Codes of Occupational Practice in Education Professionals - Term Paper Example

Education professionals have s of occupational practice that are similar to those of health and social work professionals" (DATE) Introduction Education, health and social work are professions which demand a great deal of dedication on the part of the practitioners. A good teacher is an asset not only to the school where he is employed, but to the whole community. He has a major role in shaping the character of his students apart from imparting basic skills. Earlier, a person would become a teacher out of a passion for the profession and for the prospect of being instrumental in showing the right way to the future generation. Likewise, a person would choose the medical profession, because he genuinely wanted to be of service to the sick. They usually outperformed the expectations of the community they served. There was no need to educate them about their code of conduct. Good practices were internalised in the course of the practice of their profession. Now the scenario has changed drastically and more people are taking up these professions as their career. Naturally, career progression and financial compensation packages have become important. With increase in the number of patients and lifestyle diseases, healthcare requirements have increased manifold. The rapid advancement of diagnostic and preventive technologies has facilitated setting up of improved infrastructure for healthcare. More hospitals, clinics and specialist health care centres have been set up in both government and private sectors. The requirement of qualified and trained health workers has increased considerably over the past many years. Associations have been formed to represent and promote the interests of the healthcare professionals. The government also have realised the need for setting minimum performance standards for healthcare and social work organisations and their professional practitioners, considering the drastic increase in the number and diversity of such organisations. Codes of practice have been framed by the government as well as professional bodies in response to this need. The same underlying causes have also contributed to many fold increase in the number of educational institutions and education professionals. It is in this context that we examine the hypothesis, "Education professionals have codes of occupational practice that are similar to those of health and social work professionals". Evolving Nature of Work and Expertise The role and nature of work of the teacher has changed very much over the years. Teaching had followed a more or less rigid pattern with the teachers prescribing what to learn from well defined reference materials. The teachers therefore had absolute control and autonomy. Implicit obedience enforced by physical punishment was the order of the day as evident from the proverb, “spare the rod and spoil the child”. Subsequently uniform systems of education and centralised control by the government have reduced the autonomy of the teachers. Expectations of the students and parents have also changed over the years. Parents are now more conscious of the need to provide good education to their children. More importantly, the students of the current generation are exposed to considerable amount of information through TV, media and internet. There is a large amount of learning by self. They are much more inquisitive than the students used to be in the earlier generations. Children are using social media and other online resources to get information about the subjects that they study. They also consult other students and online tutorials. As such, the really interested student is armed with lot of information and wants the teacher’s help to get advanced information and guidance. So the teacher himself has to move with the times and keep abreast of the new technologies. The role of the teacher is shifting from that of a direct tutor to one of a facilitator. The educational professionals have to take cognizance of the social and technological developments in the society and the changing work environments. They have to realise the fact that the changes taking place constitute a paradigm shift which will have profound impact on learning and expertise1. The teacher of the day is more of a friend who shares knowledge with the students and also learns while he teaches. The old bench and desk classroom concept is giving way to wifi enabled environments with students using iPads instead of notebooks. Bulk of the time spent in copying notes earlier is now available for discussions and debates on the subject. Many of the discussions generate new insights which are helpful to students in many parts of the world as they are posted on the net within no time. In the field of healthcare and social work also, the nature of work has undergone changes. Health care was traditionally doctor-centred and the diagnosis and treatment was done based on personal consultation with the patient. The diagnosis of the disease and the appropriateness of the treatment were based on the exclusive opinion of the doctor. The documentation of the diagnosis and treatment was confined to the doctor’s personal notes and diaries and the role of the supporting health workers was usually not recognised. Subsequently, when records were made mandatory, the roles of nurses and other supporting staff were documented and this curtailed the doctor’s exclusive authority. Availability of specialist technologies for diagnosis and treatment also necessitated referrals and led to maintenance of accurate paper records for individual patients. Health care has now become more collaborative and consultative and the power distribution between the various interest groups has become more dynamic. Technology has enabled access of personal health information to the patients, helping them to understand their condition better and make informed decisions2. They have access to records and are able to consult doctors of their choice. Also all consultation records and details of treatment by all doctors in respect of a particular patient are available in the computer database. So the records are visible to all the doctors. Hence doctors and other health workers are more accountable and there actions are more visible. This has curtailed their power further. The extent of expertise and skills required for performing healthcare work has also increased commensurate with the advancement of medical and diagnostic technology and use of computer database for maintaining records. Responsibility, accountability and transparency demand more professional approach from all the persons working at various levels in the healthcare delivery system. This also points to the need for guidelines and codes of conduct for the healthcare workers. It is also necessary that proper training is imparted to all concerned to help them align themselves to the legal and professional requirements. Construction of Professional Identities The transition from a student to a professional and the construction of a professional identity is a gradual process where experience and skills acquired over many years matter. The exact definition of a professional identity is elusive and dynamic as it is a social and contextual construct. “Professional identity can be thought of in relation to desired traits; it can also be used in a collective sense to convey the identity of the profession”3. The professional identity has implications for the personal identity also. Identities reflect what a person wants to become and how he values his contribution to the society. It is reinforced by the feedback received from peers and service users. Personal and professional identities evolve as a person progresses in his career. The code of conduct and practice in a way contributes to the establishment of an identity. The principles and values to which the professional subscribes and the need to meet the expectations of the society and government influence his conduct. Membership in professional bodies and associations is a way of asserting the collective identity of the professionals. This affords them a sense of security and belonging and acts as a driving force to live up to the image that they have projected for themselves. The professional bodies also act as a forum for sharing experiences and imparting training to further enrich the professional careers. In addition, they collectively influence the policy making initiatives of the government. A problem usually associated with establishment of a professional identity is a strong personal identity thrust upon the individual due to his ethnicity or upbringing. ‘Black nurse’ and ‘Jewish doctor’ are mixed identities and existence of dual identities can be distracting. The enforcement of professional codes and belonging to professional bodies can help iron out such differences. Strong personal and professional identities have great influence in promoting self esteem and commitment. Emotionally balanced, knowledgeable and conscientious professionals are the backbone of healthy educational and healthcare delivery systems. The social status that they enjoy has also implications for the establishment of a positive identity. Teachers as well as healthcare professionals enjoy better social status now than earlier. The service dimension of these professions is attracting talented young people, which is a welcome sign. Regulation and Governance of Education and Health Care Professions The need for regulation and standardisation is evident from the discussions above. Both the educational and healthcare sectors are vital in promoting the well being of the society. Education should impart knowledge of moral values of good citizenship. In addition, it must prepare the student for the vocation which he wants to take up as an adult. The basic skills of language and communication and numerical ability are common to all branches of learning. The minimum proficiency to be acquired at the primary level and the competence of the teachers chosen for imparting knowledge has to be standardised. Methods for recognising and nurturing exceptional talent should also be provided. The Teachers’ Standards (2011) published by the Secretary of State for Education, provides the guidelines for effectively performing the teaching job and also the rules for personal and professional conduct. It requires that “a teacher is expected to demonstrate high standards of personal and professional conduct”4. Treating students with dignity and respect, caring for their safety and well being, abiding by the democratic principles, tolerance towards other faiths and beliefs, professional regard for the ethos and policies of their school and observance of the legal duties and responsibilities associated with the profession are the points outlined in the code of personal and professional conduct of teachers. These guidelines help the new entrant to the profession to align his skills and thinking to the requirements of the profession and to forge his professional identity. In the healthcare sector also, regulation is essential to ensure minimum acceptable quality of service. To address this requirement, the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC), the registration body for health and care professionals in the UK, stipulates the standards of conduct, performance and ethics for practitioners of health and social work in various disciplines. Service orientation, confidentiality, skill acquisition, safety, honesty, integrity and proper recording are the salient point covered by the HCPC. Michael Gove, who became the Secretary of State for Education in 2010, has initiated a number of steps to strengthen the education system in England. The emphasis of the reforms is on deregulation; giving more autonomy to schools performing well to design and deliver their own education, giving more freedom to head teachers to fix pay of top-performing teachers etc5. The government have recognised the need for giving more powers also along with higher responsibility and accountability. System of performance based incentives is also being implemented. It must be recognised that within the broad legal framework there should be provision for relaxation where the context justifies it. In the case of patients with terminal illnesses, the carer has to act judiciously with the prime objective of providing maximum comfort to the patient. There is a general feeling that talented young people do not want to take up the teaching profession, as the remuneration package is not commensurate with the risks involved. The government has to address the issue by offering special packages to talented students showing clear aptitude for teaching. A person can really succeed as a teacher only if he has a passion for the job. Fixing of code of conduct will only help produce satisfactory teachers. Excellent teachers have to be brought up by nurturing talented children. In the field of healthcare also inherent aptitude and talent should be of prime consideration. The need for regular training is an area which has to be addressed. The quality improvement programmes are generally operated based on seniority of the teacher and availability of funds. Many a time talented teachers have to wait endlessly for their turn. In the healthcare sector also training is relegated to a secondary position in favour of other immediate priorities. Similarities in the codes of conduct and performance standards of teaching and healthcare professions Both the sectors are service oriented and the quality of service has long term implications for both. Honesty and integrity are necessary to ensure that money invested is not diverted. Acquisition of sufficient knowledge and skill is also central to performance of the respective roles effectively. While the teacher is responsible for the safety of the student, the healthcare professional has to ensure the safety of his patient. Confidentiality and loyalty to their respective organisation is also important for both professions. As such it may be seen that the role of a teacher is not much different from that of a social worker. The teacher has to take special care of students with learning disabilities and try to bring them at par with the other students. He has to cope with students with different IQs. Likewise, the healthcare professional also has to take the personal characteristics of the patients into consideration and make appropriate interventions. The use of discretion to decide what is best for the particular context rests with the professional and this should also stand the test of scrutiny subsequently. Conclusion Education and healthcare provision are fundamental requirements in any civilised society. A responsible government should always invest sufficient resources in these sectors to ensure continued well being of the society. Government should also ensure that the tax-payers’ money invested in these sectors is used optimally. No one should be deprived of good education or healthcare on account of poverty or ethnicity. Education and healthcare professionals share the common goal of service to the society. Therefore it is only proper that both of them have similar performance standards and codes of conduct. There is also need to attract talented people to both professions to improve the quality of service delivery. Strict regulatory framework in the past has not yielded the desired results in both the sectors. So the approach by the government for future should be one of “hands off” focussing on providing proper infrastructure and talented manpower and leaving the rest to the individual organisation. The government should monitor the performance on the basis of end results in terms of achievement of the targeted social objectives. The allocation of funds should be based on excellence in performance. This will ensure that organisations which mange their job well get to improve their facilities further. This will lead to healthy competition between the various health organisations. Good organisations will be able to attract more talented persons and will have preferred status for healthcare provision. Though both the education and healthcare sectors have similar codes of conduct, the enforcement of these codes does not happen to the same extent. In the healthcare sector, the clients are more sensitive to lapses in service and therefore breaches of conduct are more likely to be reported. In the case of the teaching profession, the members of a teaching community form a fraternity and minor lapses are overlooked. The adverse effects of poor performance in the case of a teacher are not immediately known, whereas the results of an error in treatment become apparent immediately. This stresses the need for an overall culture of excellence for the organisation as a whole, rather than depending upon the dedicated efforts of a few talented persons. Reference Department for Education. ‘Teachers’ Standards: Guidance for school leaders, school staff and governing bodies’. July 2011. https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/301107/Teachers__Standards.pdf Health and Care Professions Council. ‘Standards of conduct, performance and Ethics’. http://www.hcpc-uk.org/assets/documents/10003B6EStandardsofconduct,performanceandethics.pdf Morris, J & Patterson, R., ‘Around the World: The Evolution of Teaching as a profession’. http://nzinitiative.org.nz/site/nzinitiative/files/articles/Around%20the%20world pdf. Petrakaki, Dimitra, Klecun, Ela and Cornford, Tony. ‘Changes in healthcare professional work afforded by technology: the introduction of a national electronic patient record in an English hospital’. Organization, online. 2014. pp. 1-21. http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/59475/1/__lse.ac.uk_storage_LIBRARY_Secondary_libfile_shared_repository_Content_Klecun%2CE_Changes%20in%20healthcare_Klecun_Changes%20in%20healthcare_2014.pdf Torp, Hanna & Nevalainen, Timo. ‘The World Has Changed – What About the Teacher?’ http://www.academia.edu/360724/The_World_Has_Changed_-_What_About_the_Teacher. Wiles, Fran. ‘Not easily put into a box’: constructing professional identity’. Social Work Education, vol 32, No: 7, 2013. pp. 854–866. Read More