Education
Integrity and Ethics: A Trainer’s Manual for Educators By Central Board of Secondary Education
Central Board of Secondary Education has prepared, A Trainer’s Manual for Educators” Integrity and Ethics” for conducting Capacity Building Programmes for the teachers.
How do children learn to be honest, respect societal norms, and act in ways consistent with the values, beliefs, and moral principles they claim to hold? How do teachers instil and reinforce a code of ethics in their classrooms? These are tough questions.
Morals and ethics are logical, sensible principles of good conduct that are needed for civil societies. Ethical choices reflect objectivity between right and wrong. Values such as fairness, justice, integrity and commitment are universal and eternal.
Most of the educators recognize that the students they teach today will become the leaders of tomorrow. Academic curriculum is constantly updated to meet the increasing demands of a changing knowledge society. Yet, we pay far less attention to the habits that build ethical leaders—habits that develop during childhood and adolescence. Schools are the spaces where young people prepare for life, acquire skills for career and success.
With this goal in view Central Board of Secondary Education has prepared, A Trainer’s Manual for Educators” Integrity and Ethics” for conducting Capacity Building Programmes for the teachers.
The programme will be launched in this current academic session of 2019-20 itself. The two day activity workshop has been carefully designed for teachers to probe and prod various thoughts and actions. It includes topics ranging from (Cognitive dissonance), Understanding Integrity, Kohlberg’s stages of moral development and A to Z of Ethics.
The training and activities are interspersed with role plays, anecdotes and approaching Ethics and Integrity through AV media, Teacher/elders as role model and creating space for Integrity in Classrooms.
Among a host of activities and suggestions, the manual also talks about the probable ways Teachers Develop a Culture of Integrity and includes excerpts from write ups and articles by well-known thinkers, such as the American psychologist, author, columnist and youth development expert Marilyn Price-Mitcheland discusses how to:
- Infuse integrity into the classroom culture
- Develop a moral vocabulary
- Responsibility • Respect • Fairness • Trustworthiness • Honesty Incorporating the teaching of these five values into the curriculum and help students use the vocabulary to discuss a variety of historical topics and current events.
- Responding appropriately when cheating occurs. While teachers cannot control student behaviour, they can respond with consistency when enforcing school and classroom policies.
- Using famous quotes as conversation starters to help students reflect on topics related to integrity, moral development, and other attitudes that help them develop positive work habits and respectful relationships.
- Helping students believe in themselves: Students who stand up for principles in which they believe have high degrees of self-efficacy.
The objective is to create an environment in which existing practices and policies can be critically examined and students can be sensitised. The board hopes to make this a cross cutting theme across all disciplines.