Free « Contemporary Ethical Issues» Essay Sample

Introduction

Education is something that is offered on a dairy basis. Educators are faced with tough decisions to make in the course of their career which requires them to apply an effective method of coming up an appropriate decision. One of the approaches when deciding on an issue is to first acknowledge the ethical issues or conflicts (Campbell, & Oblinger, 2007). Next is to clarify the nature of the conflict. The other step is to identify the processes that will be involved regarding the issue.

The other step is to identify possible solutions or alternatives that can be applied in solving the problem. At this point it is important share the issue with fellow colleges to try and come up with the best ideas for the issue at hand. This is then followed by the selection and implementation of course of action. Finally the educator must evaluate the results and revise it when needed.

Due to the many ethical issues that need to be decided on, it is important for the educator to be open minded and be ready to face the responsibility and accountability in every decisions made. The educator must bear in mind that the process of decision making is not a one mans’ responsibility and he should therefore involve his colleges (Mandin, 2010).

In the contemporary education environment, there exists’ some moral, legal and ethical issues that are most commonly faced by givers and receivers of education. These issues include:-

Issue regarding the choice of teacher:- This is one of the major issue faced by educators. A conflict arises between the principal and the parent on the choice of to which the child shall be assigned.

Issue on whether school uniforms should be made compulsory:- This issue has people ‘for’ and those ‘against’. It therefore calls for a firm decision by the administration for the welfare of the school.

Issue regarding how to handle disciplinary issues:- Two approaches exist here- zero tolerance policy and give them another chance. The approach to use should be influenced by the severity of the mistake done.

Issue regarding on how to address diversity:- It is evident that schools are made up of very diverse people in terms of race and ethnic groups. Racial inequality and ethnic differences have been an issue of concern since the inception of public schools. It has been proposed that introduction of different ethnic sports and multicultural festivals at schools would help in bonding students from different races and ethnic groups into a single institutional unit (Shukla, 2010).

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Issue regarding sex education:- Many concerns have been raised regarding sex education in schools. The main question regarding this issue is whether sex education is of any advantage to students or not. The main concern is whether the vast knowledge on sex that the students have is of any advantage but the advantages seem to outweigh the disadvantage (Dogra, 2010).

Issue regarding special education for the disabled:- This mostly occurs in situations where by handicapped children are taught together with other normal children. It is obvious that the handicapped children are at a disadvantage when they are learning with the normal children. The issue that arises here is on resources are going to be allocated for the disadvantaged children. The other issue regarding this is on the criteria to use to conclude that a student is handicapped and the adverse effects it will have on the student.

Issue regarding sexual harassment:- The key issue here is deciding on a situation as being an act of sexual harassment.

Issue regarding grading of students:- Although exams are the key determinants of what grade a student is going to score, issues arise where grading is being done on subjects that are not examinable.