relate to humankind: they are ?associated mainly with humans as social beings. As Herrick (2003, p.21) indicates: “The social nature of humans creates the need for morality, not from a god but from the nature of human self-responsibility and social inter-relations”. Beyond the family, upon graduating teachers are expected, on a regular basis, to relate and associate with, inter alia, pupils ? their immediate clients, and others interested parties in their respective societies. In light of the power that teachers have, especially to “make or ruin our society” (Nyerere, 1968; p.228), ethics education is an integral part of the teaching enterprise. Since no human being is born with, every person needs to acquire these principles: Children do not enter the world compassionate, caring, fair, loving, and tolerant. Nor do these qualities emerge in due course like hair on the body or hormones in the endocrine system. Rather, moral qualities are learned ?acquired in the course of lived experience (Fenstermacher, 1990; p. 132).More importantly, as widely acknowledged in the available literature, the ethical nature and character inherent in teaching and/or education (Tom, 1984) necessitate the process of orienting or initiating student teachers into teacher ethics. Thus, by virtue of joining the teaching profession or education sector, school, college, and university teachers are obliged to ethical lives. This paper reflects the initiatives or practices that teacher training colleges in Tanzania have adopted so far to familiarize trainee teachers with teaching. The paper seeks to establish challenges that teacher training colleges encounter in the promotion and development of teaching ethics. The paper argues that the promotion of teacher ethics among student teachers in teacher training colleges should not be left to the formal established institutions only; it should also be the responsibility of the whole society ? every adult person (Walsh, 1995). It is, thus, time we borrowed from the old Africa wisdom whereby: “Every adult was not only responsible for moral education and development but also a moral exemplar (model) or simply moral values educator” (Anangisye, 2008; p.18). Research Objectives and Questions This study is aimed at establishing the current practices and challenges in the promotion of teacher ethics in teacher training colleges in Tanzania. In this regard, the study focused on the following lines of inquiry: i.How do teacher training colleges promote teacher ethics? ii.What are possible challenges that teacher training colleges face in promoting teacher ethics? Rationale for the Research Several
educational issues in Tanzania justified the need for this paper.
First, for decades, curriculum meant for teacher education programmes
in Tanzania has concentrated mainly on the cognitive and pedagogical
domains. Ethics, which is equally crucial dimension in the teaching
profession, has been largely neglected. As a result, this negligence
marginalises the ethical character inherent in education and/or
teaching. Secondly, there is a growing body of evidence globally
indicating that teachers, teacher educators, and lecturers engage in
professional misconduct (Adelabu 2005; Fauske, Mullen, & Sutton
2006). So often, teachers are implicated in sexual related behaviours
(SRB) with their clients, theft, and academic dishonesty. In Tanzania,
scholars have acknowledged widespread cases of professional misconduct
amongst school, college and university teachers, and teacher educators
(United Republic of Tanzania, 2001; Barrett, 2005; Anangisye &
Barrett, 2005). Thirdly, the role of teacher training colleges is not
only limited to the production and preparation of enough teachers, but
also involves churning out “high-quality teachers who can work
effectively with students” (Wang, Spalding, Odell, Klecka, & Lin,
2010, p.3); and serve a pillars of good moral conduct.
Review of Related literature Various
literatures stress the centrality of moral education in teacher
training. According to Sirotnik (1990, p. 316) “teacher education is
more a process of building moral character than a process of building
knowledge-based skills, and expertise (not that the latter are
unimportant)”. The concern over moral character is indeed a mission of
every teacher education facility, irrespective of its geographical
location. Also, such a duty extends beyond the socio-economic status of
the geographical contexts in which teacher educational programmes are
executed. The centrality of moral education in teacher training is
connected with the ethical character and very nature of the teaching
undertaking. Whereas many studies widely documented the teaching
enterprise in general, scholars, researchers, practitioners, and policy
makers specializing in the philosophy of education have normatively
raised and addressed the ethical dimension of teaching and/or education
in much more specific terms. Elizabeth Campbell; in her book entitled The Ethical Teacher, for example, explicitly acknowledges the inherent ethical character of the teaching enterprise. She indicates that teachers’ moral commitment has a dual character. “The first relates to the exacting ethical standards the teacher as a moral person and a moral professional holds himself or herself do, and the second, concerns the teacher as a moral educator, model, and exemplar whose aim is to guide students towards a moral life” (Campbell, 2003; p. 2). The dual nature is possible because teaching is by nature moral (Chang, 1994). In the same vein, Pring (2001, p.106) asserts that “it is an activity in which the teacher is sharing in a moral enterprise, namely, the initiation of (usually) young people into a worthwhile way of seeing the world, of experiencing it, of relating to others in a more human and understanding way”. Perhaps, more extensively David Carr in most of his scholarly works spells out not only the ethical character and nature of teaching but also aspects in which the teaching undertaking is ethically implicated. In Professionalism and Ethics in Teaching, for example, Carr argues: Teaching
seems to differ from many other professions and occupations in so far
as the kind of person a teacher is, and the way he or she is inclined
to live, appear to have considerable implications for professional
practice, not least in respect of that further ethical dimension of
moral exemplification which is less conspicuous, if not entirely
absent, in the case of such standard professions as medicine and law
(Carr, 2000; p. 226). Hence the ethical character of teaching rests on the fact that it constitutes a human action undertaken mainly for the benefit of human beings (Fenstermacher, 1990). Equally important is its explicit concern with human needs or public good: “There are persons who by virtue of their membership to [sic] a profession have a moral obligation to provide clients with certain basic needs. This suggests that the need of the provider is secondary to the clients’ needs and interests” (Anangisye, 2006; p.191). In this respect, teachers are moral practitioners just as medical doctors and lawyers. Whereas doctors and lawyers are concerned with basic needs such as health and justice respectively, teachers are directly concerned with education a basic human right. Scholars,
especially educational psychologists acknowledge that, although
children are born with certain innate endowments, they are not born
with ethics or morals. Instead, children are ‘taught’ moral qualities
which develop as they grow up. Parents and other close relatives are
responsible for this early moral education. Such moral education calls
for appropriate nurturing; and exemplary conduct in terms of moral
awareness on the part of parents and others (Herrick, 2003). In
principle, parents are the first engineers of children’s moral
education and development. This obligation, however, is not only
limited to the family setting since the teaching of moral or ethical
values also extends to school and college settings. In countries, such
as China, moral education is taught right from elementary school to
university (Xiaoman & Cilin, 2004). So far, there is little doubt
that moral education is an integral part of school, or college (see,
for example; Nyerere, 1968). These educational institutions are
agencies with an obligation to provide ethics education to students and
raise the necessary awareness on the importance of ethics. Whereas the
contribution of educational institutions to moral education development
is self-evident, scholarship in Tanzania appear to have neglected this
phenomenon. This inquiry, therefore, was an attempt to study the
contribution of teacher training colleges in the provision of ethical
or moral education. Research Design and Methods This is a qualitative research whose framework employed field data on the initiatives and challenges of promoting teacher ethics in teacher training colleges. Within the framework of qualitative approach, the case study design informed the research procedures. As it applies to this paper, the design was reflected in what research theorists call a “bounded system” (Creswell 1998). The notion of bounded system has to do with boundaries aimed at achieving a detailed exploration of the phenomenon. In this study, the system was defined in terms of geographical settings and teacher training colleges. Relevant data was generated from conversations with teacher educators, school ?teachers, trainee teachers, school and college inspectors, and Ministry of Education Officers. The informants were from three geographical regions of Tanzania; namely, Dar es Salaam, Iringa, and Mbeya. In particular, data pertinent to this paper reflect the experience of informants in five teacher training colleges: Al-Haramain (Dar es Salaam), Klerruu (Iringa), and Mpuguso, Tukuyu, and Uyole Lutheran College of Education (Mbeya). Given the eclectic nature of the qualitative inquiry, relevant data was sought using different methods which are as follows: A.
Primary sources which relied on interactive methods, including informal
discussions between the informants and the researcher. The settings for
primary data generation varied from homes, occupational offices, long
‘safari’ buses, classrooms, and under trees. B. Secondary sources, on the other hand, included journal articles, books, policy documents, theses, booklets, and ‘grey’ literature from college and education offices. Equally relevant were electronic documents retrieved from the Internet. These varied sources provided the researcher with relevant data with diverse viewpoints. In the light of the above, the researcher utilized interviews, discussions and conversations as the major and reliable means for the data generation. This approach is usually implicated in the so-called dialectical method (Heyting 2001), owing much to philosophical developments in the analytical tradition of Socrates and Plato. In the present context, the method focused mainly on one-to-one conversations. The method involved both in situ and telephone conversations between the researcher and the informants. The method was aimed at giving informants freedom (Legard, Keegan, & Ward 2003) and confidence in expressing their ideas. Two relevant themes regarding initiatives and challenges of promoting teacher ethics informed the conversations. The researcher also used both note taking and a tape recording the conversations. Furthermore,
documents regarding the initiatives and challenges of promoting teacher
ethics in teacher training colleges were subjected to a critical
examination. The documents included scheme of works, college joining
instructions, and online documents such as colleges’ mottos and
missions. Equally crucial was the analysis of the curriculum for
teacher training programmes. The focus was on the extent to which the
curriculum for teacher education addresses issues of professional
ethics. Data Analysis Data
generated from interviews and documents was analysed thematically
at the outset of fieldwork. It focused on transcribed conversations
(interviews), field notes made during and after interviews, and
documentary evidence. This data analysis involved three main stages
(Huberman & Miles, 1994). The first stage is data reduction which
involved transcribing and summarising the data from all sources. Data
reduction was conducted on a daily basis. This enabled the researcher
to assess the methods and strategies of data generation, and make
necessary adjustments. The second involved organising the reduced data,
generating major themes and sub-themes from oral and written texts. The
third stage covered the interpretation and drawing of conclusions from
the analysed data. The primary units of analysis were informants and written texts. Although the data pertinent to this study was derived from diverse community settings within Tanzania, the country was used as the unit of analysis. Hence the conclusions in this study are generalised to the whole country. Generalization of findings was possible because teacher education largely draws on a centralised curriculum. As noted elsewhere, philosophical tools of analysis informed data analysis and interpretation process. Central to such analysis was the conceptual analysis whose aim according to Chambers, takes into accounts the primacy of relevant concepts to understand the problem: “Because concepts are so crucial to our thinking, confused concepts will cause us to think in confused or crooked ways. Such crooked thinking will lead us often into crooked action; such mistaken action will often occur in school life” (Chambers, 1983; p. 14). Research FindingsFindings resulting from the conversations and a critical study of relevant documents indicated varied views, feelings, and experiences regarding the initiatives undertaken to promote and develop teacher ethics in teacher training colleges. Teacher Practices and College Regulations Findings
in this study indicated that all the teacher training colleges involved
in the study had regulations document on promoting professional teacher
attitudes and ethics. The document serves as guidelines for dos and
don’ts for trainee teachers which are provided to every trainee upon
arrival to the campus. In addition, college regulations are posted on
all notice-boards in areas with large concentrations of students such
as libraries, halls of residence, dining halls, and assembly halls.
These documents seek to create awareness on the trainee teacher
responsibilities at these colleges, as well as regulate how they should
conduct themselves, both as trainee and graduate teachers, because good
conduct is mandatory for all students within and outside the college
premises. In addition, all the first year trainee teachers get academic and general counselling upon arrival on campus. The principal, the dean of students, and other authorities at the teacher training colleges seize this opportunity to remind the freshmen of the college regulations, in terms of their daily conduct and academic responsibilities after matriculation. For example, a dean of students (also, a teacher educator) in one of the teacher training colleges sampled, explained thus: We
wait until all new teacher trainees have reported; what we do is to
give [them] instructions. Usually there are two or three days of
instructing them on all areas of life. We encourage them to get used to
the college environment. Meanwhile we give them information on college
guidelines, rules and regulations to follow in terms of conduct. As
they are from different cultural backgrounds and environments, we
expect that the guidelines, rules and regulations will be of help to
them. This is important because some of them are funny people,
drunkards and hooligans. Therefore, we inform and instruct them
(Teacher educator informant) on the need for professionalism. It is evident that college regulations aimed at giving directions to trainee teachers on the level of professionalism expected of them. This suggests that trainee teachers are expected to begin displaying qualities of a good teacher while at college. All undesirable behaviour is discouraged. For example, there are consequences and punitive measures for violating college rules and regulations which includes suspension, or dismissal, - depending on the nature of the offences committed. Also, colleges rewarded students that demonstrated exemplary behaviour on campus during the final year graduation ceremonies. The
emphasis of the regulations tended to vary from one teacher training
college to another. Through the Ministry of Education, Vocational and
Training (MoEVT), the government of Tanzania grants every teacher
training college autonomy to formulate its own policy regulations
according to the college’s environment; for instance, in Klerruu,
Mpuguso, Tukuyu, and Uyole Lutheran teacher training colleges. The
central themes of their regulations can be summed up as follows. All
trainee teachers are obliged to observe college rules and regulations,
respect and obey their trainers, respect work or duty, care for college
or public property and the environment, observe personal hygiene and
maintain discipline, and cordial relationships. The rules include,
respect of national laws and regulations, maintain academic standards,
and avoid alcohol abuse. As noted elsewhere, failure to follow these
rules and regulations may lead to adverse consequences: Every
student is obliged to observe and follow delineated guidelines, rules
and regulations to ensure that harmony and understanding is sustained
in the college. Failure to adhere to the guidelines, rules and
regulations will result in the student being punished or discontinued,
depending on the misconduct (Klerruu College of Teacher Education). Similarly, college teacher educators must abide by college rules and regulations. Besides classroom teaching, teacher educators are supposed to enforce professional ethics by being models of moral conduct (Fallona, 2000; Fovo, 1965). In principle, each one of them is responsible and accountable for the conduct of student teachers. Indeed, teacher educators are mirrors of good conduct for trainee teachers. In this regard, a dean of students explains the responsibilities of an ideal college teacher educator as follows: Teacher
educators are supposed to be committed in carrying out their
professional responsibilities to the nation. Thus, they [must] teach
concisely, empower them and ensure that they help a student teacher to
become a future leader; knowing that such persons are required to
defend the nation morally and train young people for the nation’s
development (Teacher educator informant). Given this perception, the question is to what extent are college teacher educators, professional models for their student? During an interview with another teacher informant from the same college, the researcher found that there were several cases of professional misconduct amongst the trainers expected to be moral models. In the same vein, Wedgwood (2006) found that teacher trainers do not always arrive on time for teaching their students. Unfortunately, the interviewee (dean of trainee teachers) was not prepared to discuss thoroughly such cases. Yet, when asked how the college handled these problems, he stated that usually they summon the culprit and attempt to reform him or her. At another college, the researcher came across (through observation) a case of shabbily dressed alcoholic teacher educator. This educator was disruptive on campus while classes were in session. This disruptive behaviour distracted the students and tarnished the image of teacher educator as a role model. Whereas
private and public colleges of teacher education have many things in
common regarding professional regulations, the gravity attached to
these regulations when it comes to enforcing varied considerably.
Private colleges, especially, those owned by or affiliated to religious
organisations had religious provisions in their regulations. The
regulations of Uyole Lutheran College of Teacher Education (ULCTE), for
example, have Christian orientation in promoting morality and ethics in
their curriculum. The Teaching of Religion The
findings of the present research also disclosed that some teacher
training colleges (of the 48 of these colleges, 12 were religious-based
and owned by either Christian or Muslim institutions) offered a
Religion Studies as a subject in the curriculum in addition to the
professional courses. In these institutions, the religious course was a
compulsory subject for every teacher trainee, regardless of his or her
religious background. The focus of the curriculum on religion varied
significantly from one college to another. Naturally, the subject
matter taught in Muslim colleges differed from that of Christian
religion. There were also notable differences in the curriculum of
Church affiliated colleges. For example, Roman Catholic and Lutheran
Church-owned colleges offered different concentrations on religious
aspects although the institutions basically seek to promote Christian
values. College teacher educator informants revealed that the teaching
of religion alongside other courses was well organised, like in ULCTE.
Incorporating religion into the curriculum was essentially aimed at
promoting the moral values of trainee teachers. Two kinds of ethics are represented in the teaching of religion in teacher training colleges: ‘traditional ethics’ and Biblical ethics. Traditional ethics cover the following sub-topics: the definition of ethics and the aims of ethical conduct in Africa. ‘Biblical understanding of ethics’, on the other hand, focuses on three sub-topics: the source of moral knowledge as revelation, personal standards of goodness, and moral teachings (Scheme of work for Religion Knowledge, ULCTE). These aspects are taught from a Christian perspective, which advocates the promotion of Christian culture and values. Thus, teachers graduating from these colleges are expected to teach, as well as serve as messengers of the Christian faith. For the Muslim colleges, the course is called ‘Islamic Knowledge’ taught as an interdisciplinary subject alongside other professional courses. Like other religious institutions, Islamic colleges inculcate Islamic values and norms into trainee teachers. Such values and norms are usually embedded in the mission statement of the colleges:To
produce morally upright, highly responsible, aware and educated
teachers who on their part will strive hard to teach with sacrifice and
full dedication to establish a God-conscious, peaceful, justice-loving,
and educated community; by eradicating the three major enemies of the
society, namely "The Three Evil ‘Is’: Ignorance, Injustice and
Immorality" (Dodoma Muslim College, n.d.). [Publisher's note: The URL for this document has been removed to protect readers from malware infection.] Whereas religious affiliated teacher training colleges have organised approaches to teaching religion, government-owned colleges do not have such provision. However, this does not preclude religious activities from these colleges. These religious activities are run by student teachers under the guardianship of their teacher trainers who primarily serve as advisers. Usually, trainee teachers organise these religious activities along denominational, inter-denominational, or religious lines. Religious groups in which trainee teachers participate include the Tanzania Young Christian Student, -‘Umoja wa Kikristo wa Wanafunzi Tanzania’- (Students’ Christian Union of Tanzania), Iringa Pentecostal Youth Association, Christ Ambassador Students’ Fellowship of Tanzania, and Muslim associations. These activities are part of college’s extracurricular activities pursued to promote religious values. According to an official guideline, “Provision is made on the timetable for students to follow a course in Religious Education according to their particular persuasion” (United Republic of Tanzania, 1976; p.17). In
view of the foregoing discussion on the teaching of religion in teacher
training colleges, one fundamental question is: does one need religion
to be ethical? The role of religious values in making trainee teachers
(or even teachers) ethical or helping them behave professionally is -to
some extent- uncertain. After all, the conduct of immoral religious
leaders highlights the moral dilemma of our society, especially in a
secular institution. Today, some religious ministers- people held in
high esteem as custodians of morality and models of good conduct, are
often implicated in immoral practices. Such occurrences have made the
role of religious norms and values in reducing misconduct amongst
trainee teachers subjective. Challenges in Promoting and Developing Teacher Ethics Arguably, promoting teacher ethics is a means through which to curb misdemeanors likely to arise amongst school, college, and university teachers. However, the initiatives in place at teacher training colleges aimed at promoting teacher ethics notwithstanding, there are challenges that seem to undermine such efforts. Research findings reveal levels of challenges that these colleges encounter as follows: Absence of a course in professional ethics: Generally, “teachers ought to be professionally trained in colleges where one learns ethics of the teaching industry” (Mwaimu, 2001; p. 22). For many years, however, courses on teacher ethics have been glaringly absent from the curriculum of teacher education and training. The colleges, departments, or faculties of education did not have specific and separate courses on teacher ethics. The focus was on other education courses:
Things have since changed because now Tanzanians can at least speak of professional ethics in the curriculum for the preparation of licensed secondary school teachers, and even certificate level elementary teachers referred to as Grade IIIA teachers in Tanzania. The provision of professional ethics in the school curriculum is undermined by poor implementation. In fact, the new school syllabus containing a sub-topic on professional ethics was not in use at the time of data collection for this study. In all colleges that the researcher visited teacher educators were still using the old syllabus and had no idea that the new one was now available. When the researcher asked curriculum developers and designers at the Tanzania Institute of Education (TIE) why the new syllabus was not in effect in teacher training colleges despite having been released in 2003, they explained that TIE designed and developed curriculum but the Ministry (MoEVT) was responsible for distributing it to the colleges. Hence, lack of implementation of the new curriculum is attributable to management and administrative snags that implementing agencies face. Professional ‘incompetence’ of college teacher educators:
Some informants identified the incompetence of college tutors as a
challenge to teaching ethics to reinforce teachers’ professionalism. In
the absence of specific courses in professional ethics, colleges and
universities tended to churn out half-baked school and college teachers
to teach without the required competence. It was generally difficult
for college teachers to teach teacher ethics when they were not
adequately exposed to them during their training at college or
university. Trainers are also often confused when it comes to
identifying the course in which to include the component to teacher
ethics. In some cases, college and practising teacher informants
identified educational psychology as compatible with the teaching of
ethics. In particular, teachers mentioned ethics as part of the
teaching of ‘personality’ psychology. This
problem arises for two major reasons. Firstly, teacher training
colleges did not have a course in teacher ethics. As a result, they
could hardly draw a clear distinction between the subject matter of the
discipline and other courses. Secondly, since the curriculum did not
have a provision for such a distinctive course, teachers in colleges
used different lessons to introduce student teachers to the aspects of
teacher ethics. Shortage of qualified teachers: The shortage of qualified public school and college teachers affects the teaching of ethics. This teacher shortage problem has forced the government, through the MoEVT, to adopt fire-brigade strategies to recruitment, including hiring ‘unqualified’ teachers. Such initiatives like reducing the teacher-training period, which in turn affects the quality of the teachers produced for the public schools. Recently, the government reduced the training period for Grade IIIA teachers from two years to a year. This crash programme was part of the 2002-2006 Primary Education Development Programme (PEDP) initiatives. The programme was aimed at easing acute shortage of qualified teachers in primary schools. Another alternative to the problem was to employ graduates from universities and other institutions of higher learning that did not possess any basic professional teaching qualifications. These ‘non-teachers’ were placed in secondary schools and education administrative offices, which dealt with key decisions or policies pertaining to the operations of teachers. Some of these recruits ended up teaching in teacher training colleges, the very institutions that prepare professional teachers. In an interview with the Assistant Director of The Directorate of Teacher Education at MoEVT, it was learnt that the original plan was to have such employees undertake postgraduate programmes in education at some stage: Since we have a dire need for teachers, as you know the number of schools has gone up drastically, we desperately look for teachers, we say we can take you but after a certain time we will send you to a Postgraduate Diploma in Education (PGDE) for those that do not have training in teaching so as they get professional skills. This is where all problems began (Education Officer, MoEVT). Before
these individuals get an opportunity to undergo professional training,
they spend a lot of time teaching in schools and colleges. Data from
the field revealed that some of these unqualified teachers had taught
for more than four years without getting any basic training in
teaching. All these counterproductive measures undermine the central
mission of teacher training colleges of promoting teacher ethics. The
question is: whose ethics do such non-teaching professionals entrusted
with the responsibility of preparing teachers perpetuate? It should be
emphasized here that these people represent diverse specializations,
including engineering, horticulture, sociology, political science,
commerce, home economics, economics, food science, and agriculture, but
without basic teaching qualifications. It is pertinent to note that by
employing every jobless degree holder in the teaching profession to
resolve the teaching staff crisis makes the task of promoting teacher
or professional ethics difficult. Lack of Teaching Materials and Resources: Teacher training colleges involved in the study also lacked relevant teaching and learning resources for different courses. With the exception of the University of Dar es Salaam library, the premier institutions of higher learning in Tanzania offering teacher education; no other college libraries had books, journals, and other literature relevant to the teaching of teacher ethics. Actually, this problem cuts across almost all disciplines. In colleges, trainee teachers solely relied on notes from their educators. Findings from interviews indicated that the offices of the Teachers’ Service Department (TSD) also lacked such resources on teacher ethics. As a result, district departments of the TSD failed to passing on relevant information pertaining to teacher ethics to all teachers. On this aspect, one of the informants explained: I
think the problem is funding. If there was money we would be able to
purchase and issue booklets that consisted of information about teacher
ethics to all teachers. For the time being not all teachers get copies
of such materials. For example, we were given forty copies of booklets
for the whole district. I have about two hundred primary schools in
this district (TSD officer). This
anomaly suggests that trainee teachers who do not have exposure to
relevant courses on teacher ethics also lack opportunities to
familiarize themselves with ethical issues of the teaching profession
once they become teachers. Though there is no evidence to confirm that
practising teachers would have time to read these books when available,
the presence of such resources could serve as a stopgap measure and
motivation for them to at least read something on teacher ethics. When
it comes to time management, there is ample evidence suggesting that
some teachers did not prepare themselves for lessons, citing lack of
time. However, these same teachers spent most of their time on other
activities to supplement their meagre income (Sambo, 2001). The moral problem of society: During the fieldwork, there were informants that identified moral problems in society as a serious impediment to promoting teacher ethics in teacher training colleges or even amongst practising teachers in Tanzania. There was evidence that immoral practices found in the society at large tend to find their way in different training institutions as well: The
environment has changed from the past. Sometimes people behave
according to environmental influence. The society has great influences
on people coupled with the economic environment which is different
today. Demands have also changed so much so that sometimes teachers’
behaviour is a response to social demands (School and College Inspector). This
signifies that misdemeanours in the teaching enterprise may be a
reflection of the present societal social ills. It is arguable that
trainee teachers from a morally depraved society in which, related
misdeeds, corruption, and theft are pervasive (Kaduma, 2004) can be
affected by these social evils in some way. Moreover, upon graduation
these trainee teachers (now in colleges) have to work in already
corrupt communities, a situation compounded by the fact that they have
to work with unprofessional teachers and other corrupt or irresponsible
members of the public. In such a scenario, one has just to imagine the
type of candidates that teacher training colleges in Tanzania receive.
Thus, the promotion of teacher ethics extends beyond the narrow
confines of the corridors of teacher training colleges since what is
happening in the wider society has a spill-over effect on the training
of teachers, as well as the environment in which they have to work.Irresponsibility of parents and society: Writing from experience in America,Walsh (1995, p. 23) reveals that “family sociologists calculate that parents are spending forty percent less time interacting with their children today that they did in 1950”. Research findings disclosed that parental irresponsibility in raising their children was another challenge to promoting teacher ethics. Consequently, some of these children find their ways into teacher training colleges, and later into the teaching profession as teachers in schools, teacher educators in colleges, or lecturers at universities. What does this imply as far as the provision of teacher ethics to professional teachers is concerned? Firstly, teacher preparation is a shared responsibility that involves not only teacher educators but also other stakeholders such as parents and members of community at large. Secondly, there is need to promote dialogues on children’s moral awareness, education, and development across and among different stakeholders, including parents and guardians. Conclusions and RecommendationsIn the light of the findings of the research, it is concluded that the promotion of teacher ethics in Tanzania and related societies is a responsibility of both teacher training colleges and other stakeholders. As such, it requires the concerted efforts of the mass media, religious institutions, and families or every adult in society. In this regards, the researcher recommends the following: First, teacher training colleges should make courses on teacher and professional ethics mandatory. Such courses expose trainee teachers to ethics pertaining to their vocation and lead exemplary lives worthy of their teaching profession. As Ishumi (2009, pp.6-7) asserts: The
School must demonstrate the highest possible level of integrity in its
approach to preparing young teachers-to-be for their responsibility and
service to the three clearly defined categories of clients; the
learner, society and the immediate community; their profession; and
their employer, be it the State or private other employer. Secondly,
the foundation of the ethical conduct of teachers is to a certain
degree laid by parents and guardians during childhood. As Berger (1991,
p. 122) points out, “parents are teachers of their own children”.
Without appropriate moral education at home and positive transition,
trainee teachers will find it difficult to change their conduct in only
two or three years of teacher training. Truly, “when a child first
comes to school at the age of six or seven, such individual has already
developed some character traits, and has absorbed some ideas through
life in the family” (Nyerere, 1968; p.40). The foregoing excerpt
suggests that teacher trainers have the responsibility to promote and
develop character traits that trainee teachers already posses when they
join teacher training colleges. Thirdly, facts from the discussions
indicate that there is an urgent need for a well-defined teacher
education policy and effective regulations for all institutions in
accordance with national ethics and patriotism. This policy should
inform a common practice regarding the teaching of professional ethics
in teacher training colleges. REFERENCES Adelabu, M. A.
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