Physical education teachers’ compliance with professional Code of ethics & conduct in Tanzania

Abstract

Every profession considers the development and application of a Professional Code of Ethics and Conduct (PCEC) as a means of maintaining acceptable professional standards. As for the teaching profession, teachers are supposed to exhibit a high level of professionalism, responsibility, integrity, competence, character, respect and honesty. Such moral virtues are imperative for Physical Education (PE) teachers since their work involves close interactions with students in and outside the classroom and school contexts. The purpose of this study was to determine the compliance level of PE teachers with the PCEC in Tanzania. The study utilized descriptive survey design and was conducted in secondary schools and teachers’ colleges that had PE and sport programs. Purposive sampling was adopted to select PE teachers, heads of institutions and students and data were collected through questionnaire. This study was a survey type research that aims at determining physical education teachers’ compliance with professional code of ethics and conduct in Tanzania. Participants were 52 physical education teachers, 21 heads of institutions, 720 students and 398 who were either studying PE or participating in school sport, and 16 TSD officials. The instrument of this study was developed by the researcher based on the Tanzania’s public service regulations and literature review. Results from PE teachers, heads of institutions and student questionnaires’ revealed that, PE teachers complied with the professional code of ethics and conduct at high levels (M = 4.11, SD = .53). There were no significant differences in compliance levels among PE teachers across age (p = .868), gender (p = .502), marital status (p = .208) and teaching experience (p = .469). However, significant differences in compliance levels among physical education teachers were observed across their educational levels (p = .002), and across institutional variables of location (p = .000), ownership (p = .000), and type of institutions (p = .000). It was concluded that: PE teachers possess adequate knowledge of PCEC; and the level of education and religiosity are determinant factors for the knowledge of the PCEC. It was recommended that there is a need to strengthen professional development courses for teachers and emphasize Journal of Educational Science and Research (JESR) ISSN 2278-4950 Vol.2, Issue 2 Sep 2012 19 – 35 © TJPRC Pvt. Ltd., 20 the teaching of moral and professional ethics in the teacher education programs. Moreover, studies should be conducted to understand the level of compliance with the PCEC among teachers in other specialized subjects.