Přehled o publikaci

The educator in modern society interacts with a diverse group of children/students when she/he works with or teaches extremely heterogenous groups of individuals who may be characterised by diversity that is not only cultural and linguistic in nature, but also moral. A similar situation arises in terms of moral customs, modes of behaviour and habits. A whole range of lifestyles and normative opinions converge at school and in the classroom. Consequently, educators need methods and sound knowledge in order to be able to address moral and ethical problems. According to Banks, Stárek, the most controversial area of ethics in helping professions is the conflict between ethical values and principles. The job of educators is becoming more and more complicated and demanding. Educators have to increasingly take into account the voice and reaction of parents. Students are more diverse. School management is becoming more professional and more administratively complex. Schools and other institutions are newly defined and there are changes in legislation and key documents. Consequently, educators have to work strategically in a field that is increasingly more determined by the social and personal interests of higher positions along with cashflow/economy, legal frameworks and political power. On the other hand, it is becoming increa+63singly clear that the core of the teaching profession includes not only teaching but also the relationship with students and parents. Educators can barely cope with the speed of changes in the teaching profession when they have to protect its core and sometimes even fight for it, not only in schools but even in society, where the issue of teacher status is often addressed. Educators can better protect themselves and have a professional space to defend the quality of their profession. Professional ethics can play an important role in this task. For the teacher, it is not a top-down ethics but the ethics of educators that frames what governs and interconnects teaching professionals. The research sample consisted of teaching staff working at a primary school in Prague. The teachers work in the first stage of primary school. The selected primary school has a code of ethics as an internal regulation. In total, five interviews with teachers were conducted. Respondents agreed that the Code of Ethics and Ethical Decision-making Model are good support for their professional practice. They are primarily useful in the communication process, especially when talking to children, colleagues and parents.