A Look into Professional Ethics of Educators for Development of Human Capital: A case

study of Educators at College of Business and Economics, Addis Ababa University

Worku Mekonnen Tadesse (PhD)

Associate Professor, School of Commerce

Addis Ababa University

A Research Proposal Submitted to School of Commerce, College of Business and Economics,

Addis Ababa University

December 2018

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 “Those who know, do.

Those that understand, teach.’

Aristotle

Abstract

Every profession, in order to regulate its terms, conditions, norms and quality of service
rendered, has its own professional ethics, which is different from general ethics. Teaching like
any professions also maintain its ethical standards. The purpose of this study is to show the
prevailing ethical standards of the educators at College of Business and Economics at Addis
Ababa University. Towards this end a qualitative research approach and exploratory research
design was employed. Selected informants from final year under graduate regular programs
were invited for group discussion. The respondents were invited to evaluate the ethical
standards of the educators at College based on five thematic ethical standards as identified by
many authors. These ethical standards are; maintaining trust in the profession, maintaining
professional relationship with students, respecting the uniqueness and diversity of students, and
keeping professional knowledge and practice up to date. The findings of the study portrayed that
the educators heavily rely on text books, are exam oriented and teacher centered hence, the
respondents have lesser trust on the professionalism of the educators. With regard to the
relationship between the instructors and students, the respondents shown their concern that the
relationship is more of unprofessional in sense that it is more of dictatorship type in its approach
and in some cases so loose. Favoritism in terms gender or some affiliations are also observed.
With respect to the tendency of the instructors’ manner of respecting the uniqueness and
diversity of students, the respondents stated that the instructors are tending to gain respect
rather than maintaining a mutual respect. They emphasized that in most cases the instructors
are unapproachable and unsupportive. While evaluating the instructors manner of keeping
professional knowledge and practice up to date, they stated that though some instructors had
deep knowledge in the area of the subjects they are teaching, in most cases the instructors are
tending to use the same handouts being used for several years without updating and changing
the contents of the teaching materials. The study concluded that the instructors’ ethical

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standards are by far less in most yardsticks being considered for the present study. Therefore,
the study calls the University administrators to set ethical standards which can be used as a
guideline for the instructors as well calls for further deep study by taking in to account more
colleges and also additional parameters of measuring ethical standards.

Key Words: Professional ethics, Educators, College of Business and Economics

Background of the Study

The most concerning issue for many individuals to day is about ethics of the youngsters. It is
common that many individuals complain the society is becoming corrupted and youth
generations are doing unethical activities randomly. In this respect family plays an imperative
role to make the children ethical, but teacher has enormous role about this issue. A teacher can
lift the morality of a student by cheering the ethical practices. As defined by Caldwell and
Hayes (2007) ethics consist of any of a broad number of philosophical perspectives about right
and wrong behavior. All of those perspectives are based upon an underlying set of assumptions
about rights, responsibilities, and relationships.

“Ethics” and “morality” are different in meaning often interchangeably used. While demarcating
their differences Waluchow (2003) stated that ethics is often used in connection with the
activities of organizations and with professional codes of conduct: such as medical and teachers
ethics. In other aspect morality often used in connection with the ways in which individuals
conduct their personal, private lives. Many authors like Traer (2013); Gasper (2009) shown their
concern that it is not necessary to over stress the difference between ethics and morality; as the
terms may be used to refer to ideas about how humans ought to act. Ethics is a necessity need in
every profession; it should be taken into account in employing people and in work environments.
The study on ethics helps to know the people’s beliefs, values, and morals, learn the good and
bad of them, and practice them to maximize their well-being and happiness. It involves the
inquiry on the existing situations, form judgments and resolve the issues. In addition, ethics tells

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us how to live, to respond to issues, through the duties, rights, responsibilities, and obligations.
In religion, similar principles are included, but the reasoning on procedures is limited.

Every profession, in order to regulate its terms, conditions, norms and quality of service
rendered, has its own professional ethics, which is different from general ethics. Professional
ethics as defined by Zohor and Khalaj (1989) is a set of moral codes and rules of the professional
practice. Action framework and moral or immoral judgment is intended to professionals.
Professional ethics is a broader concept than business ethics. Professional in one's life involves
professional and organizational ethics in whole. Rammeplan for allmennlærerutdanningen,
(2003) stated that professional ethics is identified as one of five main areas of competence for
teachers (the others being subject competence, didactical competence, social competence, and
competence for change and development).

The role of professional ethics across the professions is paramount. Its importance in educators is
more tinted. Faculty members as a role model and spiritual examples have a reflective effect on
students. Ethics in teaching includes the areas of behavior management, rights and
responsibilities, ethical freedom, intellectual autonomy, and dependability. Every profession is
expected to evolve a set of ethical principles to guide the conduct and behaviours of its members.
The ethical principles provide the basis to differentiate between desirable and undesirable
professional conduct and behaviour. Ethics deals with moral principles, which are usually
accepted voluntarily by an individual or a group. The code of professional ethics may be defined
as a set of self imposed professional ideals and principles, necessary for the attainment of
professional excellence and self-satisfaction.

The present study targeted to assess the professional ethics of faculty members at the College of
Business and Economics (CoBE) that consists of the former Faculty of Business and Economics
(established in November 1990) and School of Commerce (established in 1943). The study
targeted to reveal to what extent the professional ethical standards are respected by the faculty
members the College of Business and Economics.

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Problem Statement
Teachers and trainers are ‘dual professionals’; they are subject and/or vocational specialists and
experts in teaching and learning. They are committed to maintaining and developing their
expertise in both aspects of their role to ensure the best outcomes for their learners. These
expectations of teachers and trainers calls for professional standards. Different countries like
India are trying to make teaching profession self-regulatory, by evolving a code of professional
ethics. National Policy on Education (1986, 1992) in India enacted a code of professional
ethics for teachers at primary and secondary School Teachers. In Ethiopian context there are no
such professional ethical standards in which the teaching professions governed. In addition few
researchers made an effort to study the magnitude professional ethics of teachers in the Ethiopian
context. For example Awol (2020) studied the Status of Teachers’ Professional Development
and Code of Ethics on Madda Walabu University —Ethiopia and shown his concern that the
teachers are not endowed with necessary trust to prepare students with good moral
character and total lives. The result of his study reveals that adequate concern is not given by
the university towards implementing code of ethics. Some teachers reflect unpleasant
emotions and frustration towards the students and less concern is given towards building students
moral character and future lives and suggested further studies in order to develop professional
ethical standards. Melaku (2018) conducted a study in Ilu Aba Bor Zone Preparatory Schools
suggested that professional ethics, interpersonal relations and management skills should be
introduced to school system so as to make the post graduate diploma practices relevant to the
schools job performance. The very limited studies available in the area of study calls for further
studies in the area of profession ethics of teachers. It also seems that no systematic study
conducted in area of ethics as related to Addis Ababa University of teachers to the best
knowledge of the Researcher. In other respect the preliminary insights by the Researcher
showed that students are complaining about unfair treatment by the educators at College as well
as poor students- educators relationships. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to show the
ethical standards of the educators at the College of Business and Economics and targeted to
answer the following basic questions.

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Research Questions

1. To what extent, professional ethics components in the College are respected by the
faculty members?

2. What are the factors that affect the ethical standards of the educators at the College?

3. To what extent the ethics of the educators affect the teaching learning process at the
college?

Significance of the Study

The findings of the study revealed the magnitude of professionalism manifested in the College.
Hence it will create awareness about professional ethics and serve as point of reference for self
insight for the educators. The finding further can serve as spring point for policy makers as well
as College leaders for their managerial decisions as well as policy formulation regarding
professional ethical standards of the educators. The study might initiate other researchers to
conduct further study in the area of educators’ professional ethics.
Scope of the Study
The scope covers only the undergraduate regular programs form College of Business and
Economics at Sidist Killo campus and regular undergraduate programs at School of Commerce.
Limitation of the Study
The limitation of the study emanates from the design of the approach of the study which is
qualitative. Basically it is difficult to reduce data into a finite number of classifications. The
findings of the qualitative cannot be extended to wider populations with the same degree of
certainty. This is because the findings of the research are not tested to discovered whether they
are statistically significant or due to chance.
2. Literature Review
This part of the study presents the studies conducted in the area of professional ethics. It begins
with the concept of professional ethics and further presents the ethical standards of different
countries to identify the benchmarks on how to evaluate the professional ethics of the faculty
members.
2.1 What is Professional Ethics?

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Professional ethics is a combination of two words, Professional + Ethics. Here, Professional
means an expert, specialized, qualified, proficient, skilled, trained, practiced, certified, trained,
licensed, mature etc. So, professional is a term denoting a level of knowledge and skills
possessed by an individual or required of an individual to perform an assignment, that is attained
through extensive education and training. Secondly, Ethics means principles, morals, beliefs,
moral principles, moral values, moral code etc. Indeed the word Ethics is derived from the word
Ethos, which means character. In this way, Ethics is a science of character, habits of activity, or
behaviour of human beings. It evaluates human habits, character and voluntary determinations
and discusses their property or otherwise.
According to Farahani and Farahani (2014) professional ethics, as special professional principles
and rules is a broader concept than business ethics and includes a series of values, principles, and
norms that govern that particular profession. Professional ethics plays an important role in all
professions, but its importance in faculty members is more highlighted. Professors, as moral and
spiritual examples, not only affect their surroundings, but also have a profound effect on
students. Farahani and Farahani (2014) further stated that professional ethics of professors
includes the areas of punishment and behavior management, processes related to order, rights
and responsibilities, ethical freedom, intellectual autonomy, and trustworthiness.

Professional people and those working in acknowledged professions exercise specialist

knowledge and skill. How the use of this knowledge should be governed when providing a
service to the public can be considered a moral issue and is termed professional ethics.
Professionals are capable of making judgments, applying their skills and reaching informed
decisions in situations that the general public cannot, because they have not received the relevant
training. Professional ethics is a set of standards adopted by a professional community.
Professional ethics are regulated by standards, which are often referred to as codes of ethics. The
code of ethics is very important because it gives us boundaries that we have to stay within in our
professional careers. The one problem with the code of ethics is that we can't always have the
answers in black and white. Sometimes there are grey areas where the answers aren't so simple.

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Professional Ethics of Teaching
Teaching is a profession that is a mother of all occupations. A teacher is like a potter who
delicately shapes our impressionable minds and molds it into a vessel. Teacher’s personalities
should include the satisfaction of helping others, gathering and sharing information, pertinent
command over written and oral communication skills, team skills and positive attitude to bring
valuable change in the society. Teaching profession has always been one of the most respected in
the world.
Fallahi and others (2019) while exploring the components of professional ethics of teachers
stated that professors must develop ethical qualities as their personal and professional qualities in
order to good behavioral models for promoting ethical dimensions in universities and encourage
students to imply ethical behaviors in their careers. Farahani and Farahani identified the
following as components of professional ethics in teaching: Respect for the students, safety and
health of students, privacy own students, failure to provide material benefits in return for giving
score to students, trust and respect of students, having a spirit of tolerance and openness in
dealing with students, attention to appearance and covering appropriately by teachers, avoiding
inappropriate humour and jokes, not using the university facilities for personal matters by
teachers. Sultana (2014) also stated that Teacher has a responsibility to the society and in our
society teachers are respected all over. Students usually want to be like their favorite teacher in
their personal life.
So if the teacher can set example by their ethical behavior, than it will be easy to preaching
ethical issues among the students. And if the young generation be aware about ethical issues than
the total society and country will be benefited. Therefore as an important part of society teacher
should be ethical and they should follow the code of ethics of a teacher and should reflect their
ethical behavior to their students. Gluchmanova. (2015) also uncovered that Every teacher
should show an equal level of dignity to every person as an individual starting with their first
common lesson. Teachers’ respect towards the dignity of their students should also be
manifested through how they fulfil their professional obligations; one of which is to clarify to the
students, at the very beginning, the details of their study, the criteria of evaluation, the dates of
their sessions, etc. Each lecture or seminar should start on time, and provide students with help
or advice if necessary. Teachers at all levels of education should ensure the cognitive, intellectual

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and moral progress of their students and show them appropriate respect and appreciation.
Keeping the set rules and requirements for fulfilling students’ obligations and making sure that
they do not change in the course of the term or school year merely through the teacher’s willful
decisions is also a way of showing respect for the human dignity of students on the part of the
teacher. John (2004) identified that equally to his/her academic commitment the teacher should
know about ethics and the ethics in teaching that he stated as follows: 1. Code of ethics and
ethical norms 2. Understanding teacher-student relationship 3. Tension in teacher-student
relationship 4. Pedagogical.

Professional Code of Ethics of Teachers in the context of different countries.

Code of ethics is a written set of guidelines issued by an organization to its workers and
management to help them conduct their actions in accordance with its primary values and ethical
standards. Code of ethics also can be defined that a guide of principles designed to help
professionals conduct business honestly and with integrity. A code of ethics document may
outline the mission and values of the business or organization, how professionals are supposed to
approach problems, the ethical principles based on the organization's core values and the
standards to which the professional will be held. Codes of ethics give consent of the profession
on ethical issues. Codes of ethics at a time educate the general people about the ethical norms
and values of profession. A code of ethics should be considered as conventions between
professionals. Having a code of ethics allows a professional to object to pressure to produce
standard work not only bind in

India
According to Prakasha and Jaymma (2012) The code highlights that a teacher is not only a
purveyor of knowledge for the cognitive development of pupils but is also a democratic and
socialising agent, responsible for helping children to gain social and emotional maturity and
become useful and self-supporting citizens. He is expected to teach the students after making a
thorough preparation, and refrain from accepting remuneration for coaching or tutoring his own
students. He should be just and impartial to all his students irrespective of their caste, creed, sex,
status, religion, language and place of birth. He should set a standard of dress, speech and
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behaviour which should be worthy of example to the students; establish cordial relations with
parents and guardians of pupils; cooperate with the head of the institution and with the
management to ensure smooth running of the institution in accordance with the prescribed
norms; avoid making derogatory statements about colleagues, children and their parents; and
refrain from taking part in activities which spread feeling of hatred or disaffection among
different communities, religious or linguistic groups.

Four Norms to Govern Teaching

Honesty
Promise-Keeping: Promise-keeping requires the instructor to fulfill the "promises" made at the
beginning of the semester. Syllabi, assignments, grading principles, and class and office hour
schedules involve promises made to students. Respect for Persons: Teachers ought to encourage
mutual respect among students. Additionally, instructors ought to show respect and common
courtesy for students both during interpersonal interactions and in responding promptly to
students' need for guidance and feedback. Fairness: Recognizing the inherent subjectivity
involved in grading, instructors ought to ensure that their grading practices are as objective as
possible by creating and adhering to unambiguous criteria.

Chinese Business School

According of Mahbuba Sultana (2014), the Chinese Institute of Business set the following
ethical standards for teachers. In order to achieve the intended performance outcomes and
standards, all staff, students and trainers should adhere to the following ethical principles:
 be open, honest, fair and constructive in all dealings
 act ethically and with integrity at all times
 treat people with respect and dignity
 act in the long-term interests of the SCCCI and IOB@SCCCI community
 undertake work in a diligent manner
 be competent and fair
 strive for excellence through continual improvement
 understand and be able to articulate , support and implement the mission of the

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  exercise responsible stewardship of IOB

Professional Values and Relationships Ireland

Teaching Council, (2012) of the Ireland stated the following as ethical standards for the teachers.
Teachers should:
 be caring, fair and committed to the interests of the pupils/students entrusted to their care,
and seek to motivate, inspire and celebrate effort and success
 acknowledge and respect the uniqueness, individuality and specific needs of pupils/
students and promote their holistic development
 be committed to equality and inclusion and to respecting and accommodating diversity
including those differences arising from gender, civil status, family status, sexual
orientation, religion, age, disability, race, ethnicity, membership of the Traveller
community and socio-economic status, and any further grounds as may be referenced in
equality legislation in the future.
 seek to develop positive relationships with pupils/students, colleagues, parents,
school management and others in the school community, that are characterized by
professional integrity and judgments
 work to establish and maintain a culture of mutual trust and respect in their schools.
Malta
Malta, Ministry of Education 2012 stated that Members of the Teaching Profession shall:
 Base their relationship with students on mutual trust and respect;
 Have regard to the safety and wellbeing of students under their responsibility;
 Respect the uniqueness and diversity of the learning community they are part of;
 Work in a collaborative manner with colleagues and other professionals;
 Develop and maintain good relationships with parents, guardians and careers;
 Act with honesty, integrity and fairness;
 Be sensitive to the need for confidentiality where appropriate;
 Take responsibility for maintaining the quality of their professional practice;
 Uphold public trust and confidence in the teaching profession; and

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  Create learning experiences which engage, motivate and challenge students in an
inclusive setting with a lifelong learning perspective
Kennarasamband Íslands

The Icelandic Teachers’ Union Teachers’ Code of Ethics A code of ethics for teachers has been
developed in order to promote professionalism and strengthen teachers’ awareness of themselves
as a distinct occupational group. The code serves teachers as a guide in their work.

1. Teachers work to educate students and promote their general development through teaching,
nurturing and training.

2. Teachers respect students’ rights, safeguard their interests, strengthen their self image and
demonstrate respect, interest, and concern for every individual student.

3. Teachers uphold the equal rights of all students in their work in the educational system.
Teachers endeavour to counteract prejudice and do not discriminate against students on any
grounds, such as gender, nationality or religion.

4. Teachers endeavour to create a positive working atmosphere, establish fair rules for work and
personal conduct, and promote a stimulating learning environment.

5. Teachers endeavour to instil respect for the environment and cultural values in their students.

6. Teachers make every effort to maintain and strengthen their professional competence and keep
abreast innovations and improvements in education.

7. Teachers cooperate with parents and legal guardians when needed and always ensure that the
information given to guardians is correct and reliable.

8. Teachers respect the rights of guardians to take decisions on behalf of students who have not
reached the age of majority, and teachers will not discuss a student’s personal affairs with
professionals outside the school unless such action is unavoidable in order to safeguard the
welfare and legal rights of the child involved

9. Teachers cultivate a relationship of trust with students.

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10. Teachers maintain the confidentiality of a student’s private affairs and those of his guardians
when teachers acquire knowledge of such matters in the course of their work.

11. Teachers uphold the honour and interests of the teaching profession.

12. Teachers work together in a professional manner, participate in policy-making and take an
active role in the day-to-day operation of schools.

13. Teachers demonstrate full respect for each other as individuals in their written and spoken
utterances, and in their personal conduct toward their colleagues. This code of ethics is subject to
review at regular intervals.

Based on the codes of ethics of different countries as shown in the preceding paragraphs, the
following are the most important components of professional ethics: Respect for the students,
safety and health of students, privacy own students, failure to provide material benefits in return
for giving score to students, trust and respect of students, having a spirit of tolerance and
openness in dealing with students, attention to appearance and covering appropriately by
teachers, avoiding inappropriate humor and jokes, not using the university facilities for personal
matters by teachers.

3. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Research Approach and Design

The study employed qualitative data to show the magnitude of educators’ professional ethics. As
stated by Burns and Grove (2005) qualitative research is used to describe live experiences and
give meaning to them and is accompanied by increased insight, understanding and knowledge of
human experiences. Therefore as study aimed to show the magnitude of professional ethics of
the educators as result the author employed qualitative research as the best approach for such
the study. The design of the study is exploratory type in its design as the study aimed to
explore problems as related to ethical issues of the faculty members with no preconceived
checklist on the issue.

Participants and the Sampling Procedures

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The participants were chosen from regular program students of College of Business and
Economics at Addis Ababa University. Fourteen prospective graduates from regular program of
School of Commerce and Sidis Killo College of Business and Economics campus were selected
purposefully considering their exposure to the subject of the study. Additionally two students
from the Council of students were invited for interview. Regular graduating students of the
College were purposively considered as an informant as it was believed that they had more
exposure in the area of the studies than the remaining students at lower grade level. Purposive
sampling method was employed to invite respondents for group discussion. The group discussion
and interview took place in the quiet classroom at the university and continued until data
saturation was achieved. Duration of the group interview was about 90 minutes and the average
of individual interviews was 35 minutes.

Data analysis:
Group discussion and interview guides were constructed in line with relevant literature in the
area of the study. The author identified four thematic professional ethical areas based on the
literature review consulted and the experiences on codes of ethics of varying countries as
discussed in the review of literature section. The four thematic professional ethical areas which
were identified by Author were: Maintaining Trust in the profession, Maintaining professional
relationship with students, Respect the uniqueness and diversity of students and Keeping
professional knowledge and practice up to date.

Ethical consideration:
The present study was approved by the research office of the School of Commerce. Informed
consent was obtained from each participant, after introducing and explaining the goals and
method of the research. Before the analysis, all the information was unnamed and the
participants were identified based on the programs they attained and level of years of their
studies.

Results and Discussion

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Fourteen prospective graduates from regular program of School of Commerce and Sidis Killo
College of Business and Economics campus were selected purposefully considering their
exposure to the subject of the study. Additionally two students from the Council of students were
invited for interview. At the time when the discussion were made all the discussants had already
completed their studies and were in both campus at least for the period of three years.. The study
targeted to select the prospective graduates considering that they have adequate exposure to
observe the professional ethics of their respective instructors. The respondents were drawn from
all programs offered at college of Business and Economics at Addis Ababa University namely,
Accounting, Management, Economics, Public Administration, Business Administration and
Information Systems, Marketing and Logistics and Supplies Management. The results of the
discussions were presented thematically as shown in the next sections.

Maintaining Trust in the profession.

Many literatures have shown that one of the professional ethics a teacher need to maintain is to
develop trust in the profession. This means that the teacher should base their relationship with
students on mutual trust and respect. This requires the teachers’ manner creating learning
experiences which engage, motivate and challenge students in an inclusive setting with a lifelong
learning perspective. The discussants were invited to evaluate their respective teachers’ manner
of maintaining trust in teaching profession and their views were summarized as follows:

“ We develop bias at the outset relying on past definition given for the instructors based
our seniors’ insights. As the nature of the study is more of grade oriented type of
learning; we do retain nothing after the exams are over. We do evaluate our instructors
based on past judgments given by the senior students.. Res. No . 1, 2,3, 6.

“Most of the teachers rely on text books. Their methods lack practicality, they do not
relate the class discussion to the practical work experiences. Hence, the knowledge to
be acquired do not go far beyond what has been written in the text book.

Case exhibit. One of our instructor even told us by saying that “whatever you learned
in class is not related to practical world. It is more of rhetoric. Do not worry ‘none of
what you learned in class related to the practice of the organizations”. Res no. 7
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 The instructors are more of dictators. They create tension and sense of frustrations.
There is mutual respect. The relationship is not friendly. The instructors try to create
distance, they want to be respected by being a dictator. Indian instructors are more
grade oriented. Some of them boldly say that , “ I know what you want from me.” They
do not give attention for their subjects rather they want to create an atmosphere of give
and take approach. Resp. no.6

The responses given by the discussants reveal that the students had no trust in their instructors. It
seems much distance between the instructors and their respective students.

Maintaining professional relationship with students

One of the professional ethics as being cited by many authors is maintaining professional
relationship with students. This calls for setting professional boundaries whilst in school and
out of schools. It is a matter of avoiding improper physical contact, avoiding inappropriate
communication via any form of media and avoiding inappropriate relationship with students.
with regard to the prevailing professional relationships, the discussant were asked to evaluate
their instructors as follows:

In most cases the teaching approach is one sided. More teachers centered approach.
Our instructors talk and we will listen. We lack confidence in asking questions as well as
responding to the questions that will be raised by the instructors. Resp. no. 4

Some instructors try to form relationship in terms of religion, ethnicity and the like than
mere professional student relationships, They stated that I am being questioning the
tradition say of “the teachers are father of knowledge”.. The instructors considers the
task of teaching as a part time work. They do not consider as being teaching is theirs
profession. They are half hearted for their profession. In most cases they are forcing us to
accept whatever is being said by them. Res. No. 1.

Some of our instructors want to gain respect by formulating a difficult question that could
not be answered by the average students. Some of them are uttering irritating responses
when we are trying to ask questions.

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 “Case 1. One instructors uttering such phrase like “why are you asking me a questions
that would be asked by KG students”. Res. 8, 9

Case no. 2. One instructors often says that “ Who is the next person that made laugh
by asking a silly question”. Res. No. 13

I attended few courses being interested on instructors manner conducting the classes.
Usually I am attending the classes since most of the instructors are taking attendance
which is part of grading. Most of the teacher students relationships are not smooth and in
most cases full of tension. I do feel that I gain knowledge though I am earned the degree.
Res. No. 5.

Some instructors are tending to favor young girls. Sometime we approach them through
our female friends to smoothen the relationship whenever we want to approach some of
our instructors. When we solely approach them personally being a male student their
approach is mostly harsh” Res. No, 2

In some cases the boundary is so loose particularly among the Indian instructors even
they would add marks if we closely approach them telling fabricated stories in order to
smoothen the relationship to gain an additions in our grades. Res. No. 3

Respect the uniqueness and diversity of students

The other professional ethics being emphasized in many literatures is respecting the uniqueness
and diversity of students. This calls for demonstrating respect for diversity, maintaining fairness
and promote equality irrespective of gender, race, religion, sexual orientation, appearance, age,
language or different needs or abilities. The discussant were asked to evaluate their instructors
extent respect they give for their fellow students in respect of uniqueness and diversity of
students.

In most cases our instructors are tending to be respected, but they do not respect us.
There is no tendency for mutual respect. In most cases it is one sided. The instructors
consider us empty minded personalities. They do not feel we are knowledgeable. Some of

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 them came to class with no preparations. They are asking us where we stopped in the
previous class..

Case incident. “One of our Instructor arranged for make up class at 10 a.m. we were
waiting him to attend his class. Suddenly he called our class representative and told us
he could not meet the time because of heavy traffic and he instructed us to come again
at 11: 30 a.m. we went before the stipulated time to attend the class. He called again
and re-scheduled the class at 2 p.m. we were waiting for him as per the instruction
however, he were not shown up and re-arranged at 4 pm. However, some could not
meet his last instruction because our personal reasons. Finally he came at 4 pm and
penalized all of us who were not able to attend the class at 4 pm, Res. No 10

In most cases the instructors are unapproachable and we are unable to request any extra
support regarding our academic works more than the discussion made in the classes. The
approach is totally authoritarian then mutual respect. Res. 5. 8.

Some of the instructors are not punctual. Some of them are missing classes for long time
Even there are instances where we commence the class after two months being elabsed
since the class begin as per the colander of the University. There a time when we started
classes after two months since the beginning of the semester. Some of them create a
tenses class environment by shouting on us. Res. 6, 8 and

Keeping professional knowledge and practice up to date

Keeping professional knowledge and practices up to made requires maintaining high standards of
practice in relation to teaching and learning, classroom management, planning, assessment and
reporting. in a context of mutual respect, be open and responsive to constructive feedback
regarding their practice and, if necessary, seek appropriate support, advice and guidance act in
the best interest of pupils/students. The discussant was asked to comment on the educators’
professional knowledge and practices. Their responses were summarized as follows:
Two group of instructors being observed thorough our experience in campus. One group
is highly knowledgeable and we do observe the depth knowledge they accumulated in the

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subject matter they thought. The other group of instructors are can be questioned in
whatever miracle the joined as the instructor of the university. Res. no. 1, 6, 34

We are using the same handout being used by our seniors. We do not observe any
difference between the past handouts and lecture notes and ours. . Only few instructors
are updating their teaching materials. Res. No. 4, 10, 13.

Case : “While discussing with my relative who was a graduate of the department that I
presently attending ten years ago, he told me that he was thought by the same
instructor that currently teaching one of my courses . He asked me to show him the
teaching materials for the courses He looked at it and he said I was also used the same
handout”

Even some instructors rely on the text books that they were referring while they were a
student. They do not refer any recent versions. Some seems they do posses adequate
knowledge in the subjects they are teaching, however they fail to deliver the subject. Res.
No. 5.8. 11. 14

Some instructors are keep on discouraging by telling us how far their subject is difficult.
“One instructor referring his past achievement he told us even being the instructor of the
course I scored a “C” grade while I was a student. For you it is difficult to exceed more
than my achievement as your level of understanding by lesser as that of mine.” Res. No,
7, 4,9.

Respondents from sadist campus emphasized that most of the Instructors would not be
considered as a role models, Only few particularly the older instructor are seen as a
model where we can emulate their teaching and professional experiences. In most cases
the young instructors will not be considered as role models since they do not give much
respect for their professions. In other respects respondents from school of commerce

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 emphasized that young instructors con be considered a role models than the senior once.
Res. No. 8, Res. No.3 , 14, 12

Some instructors are unwilling to show our performance reports particularly our
continues assessment marks. Even those that are telling us the results, they are not
willing to hear any complaints and they are forcing us to accept the result. Res. No.1, 12,
13.

Concluding Remarks and suggestions.

The findings of the study have shown that the educators could hardly meet the professional
ethical standards as being considered by educators in different countries.. The study unvoered
that the relationship between the students and teachers is more of unprofessional in sense that it
is more of dictatorship in its approach and in some cases so loose.. With respect of the tendency
of the instructors’ manner of respecting the uniqueness and diversity of students, the study
shown that the instructors are tending to gain respect rather than maintaining a mutual respect.
They emphasized that in most cases the instructors are unapproachable and un supportive. While
evaluating the instructors manner of keeping professional knowledge and practice up to date,
they study has shown that some instructors had deep knowledge in the area of the subjects they
are teaching while in most cases the instructors are tending to use the same handouts being used
for several years without updating and changing the contents of the teaching materials. The study
concluded that the instructors’ ethical standards are by far less in most yardsticks being
considered for the present study. Therefore, the study calls the University administrators to set
ethical standards which can be used as a guideline for the instructors. The study as well calls for
further deep study by taking in to account more colleges and also additional parameters of
measuring ethical standards.

20
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