ERIC Number: EJ1108099
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2013
Pages: 22
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1814-6627
EISSN: N/A
Teacher Perceptions of Their Ethical Responsibility: The Balancing of Rights
le Roux, Adré; Marais, Nalize
Africa Education Review, v10 n4 p709-730 2013
Almost annually, South African education is troubled by strike action and the temporary discontinuation of teaching and learning. While teachers claim their constitutionally protected right to participate in strikes, learners' equally constitutionally protected right to education is violated. Not only is a tension between these two rights fore-grounded during strikes, but the ability of teachers to balance these rights is questioned. In this article, we argue that the right to education is a facilitative right that naturally assumes greater importance than other rights. However, the centrality of this right does not annihilate the teacher's right to strike; rather, the ability to balance these rights requires ethical competence. Data gathered in the Free State Province reveal that whilst further education and training teachers have conflicting perceptions of their ethical responsibility, there seems to be a need for the re-construction of professional identity through ethical qualities.
Descriptors: Foreign Countries, Teacher Attitudes, Ethics, Teacher Responsibility, Teacher Rights, Teacher Strikes, Unions, Student Rights, Access to Education, Teacher Behavior, Teacher Competencies, Knowledge Level, Statistical Inference, Questionnaires, Scores, Statistical Analysis
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: South Africa
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A