Professional Codes of Ethics in Teaching

Abstract

Teaching is a noble and respectable profession that nurtures competent professionals, provides gainful living and enhances theprosperity of the people. It implies that teachers are the creativebrain-power that educates, trains and empowers the cream of thesociety. Hence, only the trained and registered teachers who haveimbibed adequate subject matter and professional ethics withcommitment for moral rectitude, academic excellence and effectiveservice delivery in their day-to-day activities should be allowed inclassrooms (Federal Republic of Nigeria (FRN), 2014). Ethics, as aconcept belongs to the realm of moral philosophy. Ethics is referredto simply as the system or science of moral principles, the rules orstandards of conduct or moral judgement. A code on the other handis a system of rules and principles that has been adopted by a societyor a class or group of people. From the foregoing definitions, a codeof ethics can be considered as short statements of rules and/orprinciples that have been accepted by a group of people or society togovern certain aspects of their conduct.