Instruction in Professional Ethics in Professional Schools for Teachers By Theodore Day Martin SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN THE FACULTY OF PHILOSOPHY, COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY Published by NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION WASHINGTON, D. C. 1931 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS FOR the encouragement and guidance which I have received in connection with this study from Professors William C. Bagiev, E. S. Evenden, and J. Ralph McGaughv, of Teachers College, Columbia University, I wish to express my appreciation. To J. W. Crabtree, Secretary of the National Education Association, I am indebted for inspiration and wholesome counsel during the course of the work. To Dr. John K. Norton and Dr. Richard R. Foster, of the Research Division, I am under special obligation for detailed criticism and advice regarding the organization and presentation of the data. For helpful suggestions and clerical assistance, I am in- debted to many other members of the Headquarters Staff. This study could not have been made without the cooperation of many leaders in the various professions who answered the ques- tionnaires and letters of inquiry, and I am sincerely grateful to them. T. D. M. [4] Introduction TABLE OF CONTENTS Page 1 Causes of Growing Interest in Professional Ethics — Codes of Ethics Among Teachers — The Value of Codes of Ethics — Educational Implications — Purpose — Methods of Study PART I Instruction in Professional Ethics Chapter I. Current Practices in the Schools of Eight Professions 10 General Status of Ethical Instruction — Causes of Wide Differences in Practice — Are Courses in Professional Ethics Elective or Required? — In What Year of Training Is the Course in Professional Ethics Usually Given? — Analysis of Practice in the Schools of Each Profession: Architecture; Dentistry; Nursing; Journalism; Business and Commerce; Law; Medicine — Schools for Teachers: Definite Courses in Ethics; Specific Attention to Professional Ethics in Other Courses; Requirements of State Departments of Education; Differences of Prac- tice and Opinion — Summary Chapter II. What Arrangements for Instruction in Professional Ethics Should Schools for Teachers Provide? 24 Demonstration by Experiment — Opinions of Leaders — Principles of Curriculum Construction PART II Standards of Professional Conduct Among Teachers Chapter III. Selection and Organization of Material 27 Teachers’ Codes of Ethics — Criteria Employed in Selecting the Standards — Teachers’ Attitudes Toward Certain Practices — Violations of Professional Ethics — General Method of Presentation Chapter IV. General Principles of Conduct 32 General Principles — General Attitudes and Traits — Violations of General Pro- prieties Chapter V. Standards of Conduct in Relations with Pupils, Parents, and Com- munity 37 The Welfare of the Child — Individual Differences among Pupils — Impartiality — Sympathy and Courtesy — Confidential Information — Tutoring Pupils of His Own Classes — Imposing Religious or Political Views upon Pupils — Cooperation with Parents — Participation in Community Life — Politics and Factions — Disparaging the Community [5] Chapter VI. Standards of Conduct in Relations with Associates Page 45 General Statements — Assisting in the Formulation and Execution of Policies — Support of Associates — Shifting Responsibility — Giving Constructive Advice and Helpful Ideas — Credit Due for Achievements and for Assistance Received — Assisting Associates To Secure Promotions — Interfering in Another’s Affairs — Confidential Information — Criticism of Associates — Transaction of Business through Proper Channels — Organizing Data for Successor Chapter VII. Standards of Conduct in Relation to the Profession 55 Pride in the Profession — Standards of Entrance — Growth in Service — Affiliation with Professional Associations — Improving Economic and Social Conditions — Reporting Corrupt and Dishonorable Practices Chapter VIII. Standards of Conduct in Securing and Terminating Employment 61 Applying for a Position — Withdrawing Applications — Merit the Sole Basis for Appointment or Promotion — Nepotism — Self -advertising — Recommendations — Underbidding — Seeking an Offer Elsewhere — Fulfilling Contracts — Notification Regarding Termination of Employment Chapter IX. Standards of Conduct in Connection with Teachers’ Agencies, Publishing and School Supply Houses 69 Teachers’ Agencies — Publishing and School Supply Houses Chapter X. Conclusions and Recommendations 71 Selected Bibliography 74 Appendix 80 Detailed Supplementary Tables — Forms Used in Collecting Data — Sources of Mailing Lists of Executive Heads of Professional Schools to Whom Questionnaire Was Sent. List of Tables 88 [6] Introduction A widespread and growing interest in the improvement of human relationships has char- acterized the first thirty years of the twentieth century. This interest has been expressed among professional and industrial groups by the adoption of codes of ethics and standards of practice. In 1924 a volume was published containing approximately 200 such codes and statements adopted by national or interstate organizations.1 Few of these appeared before the beginning of the present century. Fifty- two were adopted between 1900 and 1920, and 140 between 1920 and 1924. At a meeting of the Interprofessional Com- mittee of the American Academy of Political and Social Science held in Detroit in 1919 leaders in various fields discussed the value of codes and statements of practice as means for improving both professional service and pro- fessional relationships.2 As a sequel to this conference the May, 1922, issue of the Annals \ of the Academy was devoted almost wholly to the same subject. The trend of opinion ex- pressed in these articles was that codes of ethics and statements of approved practices are effective steps toward better professional conduct and higher social levels. The frequent J treatment which problems of professional eth- ics have received during recent years in text- books prepared for use in professional schools, in trade journals, and at state and national conventions is further evidence of increasing interest in these problems. Activity in the field has grown so greatly that in 1926 Cabot wrote, “Ethics is beginning to be fashionable.” 3 Causes of Growing Interest in Profes- sional Ethics Several reasons have been advanced for the recent growth of interest in problems of pro- fessional ethics. Lee contends that the urge toward higher ethical standards in business resulted from the activities of the “muck- rakers” in the early years of this century.4 Kent believes that the movement was not stimulated primarily by idealistic reformers but arose naturally from man’s developing sense of mutual responsibility.5 Kohn suggests that it was the result of the keener moral sensitiveness stimulated by the experiences of the World War,6 7 while Cabot maintains that the work of the Federal Trade Commission, organized in 1915, was one of the most in- fluential factors." Doubtless impetus was also given to the movement by the aggressive cam- paign for code adoption conducted by the In- ternational Association of Rotary Clubs.8 Whatever the causes may have been, the gen- eral conviction has spread that the adoption of definite standards of practice is mutually beneficial to the vocations concerned and to society as a whole. Codes of Ethics Among Teachers Among teachers the development of pro- fessional standards of conduct has paralleled roughly the movement in other vocational groups. During the past thirty years numerous codes of ethics for teachers have been prepared by individuals, by classes in teacher training institutions, and by local, state, and national associations. The first official state code for teachers was adopted in 1896 by the state teachers’ association of Georgia. The Cali- fornia association followed suit in 1904 and the Alabama association in 1908. By 1920, the teachers’ associations of eight states had 1 Heermance, Edgar L. Codes of Ethics. Free Press Printing Co., 1924. 525 p. 2 Whitaker, Charles Harris. “The Interrelations of the Professions. Annals of the American Academy of Politico and Social Science. 101:13; May, 1922. 3 Cabot, Richard C. Adventures on the Borderlands of Ethics. Harper and Bros., 1926. p. vii. 4 Lee, James Melvin. Business Ethics. Ronald Press, 1926. p. 45. 5 Kent, Edwin N. The Business Side of Dentistry. C. V. Mosby, 1929. p. 20. 6 Kohn, Robert D. “The Significance of the Professional Ideal/’ Annals of the American Academy of Political an< Social Science. 101: 1; May, 1922. 7 Cabot, Richard C. Op. cit. p. 78-9. 8 Gundaker, Guy. “Campaign of the International Association of Rotary Clubs for the Writing of Codes of Standard of Practice for Each Business and Profession.” Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science. 101 228-36; May, 1922. [7] adopted official codes 1 and by 1930, thirty- three states reported the adoption of such docu- ments.2 The National Education Association appointed a committee on ethics in 1924 and in 1929 officially approved the code recom- mended in the report of that committee.3 The increased frequency with which prob- lems of professional ethics have been treated during recent years in educational publications and conventions indicates a growing aware- ness of the need for further development in this field 4 and Marsh suggests that the teach- ing force of the nation ought to take advan- tage of its opportunity for leadership in the nationwide movement for improved practice in the business and professional world.5 The Value of Codes of Ethics Early writers in this field were inclined to put great faith in the mere formulation of codes of ethics. King introduces his foreword to the May, 1922, issue of The A finals of the American Academy of Political and Social Sci- ence with the categorical statement, “Codes of ethics are important agencies for social con- trol.”6 Jones expresses a similar conviction in the following statement “The ideals of men best project themselves into reality when crystalized in written docu- ments. ... In every line of human activity a united written expression of that which is best for the common good becomes a strong force for prog- ress. The mere expression clarifies the sentiment.” 7 Landis, after studying the problem inten- sively, is much less positive of the value result- ing merely from the development of written codes and Cabot reports that he is not sanguine “about any reform in business ethics to be pro- duced merely by the formulation and publica- tion of a code.” 8 While writers agree that codes of ethics and statements of approved practice have considerable potential value, those who have studied the problem recently emphasize the importance of making adequate provision for their dissemination and enforce- ment. This, as Landis suggests, is principally an educational job.9 Educational Implications The effectiveness of any code of professional ethics depends upon three closely related con- ditions. The code must be stated clearly and specifically; it must be widely disseminated and thoroughly understood ; and it must be ac- companied by means of enforcement. This study is primarily concerned with the first two of these conditions; namely, the clear state- ment and wide dissemination of standards of professional conduct. The importance of edu- cation in this connection is well expressed for the teaching profession in the following state- ment : “Of course, the mere formulation of codes of ethics will not accomplish much unless there is in some way implanted in every new teacher a sense of individual responsibility for maintaining good professional standards. This is the task of state departments of education, of superintendents of schools, and especially of the faculties of teacher training schools.” 10 The foregoing discussion immediately raises two large problems: (1) what administrative arrangements should be made for training teachers regarding the principles and standards of professional conduct? and (2) what stand- ards of conduct should be observed by teach- ers? This investigation does not attempt to answer these questions completely. It aims rather to throw some light on them, and thereby to stimulate still further the increas- ing interest of recent years in the whole prob- lem of professional ethics among teachers. 3 National Education Association, Committee on Ethics of the Profession. Report: The Ethics of the Teaching Pro- fession. (Sarah T. Muir, Chairman.) July, 1926. p. 14-16. 2 See Table 8, Chapter III. 3 Muir, Sarah T., chairman. “Final Report of the Committee on Ethics of the Profession — Abstract.” Proceedings , 1929. Vol. 67. National Education Association, 1929. p. 179-82. 4 Koos, Leonard V. The American Secondary School. Ginn and Company, 1927. p. 673. 6 Marsh, J. Frank. The Teacher Outside the School. World Book Company, 1928. p. 79. "King, Clyde L. “Foreword.” Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 101: vii; May, 1922. 7 Heermance, Edgar L. Op. cit. p. 1-2. 8 Cabot, Richard C. Op. cit. p. 79. 8 Landis, Benson Young. Professional Codes. Contributions to Education, No. 267. Bureau of Publications, Teachers College, Columbia University, 1927. p. 11. 10 Chambers, George Gailey. “Codes of Ethics for the Teaching Profession.” Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science. 101: 126; May, 1922. [8] Purpose The purpose of this study, therefore, is threefold: (1) to discover current adminis- trative practices regarding instruction in pro- fessional ethics; (2) to suggest administrative arrangements which professional schools for teachers may use to acquaint their students with the accepted standards of professional conduct; and (3) to prepare a selected and annotated list of standards of professional con- duct which may be used as a basis for discus- ision in teacher training classes and among teachers in service. Methods of Study To discover what arrangements professional (schools now provide for instruction in ethical conduct, three procedures were employed : ( 1 ) a questionnaire was sent to the heads of schools of education, law, medicine, architecture, com- merce and business, dentistry, journalism, and nursing; (2) the catalogues of a representa- tive number of schools for teachers, lawyers, and physicians were examined; and (3) sup- plementary information was obtained by cor- respondence and personal conference with leaders in the eight fields. The administrative arrangements suggested for the teaching of ethics in schools for teach- ers are based primarily upon general principles of curriculum construction in the field of teacher training. The proposed arrangements do not represent common practice. Neither are they derived from a concensus of expert opin- ion. They conform to principles of curriculum construction which have received wide accept- ance, but are frankly intended to be merely suggestive. To obtain the list of standards of profes- sional conduct among teachers, the codes of ethics adopted by the National Education As- sociation and by state teachers’ associations were analyzed. Illustrative and explanatory material was drawn partly from the codes and partly from the following sources: (1) re- ports of the National Education Association's Committee on Ethics of the Profession; (2) violations of ethical standards reported by teachers, supervisors, and administrators; (3) books and magazine articles concerned with problems of teacher personnel; (4) the official standards of the medical and legal professions. [9] PART I INSTRUCTION IN PROFESSIONAL ETHICS CHAPTER I Current Practices in the Schools of Eight Professions This chapter presents a survey of provisions for instruction in professional ethics offered by the schools of eight professions: architecture, commerce and business, dentistry, journalism, law, medicine, nursing, and education.1 Three procedures were employed to obtain the data. First, the questionnaire method was used in all of the eight fields because it per- mitted direct contact with each of them at a minimum expenditure of time and money.2 Sec- ond, school catalogues were examined in three fields, law, medicine, and teaching, to secure a check on the accuracy of the questionnaire re- sults and to obtain descriptions of courses offered. Third, personal conferences and cor- respondence with leaders in the eight fields helped to interpret the data obtained by the first two procedures. Table 1 shows the number of questionnaires sent and the number of replies received. The percent of schools responding ranged from 44 in the case of schools of nursing to 88 in the TABLE 1.— EXTENT OF RESPONSE TO THE QUESTIONNAIRE Type of Professional School Number of Ques- tionnaires Sent Replies Receive Number Percent 1 2 3 4 j City Normal Schools. . , 28 23 82 State Normal Schools. . . . 109 61 56 Teachers Colleges 99 65 66 Education Departments1 . 209 137 66 Teaching (All schools) . . . 445 286 64 Architecture 25 22 88 Business 40 35 88 Dentistry 46 38 83 Journalism 19 16 84 Law 144 102 71 Medicine 76 67 88 Nursing 300 131 44 j Grand Total 1095 697 64 Read table as follows: Of the 28 city normal schools to which the questionnaire was sent, 23 or 82 percent replied. Similarly read figures for the other types of institutions. 1 Departments of education in colleges and univer- sities which grant degrees in education. case of schools of architecture, business, and medicine. The percent from all schools com- bined was 64. There is no apparent reason to doubt the representativeness of the schools which replied. Table 2 shows the number of catalogues ex- amined in the fields of teaching, law, and medicine. In two of these groups, teaching and medicine, the sampling was even larger rela- tively than in the case of the questionnaire re- turns. Only in the case of the city normal schools, a comparatively small group, was the number of catalogues examined too small to yield meaningful results. TABLE 2.— NUMBER AND PERCENT OF SCHOOL CATALOGUES EXAMINED Type of Professional School Number in 1928 Direc- tory 1 Catalogues Examined Number Percent i 2 3 4 City Normal Schools 28 5 18 State Normal Schools. . . . 109 103 95 Teachers Colleges 99 93 94 Teaching (All Schools) . . . 236 201 85 Law 144 75 52 Medicine 76 71 93 Grand Total 456 347 76 Read table as follows: Of the total of 236 schools for teachers listed in the Directory, the catalogues of 201 or 85 percent were examined. Similarly read figures for other types of institutions. 1 U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Educa- tion. Educational Directory, 192ft. Bulletin, 1928, No. 1. Government Printing Office, Washington, D. C. Table 3 shows that the two methods of in- vestigation yielded similar results with respect to the percent of schools offering definite courses in professional ethics. In each of the three types of schools the percent indicated by the questionnaire returns was only slightly larger than the percent indicated by the ex- amination of catalogues. It therefore appears 1 For sources of the lists of schools included, see page 87 in the Appendix. 2 The questionnaire U6ed is reproduced on page 84 in the Appendix. [10] that both procedures are reasonably reliable and that, with certain reservations, the ques- tionnaire returns may be relied upon in the further analysis of the status of ethical in- struction in the eight groups of professional schools. TABLE 3.— PERCENT OF SCHOOLS OFFERING DEFINITE COURSES IN PROFESSIONAL ETHICS AS INDI- CATED BY TWO DIFFERENT METH- ODS OF INVESTIGATION Schools for Number of Ques- tionnaires Returned Number of Cata- logues Examined Percent of Schools Offering Definite Courses as Indi- cated by Question- naires Cata- logues 1 2 3 4 5 Teachers1. . 149 201 13 8 Lawyers . . . 102 75 67 63 Physicians . 67 71 43 39 1 Includes state and city normal schools and teachers colleges. Departments of education in colleges and universities are not included here. General Status of Ethical Instruction From the replies to the questionnaire it was possible to differentiate three general types of provision for instruction in professional ethics : | (1) definite courses in professional ethics ; (2) specific consideration of the subject in units of other courses; and (3) incidental considera- tion of the subject in all courses. Table 4 shows the situation among the schools of eight professions as indicated by the questionnaire returns. Of the 697 replies received from all types of schools, 42 percent reported definite courses in professional ethics; 41 percent re- ported specific consideration of professional ethics in other courses; 4 percent reported incidental consideration of the subject in all courses; and 13 percent reported no in- struction in the subject. In studying Table 4 one should bear in mind the extreme difficulty of drawing hard and fast lines of distinction between the three types of provisions just mentioned. Doubtless there is some overlapping between these categories be- cause of differences in interpretation by the officials reporting. The type of provision which was classified by most of those reporting as specific consideration of ethics in another course, was doubtless classified by a few as a definite course in itself. Similarly, it is probable that incidental consideration of the subject was frequently reported as specific consideration in other courses. On the whole, however, the important fea- tures of the situation from the viewpoint of this discussion stand out clearly enough. First, most professional schools give some attention to instruction in professional ethics. Second, these schools as a group are rather evenly di- vided in practice with reference to offering defi- nite courses in professional ethics, with the bal- TABLE 4.— ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS REPORTED FOR INSTRUCTION IN PROFESSIONAL ETHICS Number of Schools Reporting Type of of Ques- Professional tionnaires Definite Courses in Specific Treatment Incidental Treatment School Returned Professional Ethics in Other Courses in All Courses No Instruction Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Teaching 286 23 8 200 70 8 3 55 19 Architecture . . . 22 9 41 12 55 0 0 1 4 Business 35 6 17 16 46 7 20 6 17 Dentistry 38 32 84 6 16 0 0 0 0 Journalism. . . . 16 9 56 6 38 1 6 0 0 Law 102 68 67 18 17 7 7 9 9 Medicine 67 29 43 19 28 6 9 13 20 Nursing 131 120 91 8 6 1 i 2 2 Total 697 296 42 285 41 30 4 86 13 Read table as follows: Of the 286 professional schools for teachers which responded to the questionnaire, 23 or 8 percent reported that they offer definite courses in professional ethics; 200 or 70 percent reported that this subject receives specific consideration in other courses; 8 or 3 percent reported that the subject receives incidental consideration in all courses; and 55 or 19 percent reported no instruction in professional ethics. Similarly read figures for the other types of institutions. [11] ance somewhat in favor of those not offering such courses. Third, different professions vary widely in respect to the proportion of their schools which provide definite courses in this subject. Causes of Wide Differences in Practice Column 4 of Table 4 shows wide differences among the various professions with reference to the provision of definite courses in profes- sional ethics. The percents of schools offering such courses range from eight among teacher training institutions to ninety-one among schools for nurses, while approximately half of the schools of architecture, journalism, law, and medicine offer distinct courses in this field. Among schools of commerce and business a very small proportion offer distinct courses, and among schools of dentistry the proportion offering such courses is almost as large as in the case of schools of nursing. A number of factors must be considered in any attempt to account for these differences. Among schools for teachers the factors of greatest influence against the establishment of definite courses in professional ethics are prob- ably the following: the brevity of most train- ing courses for teachers ; the demand of a wide range of subjects for a place in the professional curriculum for teachers ; the assumption that the relationships of the teacher do not differ significantly from the ordinary relationships of life; the fact that the rank and file of teachers have until recently been slow to realize the truly professional nature of their calling; and the marked difference of opinion among edu- cators as to the relative values of direct and in- direct methods of character education. In the field of nursing the situation is some- what different. Although nursing, like teach- ing, has only recently begun to realize its pro- fessional possibilities and responsibilities, it is subject to certain influences which affect edu- cation only indirectly or not at all. Nurses, in the practice of their profession, are in close and constant contact with physicians. The medical profession has for years stressed the impor- tance of conduct which conforms to high pro- fessional standards. The nurse’s work involves the most intimate relationships with both physicians and patients, and thus necessitates a high degree of discretion, a keen sense of propriety, and a clear definition of preroga- tives and responsibilities. These factors, com- bined with the ambition of leaders to dej velop nursing to the level where it will be universally recognized as a full-fledged profes- sion, have resulted in a widespread demand for and establishment of definite courses in pro- fessional ethics in the curricula of schools for nurses. In the field of dentistry, which also is char- acterized by the very large percent of its schools which provide definite courses in this subject, the dominant factors probably have been similar to those affecting the training of nurses. Dentistry is a much younger pro- fession than medicine, but like nursing is closely identified with the older calling. It, therefore, has a heritage of professional ideals of which it is keenly conscious. This, together with the aspiration of leaders to improve the service and enhance the prestige of this rela- tively young profession, has led naturally to strong emphasis upon the teaching of ethics in dental schools. Thus far this discussion of differences in practice has dealt with professions in which the training schools are almost unanimous either in providing definite courses in profes- sional ethics or in failing to do so. As pointed out, however, some of the professions are char- acterized by a much more even division of practice on this point. What interplay of in- fluences is responsible for such a situation in well-established professions like law and medicine ? Both law and medicine have been recognized as professional callings for a great many years. They have not needed to broadcast their codes of ethics or to espouse instruction in profes- sional conduct in order to gain prestige. Until comparatively recent years the professional training which preceded active practice in these fields was largely of the apprentice type. A young man aspiring to become a lawyer se- cured a position as clerk in the office of an active practitioner. During his spare moments he read law. Through his work as clerk he ac- quired technical training which prepared him for independent practice later, and his con- stant and intimate contact with his superior gave him an acquaintance with the traditions, the ideals, and the approved procedures of the profession. [12] Within the past generation, however, this situation has been radically changed. Law schools have developed rapidly. Prospective lawyers are prepared in quantity lots. Instruc- tion has been almost wholly impersonalized by large classes,1 and there is little opportunity for intimate contact between students and practitioners who exemplify in their lives the best ideals of the profession. Furthermore, the growing complexity of legal problems and the closer relationships between lawyers and pow- erful business and industrial interests make it increasingly difficult to recognize ethical issues and to act according to the dictates of pro- fessional conscience. With these factors in mind many leaders have considered it advisable for law schools to provide definite courses of instruction in the ethics of the profession. This viewpoint is clearly reflected in the following statements : In that period (before the Civil War) law was relatively simple and static . . . the lawyer was not subject to such powerful and insidious in- fluences— at any rate, the fratricidal competition of later days, with correspondence courses and pro- prietary law schools turning out graduates far in excess of community needs, had not yet appeared.2 A determined effort has been made by committees of ethics in different states to see to it that either by persuasion or by the compulsion of rules of court, law schools expecting their certificate of graduation to be accepted by bar examiners as the equivalent of a clerkship or prescribed years of study, should prescribe and faithfully carry out a certain number of hours of lectures upon the sub- ject of legal ethics.3 On the other hand, many equally influential leaders assert that changing conditions have not increased the need for systematic instruc- tion in ethics. Their arguments are that a law- yer in order to be professional needs primarily to be a gentleman ; that the extended training and moot court experiences provided by many law schools furnish adequate knowledge of professional etiquette ; and that definite courses in this subject are usually formal, uninterest- ing, perfunctory, and ineffective. One corre- spondent explains this negative attitude as follows : This lack of interest (in instruction in professional ethics) is occasioned by two views, both of which are erroneous. One view prevalent among the better schools is that ethics simply refers to gen- tlemanly deportment and good manners, and that if a young man is at all receptive he cannot go through the university of today without uncon- sciously becoming imbued with what is neces- sary in that respect. . . . The other reason is that a good many law instructors seem to regard ethics as merely ideals which cannot be put into practice if one is to become engaged in the profes- sional competition that exists today.4 A similar situation exists in the field of medical education. Many leaders believe that the mass production of physicians has so com- pletely eliminated the stimulating contact of the initiate with the practitioner that the prob- lems of professional relationships must be strongly emphasized in definite courses. On the contrary, many feel just as strongly that such formal emphasis is neither necessary nor de- sirable. They have great faith in the inspira- tional influence of the physician’s traditional devotion to his professional ideals. They be- lieve that if a student does not absorb these ideals without special instruction during the long and rigorous medical course, he is not likely to acquire them by any amount of formal study. Doubtless other factors have had a bearing upon the present status of ethical instruction in schools of law and medicine. The preceding paragraphs, however, indicate two conflicting trends of influence to which the relatively even division of practice in these schools may be largely attributed. Are Courses in Professional Ethics Elective or Required? The number and percent of definite courses in professional ethics which are required and elective are shown in Table 5. Of the 296 schools of all types reporting definite courses, 92 percent prescribe them for all students, whereas only 8 percent offer them as electives. Such courses are required of all students by a substantial majority of schools in each profes- sion, except in the case of business schools. Among schools for teachers, however, 35 per- cent make these courses elective, which is a considerably larger proportion than is found in most other types of professional schools. This fact doubtless reflects the more liberal 1 Law School Faculty of Columbia University. Summary of Studies in Legal Education, 1926-28. Mimeographed, p. 11. 2 Harley, Herbert. “Group Organizations Among Lawyers.” Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social i Science 101: 33; May, 1922. 3 Jessup, Henry W. “The Ethics of the Legal Profession.” Ibid, p. 16-17. 4 Letter from Thomas H. Howe of Chicago, Chairman, Committee on Professional Ethics and Grievances of the American Bar Association. [13] TABLE 5.— THE PROPORTION OF DEF- INITE COURSES IN PROFESSIONAL ETHICS WHICH ARE REQUIRED AND ELECTIVE Type of Professional School Number Offering Definite Courses Schools in Which Definite Courses Are Required Elective Num- ber Per- cent Num- ber Per- cent i 2 3 4 5 6 Teaching 23 15 65 8 35 Architecture. . . 9 9 100 0 0 Business 6 3 50 3 50 Dentistry 32 32 100 0 0 Journalism .... 9 8 89 1 1 1 Law 68 61 90 7 10 Medicine 29 27 93 2 7 Nursing 120 118 98 2 2 Total 296 273 92 23 8 Read table as follows: Of the 23 schools for teachers which reported definite courses in professional ethics, 15 or 65 percent require these courses of all students, while 8 or 35 percent offer them as electives. Similarly read figures for other types of professional schools. elective policy prevailing in schools for teach- ers, in contrast to the more rigidly prescribed curricula in schools of architecture, dentistry, law, medicine, and nursing. In What Year of Training Is the Course in Professional Ethics Usually Given? Facts concerning the year of the training period in which definite courses in professional ethics are offered appear in Table 6. The terms used in answering this item on the question- naire varied so much that the replies could not be interpreted as simply as desired. However, Table 6 depicts the essential features of the situation. Although there is considerable diversity of practice even among schools within a single profession, certain tendencies are evident. Schools of dentistry, law, medicine, and teach- ing tend to place the distinct course in ethics near the end of the training period. On the other hand, most of the schools of nursing place it in the first year, although many offer such instruction in both the first and third years. The latter arrangement is doubtless due to the recommendation of the Nationa League of Nursing Education.1 The tendency among most professiona schools, except those for nurses, is to put the1 course in professional ethics near the end of the training period. The advantages of this plan are that the students by this time havf developed a background of technical prepara- tion which enables them to appreciate the spe cial standards of conduct of their profession j and, as they stand on the threshold of activ< practice, they are eager to learn these stand- ' ards, so that, by conforming to them, they maj ij win the respect and esteem of their clients and | professional associates. On the other hand there is an advantage in providing ethical in- struction in the first year of the course. In this way the habit of thinking in terms of accepted h standards may be initiated at the beginning, i and strengthened through discussion and prac- i tice during the entire course of training. Prob- ably the best plan would include both of these : „ arrangements. c Analysis of Practice in the Schools oi Each Profession Schools of Architecture — The Standaral Minima adopted by the Association of Colle- giate Schools of Architecture in 1924 stipulates that “Every course should treat of professional practice with special emphasis upon ethics.’ Of the 22 schools of architecture which an- swered the questionnaire, 41 percent reported definite courses in professional ethics; 55 per- cent reported that this subject is given specific attention in other courses; and 4 percent re- ported no such instruction.2 Eleven different courses were mentioned in which problems of professional ethics are specifically included, but only one of these was listed three times or more. This course, entitled Business Relations and Professional Practice, was listed by four institutions. Schools of Dentistry — Professional ethics is one of the subjects required of Class A dental schools by the Dental Educational Council of America. The course in which this instruction is given is usually 16 hours in length and is 1 Clayton, S. Lillian, Sub-committee Chairman. "Revision of the Standard Curriculum (Continued) : History and Ethics of Nursing.” American Journal of Nursing 26: 305-09; April, 1926. a See Table 4. [14] placed in either the junior or the senior year.1 Of the 38 dental schools responding to the questionnaire, 84 percent reported definite courses in this subject, and the remaining 16 percent reported specific consideration of it in other courses.2 Of those reporting definite courses, however, many indicated that the in- struction is a part of a more general course in- cluding one or more of the following fields: Dental History, Jurisprudence, and Eco- nomics. Schools of Nursing — The National League of Nursing Education has prepared and recom- mended, with the endorsement of the American Nurses Association, a thirty-hour course in History and Ethics of Nursing 3 and a thirty- hour course entitled Survey of the Nursing Field and Professional Problems.4 One or both of these courses have been adopted by practi- cally all schools for nurses throughout the coun- try. Of the 131 such schools from which replies were received, 91 percent reported definite courses in professional ethics ; 6 percent indi- cated specific attention to these problems in other courses; and 3 percent reported either in- cidental consideration in all courses or no in- struction at all.5 In addition to the two courses mentioned above, six others were listed as in- cluding ethical problems, but of these none was mentioned by three or more institutions. Schools of Journalism— The Principles and Standards of Education for Journalism adopted inl924 by the American Association of Teach- ers of Journalism includes this statement: “The professional courses offered in journalism shall afford instruction ... in the history of jour- nalism, the principles or ethics of journalism (with particular reference to the duties and re- sponsibilities of the journalist to society) and the law of the press.” This statement has also been incorporated in the Constitution of the American Association of Schools and Depart- ments of Journalism as one of the requirements for membership in the Association.6 Of the 16 schools of journalism reporting, 56 percent indicated that they provide distinct courses in professional ethics; 38 percent give these problems specific attention in other courses; and 6 percent give them incidental con- sideration in all courses.7 Nine different courses TABLE 6.— THE YEAR OF TRAINING IN WHICH DEFINITE COURSES IN PROFESSIONAL ETHICS ARE GIVEN Year of Training Type of Professional School Teach- ing Archi- tecture Busi- ness Den- tistry Jour- nalism Law Medi- cine Nurs- ing Total 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 3 1 1 10 66 81 1 1 1 2 1 41l 47 2 1 4 2 1 10 1 3 5 3 4 19 5 5 36 Third and fourth 5 1 1 i 4 2 1 1 16 3 1 7 7 13 1 32 Senior and last2 1 63 2 18 5 18 7 3 60 4 3 2 9 Total 23 9 6 32 9 68 29 120 296 Read table as follows: Of the 23 schools for teachers which reported definite courses in professional ethics, 3 offer these courses in the first year; 1 in the first and a later year; 2 in the second year; 1 in the second and a later year; 3 in the third year; 5 in the third and fourth years; 3 in the fourth year only; 1 in the senior or last year; and 4 gave no defi- nite information. Similarly read figures for other types of professional schools. 1 Twenty-eight of these 41 schools reported their courses as given in the first and third years. r 2 The number of schools reporting their courses as given in the “senior" or "last” year is listed separately because these terms are ambiguous and may refer to years other than the fourth. 3 One of these six schools reported its course as given in the fifth year. 1 Letter from W. H. G. Logan, Dean, Chicago College of Dental Surgery and President of the American Asso- ciation ot Dental Schools. 2 See Table 4. 3 Clayton, S. Lillian. Op. cit. 4 Letter from Elizabeth C. Burgess, President of the National League of Nursing Education. 5 See Table 4. 9 American Association of Schools and Departments of Journalism. Constitution, 1927, p. 3. 7 See Table 4. [15] in which problems of professional ethics are given attention were mentioned, but Editorial Writing was the only one listed three times. Correspondence with leaders in the field in- dicates that here, as in other professions, there is considerable diversity of opinion, with strong convictions on both sides of the question as to the advisability of providing definite courses in professional ethics. The following statement reflects this situation : The subject (teaching of professional ethics) has been a very important problem before the teachers of journalism for a number of years, and has been thoroughly discussed from time to time at the annual conventions of the teachers of journalism. All teachers in the larger schools, without excep- tion, believe that the teaching of ethics is an import- ant function of the school of journalism, but they do not all agree as to ways and means. Some believe that it should be presented in a separate course; others believe that the topic should be included in every course. So far as I know all the larger schools offer a course, usually for seniors, devoted to the discussion of ethics of journalism. It is not always called ethics. For example, in this school we call it Principles of Journalism. . . . My own feeling is that it is most effective when taken up in connec- tion with the concrete cases as it arises in various courses. However, a general survey of all the prob- lems gathered together during the senior year sends the student out into the profession with definite ideas.1 Schools of Business and Commerce — Of the 35 schools of business which answered the in- quiry, 17 percent reported definite courses in standards of professional conduct ; 46 percent reported specific attention to the subject in other courses ; 20 percent indicated that it re- ceives incidental consideration in all courses ; and 17 percent reported no attention given to it.2 Seventeen different courses were listed in which ethical problems are given specific study. Those mentioned by three or more schools were: Accounting, Salesmanship, Cooperation and Business Finance, Marketing, Business Management and Procedure, and General Ethics. Correspondence with leaders in this field corroborated the evidence just given as to the - diversity of opinion concerning methods of training students in the principles of business ethics. A few quotations are pertinent: There is no course in professional ethics offered in the Graduate School of Business. ... If in any of our courses we fail to stir the minds of our stu- dents on the ethical implications of the subject they are studying, we are failing to stimulate all-round development. This is an omission we are trying to avoid.3 4 5 I have been favorably disposed toward such in- struction, but the great majority of business teachers seem to think it can be imparted in connection with the various courses. The result is that it is sadly neglected.1 I believe that these courses (business ethics) are worthwhile and nearly everyone of our students who are candidates for the Bachelor of Commercial Science Degree takes a one semester course in Busi- ness Ethics.6 At the School of Commerce of Northwestern University a foundation has been established for an annual series of lectures on professional ethics. Plans are now under way for increasing the fund with a view to establishing a professor- ship in business ethics.6 Schools of Law — Of the 102 law schools re- porting, 67 percent offer definite courses in legal ethics; 17 percent give specific attention to these problems in other courses ; and 7 per- cent give them incidental consideration in all courses.7 Ninety percent of the definite courses were reported to be required rather than elec- tive.8 They range in length from occasional lec- tures to a thirty-hour course.9 The tendency is for these courses to be given in the last year of training, although occasionally they are given in the first year.10 1 Letter from Grant M. Hyde, University of Wisconsin, President of the American Association of Teachers of Journalism. 2 See Table 4. 3 Comment on questionnaire returned by W. E. Hotchkiss, Dean, Graduate School of Business, Leland Stanford University. 4 Letter from George W. Dowrie of Leland Stanford University, President of the American Association of Collegiate Schools of Business. 5 Letter from J. T. Madden, Dean of the School of Commerce. Accounts, and Finance, New York University. 6 Letter from Ralph E. Heilman. Dean of the School of Commerce, Northwestern University. 7 See Table 4. 8 See Table 5. 8 See Kansas City School of Law. Catalogue , 1928-29. p. 25. 10 See Table 6. [16] Although two-thirds of the law schools re- ported definite courses of ethical instruction, accompanying comments indicated a marked cleavage of opinion as to the necessity and wis- dom of such courses, and a very live interest in the question. One group of leaders in the Amer- ican Bar Association is firmly convinced that definite courses in this subject are essential to the success of those just entering the profession, to the advancement of the profession itself, and to the welfare of society at large. The following statements represent the viewpoint of this group: In the long schedule of disbarred lawyers . . . will be found many individual cases where men went wrong out of pure ignorance. They applied commercial standards to the practice of a profes- sion simply because they knew no better. Why were they not taught differently? Why wait to disbar, to teach men the elements of their calling? 1 All this serves to illuminate the idea that before entering upon the duties of this great profession, the law student should be indoctrinated or inoculated with these principles of ethics; yet for many years, and up to a few years ago, although appeals were sent to the deans of all the law schools asking them to make compulsory in their schools a course of study in legal ethics, they ignored or balked.2 Thomas H. Hubbard, a member of the com- mittee which prepared the canons of ethics adopted by the American Bar Association in 1908, belonged to this school of thought. He supported his convictions by placing at the dis- posal of the trustees of the Albany Law School the sum of $10,000, the income from which was to be applied to lectures on legal ethics.3 As early as 1895 the Committee on Legal Ethics of the American Bar Association recom- mended that all schools of law should give specific attention to this subject.4 In 1905 the recommendation was reiterated and expanded. This time the Bar Association urged that the law schools teach ethics as a required subject ; not as it had previously been presented, in one or two lectures by some busy lawyer, but by systematic and definite instruction.5 Since then the ethics committee of the Bar Association has waged a continuous and vigorous campaign to persuade schools to provide such instruction, and a committee of the Association of American Law Schools is now studying the problem.6 Twenty-eight states require by statute an examination in professional ethics for admission to the Bar, and four other states stipulate that the applicant shall have pursued a course in this subject prior to his application for the Bar ex- amination.7 These statutory requirements are largely the result of the aggressive campaigns conducted by committees on ethics in the Amer- ican Bar Association and the various state bar associations.8 On the other side of the question stand other members of the Bar, thoroughly convinced that definite courses in professional ethics usually fail to accomplish the desired results. Their at- titude is represented in the following statement: We have given much consideration to the proper way of dealing with the subject. Our experience with a formal course in professional ethics has been that students get it up as so much formal material, and the residuum in the form of a permanent im- pression is not large. On the whole, we found that what seem to be the best results are brought about by exciting the student to think and read on the sub- ject from the beginning of his law school course, and then at the end of his course we provide a series of lectures on the practice of law in which the ethics of the profession are given a prominent place, but are put in the setting of the whole practice of the profession.9 Schools of Medicine — -In medical schools the diversity of opinion and practice regarding in- struction in professional ethics is similar to that in the field of law. Of the 67 schools answer- ing the questionnaire, 43 percent reported defi- nite courses in this subject; 28 percent reported specific attention to it in other courses ; 9 per- 1 Cohen, Julius Henry. The Law, Business or Profession? Banks Law Publishing Company, 1916. p. 215. 2 Jessup, Henry Wynans. Professional Ideals of the Lawyer. G. A. Jennings Company, Inc., 1925. p. 34. 3 Albany Law School. Catalogue, 1927-28. p. 18. 4 American Bar Association. Annual Report, 1895. Vol. 18, p. 14. 5 Archer, Gleason Leonard. Ethical Obligations of the Lawyer. Little, Brown and Company, 1910. p. 3b. 6 H. W. Arant, Dean of the College of Law, Ohio State University, is chairman of this committee. A preliminary report of the committee covering current practice regarding instruction in professional ethics in law schools, submitted in November, 1930, presents findings which are almost identical with those of this study. 7 Holmgren, E. S., compiler. Rules for Admission to the Bar. West Publishing Co. 1928. 211 p. 8 Jessup, Henry W. “The Ethics of the Legal Profession.” Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 101: 24-5; May, 1922. ® Letter from Roscoe Pound, Dean of the Law School, Harvard University. [17] cent indicated that it receives incidental con- sideration in all courses; and 20 percent re- ported no instruction in the subject.1 Ninety- three percent of the definite courses are required of all students.2 They are usually given during the last year of training, but are offered occa- sionally as early as the first year.3 The distinct courses differ considerably in length and character. They vary from a few occasional lectures given at the convenience of the students and visiting lecturers, to standard courses given at regular hours by regular mem- bers of the faculty. Frequently the instruction in professional ethics is combined with such subjects as History of Medicine or Medical Economics and Jurisprudence. Following are some typical descriptions of courses : A course of lectures is delivered by the President of the Medical Society of the County of Kings ex- plaining the etiquette and ethics of the medical profession.4 A series of talks by various members of the facul- ty. Six hours, Spring Quarter of the fourth year.5 The subject of ethics as given in the order of in- struction will comprise didactic lectures on general and personal ethics in the first year and on medical ethics in the fourth year. Instruction will be given covering personal hygiene, care of laboratory equip- ment, general conduct and adaptability for the pro- fession.0 This course consists of lectures on the following subjects: History of Medical Jurisprudence; Princi- ples of Medical Ethics; Legal Status of the Physi- cian; Physicians in Court; . . . Some Health Laws of Kentucky.7 8 A study of medical practices from the earliest time to the present day with the factors that have a bearing on the development of modern medicine. The different periods of medical education. A dis- cussion of medical ethics. Four hours a week during first half of the first semester (32 hours).6 The following statements reveal the marked diversity of opinion regarding the teaching of ethics which exists among leaders in this pro- fession : A course in professional ethics per se is not given as a separate entity. Such a course would be in- congruous. The principles of medical ethics are taught from the day the student begins his medical course until he lays down the cares of life. Every case studied during the undergraduate student years involves questions of professional ethics . . . After graduation the teaching is continued in the physician’s contacts with his colleagues and his medical societies.9 Yet silent example is not enough for the student of medicine. He wants precept also, explanation after demonstration. And because universities still omit to put any teaching of medical ethics into the curriculum, the students plan ethical instruction on their own accord and call in speakers from the out- side. This has happened at Harvard every year in the last dozen or so, and I have no doubt it is the same at many other medical schools, for the students really need it.10 This course on professional ethics and pastoral medicine is without doubt one of the most valuable adjuncts of the medical curriculum and should be obligatory in every medical school.11 As in the field of law, those members of the medical profession who believe in the value of systematic ethical instruction support their con- victions by aggressive propaganda and some- times by the endowment of lectureships in the subject. In 1925 Dr. George Washington Gay gave Tufts College $1,000 to establish such a lectureship.12 The Council on Medical Educa- tion and Hospitals of the American Medical Association has recently made a determined effort to persuade medical schools to include a definite course in professional ethics in their curricula. At a meeting of the Board of Trus- tees of the Association in November, 1926, a recommendation was adopted expressing the hope that the Council would “undertake to have lectures on medical ethics made a part of the curriculum in every approved medical school.” At a business meeting of the Council on February 13, 1927, a report was unani- mously adopted, and was subsequently quoted 1 See Table 4. 2 See Table 5. 3 See Table 6. 4 Long Island Medical College. Brooklyn. N. Y. Catalogue. 1928-29. p. 59. 5 University of Colorado. School of Medicine. Catalogue. April, 1928. p. 31. 0 George Washington University. Catalogue. June. 1927. p. 52. 7 University of Louisville. Medical School. Catalogue . 1928-29. p. 96. 8 University of Oklahoma. Catalogue, 1928-29. p. 30-31. 0 Comment on questionnaire returned by Irving S. Cutter. Dean of the Medical School, Northwestern University. 10 Cabot. Richard C. Op. cit. p. 33. 11 Letter from Frank C. Hammond. Dean of the School of Medicine, Temple University. 12 Tufts College, Medical School. Catalogue, 1927-28. p. 38. [18] in a letter sent by the Council to all deans of medical schools. This report reads as follows: The Council on Medical Education and Hospitals of the American Medical Association recommends to the Association of American Medical Colleges that adequate instruction in the traditions and prin- ciples of medical ethics be included in the required curriculum of all medical students. While realizing that the subject is now touched upon in all schools and that its principles can be inculcated by example, yet the Council believes that detailed and sympa- thetic explanation of the Principles of Medical Ethics as formulated by the American Medical As- sociation should be the minimum of the formal in- struction given in medical schools. The Council suggests that the subjects of medical economics, medical jurisprudence, medical history and perhaps also, in some instances, pastoral medi- cine might be conveniently grouped with that of medical ethics under the general title of the “Social Relations of the Physician” . . -1 Schools for Teachers Of the 286 teacher training institutions re- sponding, only 8 percent reported definite courses in professional ethics; 70 percent stated that the subject is given specific attention in other courses ; 3 percent reported incidental consideration of it in all courses; and 19 per- cent reported no instruction in the subject.2 Definite Courses in Ethics — An examination of the catalogue descriptions of the definite courses in professional ethics revealed consider- able variation in their content and scope. They vary all the way from courses which are lim- ited to problems of professional relationships to courses including also problems of personal ethics and principles of character education. Of the 23 reported, 15 are required and 8 are elec- tive.3 They are usually given during the latter part of the training period.4 * The following catalogue descriptions illus- trate the general character of these definite rcourses : Professional Ethics: Two qualifications of a teacher which have always been important are in- creasingly receiving attention. His own manners, conduct, and ethical standards must be on a high I plane, and he should have a strong sense of profes- sional obligation. The efforts to develop these at- tributes are crystallized in this course. Given in the senior year, class instruction and discussion are supplemented by assigned and suggested readings and reports of individual students. The aim is to give each student a lofty professional spirit and such standards of action as may well be adopted by children. Required — one period per week for 28 weeks.6 Professional Ethics: The purpose of the work in this field is threefold: First, to help in the creation of ideals of personality and procedure, and to make the student sensitive to acts inconsistent with these ideals so that the future teacher may clearly dis- tinguish between right and wrong; second, to teach the principles of social usage and personal conduct; third, to prepare students for developing in chil- dren right ideals and habits of action. The accom- plishment of the aims indicated above requires a division of the work into distinct courses as follows: (1) a course dealing with personal ethics is planned for the junior year (20 periods) ; (2) a course in professional ethics for the senior year (20 peri- ods) . . ,8 Ethical Standards of Teaching: This course is a contribution to the growing profession of teaching. Its purpose is a detailed study of desirable ethical standards in the relations of the teacher to the teaching position, the superintendent and the board of education, the administrators and colleagues, the school, the community and the state; together with a study of the codes of ethics as factors in develop- ing ethical standards. Elective — four term hours.7 Public School Relationships : This course is de- signed to give the students practical advice on the adjustments which they will be called upon to make in the different school situations in which they will find themselves. It has to do with the teacher in relation to her personal equipment, her task, the community, her fellow teachers, the superintendent and other supervisory officials, the pupils, the course of study, the recitation, the teacher’s general con- tacts, and other related topics. Elective — three hours per week, three credits.* Specific Attention to Professional Ethics in Other Courses — Three hundred eighty differ- ent courses in which professional ethics are given specific attention were listed by the 200 institutions reporting such courses. Of these 380 courses, 16 were mentioned by three or more schools. Table 7 shows the frequency with which each of the 16 was mentioned. Incidental comments accompanying many of the questionnaire returns indicate wide differ- 1 American Medical Association. Council on Medical Education and Hospitals. Report to the House of Delegates. I May 16. 1927. p. 9. 2 See Table 4. 3 See Table 3. 4 See Table 6. 3 State Normal School. Danbury. Conn. Catalogue . 1927-28. p. 19. * State Normal School. New Haven. Conn. Catalogue . 1927-28. p. 26-27. || 7 Michigan State Normal College. Ypsilanti. Mich. Catalogue , 1926-27. p. 111. ? East Carolina Teachers College. Greenville. N. C. Catalogue, 1928-29. p. 46. [19] ences in the adequacy of treatment given to problems of professional conduct in these various courses. In some cases the treatment is evidently very superficial. In others a consider- able amount of study and discussion is devoted to the more crucial problems in the field. It is difficult to see how prospective teachers can obtain a thorough acquaintance with pro- fessional standards under the arrangements in- dicated by the following comments : Occasional lectures at our chapel exercises con- stitute the only efforts in this connection. Special lectures are given the prospective teach- ers, one each year. The fact that we offer no definite course does not mean that no attention is paid to this important matter. Assembly talks are given to seniors immedi- ately before graduation. A series of 2-5 lectures on professional ethics is given to the group going out as teachers each year. At least two days are devoted to a study of professional ethics in connection with a course in School Management. It is our practice to give every student enroling with the appointment bureau of this university a copy of the state code of ethics. We are also planning to have at least one general meeting of all candi- dates for teaching positions at which certain items of the code will be discussed. On the other hand, other institutions are making a serious effort to provide adequate in- struction in professional ethics as units of other courses. The following comments are typical : Professional ethics is an implicit part of all topics treated in our course entitled Professional Problems of Teachers. It is made a separate unit of the course as well. We do not give a definite course in professional TABLE 7.— COURSES IN PROFESSIONAL SCHOOLS FOR TEACHERS IN WHICH PROBLEMS OF PROFESSIONAL ETHICS WERE REPORTED AS RECEIVING SPECIAL ATTENTION i Number of Times Mentioned by Title of Course City Normal Schools State Normal Schools State Teachers Colleges Departments of Education1 2 Total 1 2 3 4 5 6 Introduction to Teaching3 7 20 10 17 54 Administration4 3 2 6 39 50 Principles of Education3 6 4 4 7 23 38 Practice Teaching Conferences 3 7 11 16 37 Methods and Technic of Teaching 3 7 2 18 30 Organization and Management 5 5 4 13 27 5 6 10 21 Problems of the Teaching Profession7 2 2 3 10 17 Special Lectures i 4 5 4 14 6 3 4 13 1 8 9 1 5 6 2 1 2 5 i 4 5 1 2 3 1 2 3 Read table as follows: Of the 54 professional schools for teachers which reported that problems in professional ethics are given specific attention in the course entitled Introduction to Teaching, 7 were city normal schools, 10 were teachers colleges, and 17 were departments of education. 20 were state normal schools. Similarly interpret figures for other courses. 1 Includes only those courses mentioned by three or more institutions. 2 Departments of education in colleges and universities which grant degrees in education. 3 Includes courses in Introduction to Teaching and Introduction to Education. 4 Includes courses in Educational Administration, High School Administration and Elementary School Administration. 5 Includes courses in Principles of Education and Principles of Teaching. 6 Includes courses in General Ethics, Personality and Character Education, and Education for Citizenship. 2 Includes courses in Problems of the Teaching Profession and Professional Relationships. [20] ethics for teachers. The materials for such a course are dealt with in at least five different courses: Social Ethics, Student Teaching, Technic of Teach- ing, Philosophy of Education, and State School Law. It is in the course in Student Teaching that professional ethics receives most attention. The im- pressions obtained in student teaching are rein- forced through the course in Technic of Teaching, which parallels the student teaching. We prefer to have our students get professional ethics in a real situation of teaching rather than through a for- malized, meaningless course. It is probable that many of the courses re- ported as including specific units in professional ethics really give the subject little more than incidental consideration. It would be difficult to avoid the discussion of ethical problems in most of the courses listed in Table 7, even if no sepa- rate time allotment were provided for their con- sideration. The catalogue descriptions of some of these courses did not refer to problems of professional ethics, but most of them men- tioned such problems specifically, especially those courses listed under the titles of Intro- duction to Teaching, Introduction to Educa- tion, School and Class Management, Social Problems, and Social Ethics. The description of a course in school law reported by six state teachers colleges in Oklahoma indicates definite consideration of professional ethics. Six state normal schools in New York include this sub- ject in the descriptions of their courses in so- ciology. In 1925 a committee was appointed to study the problem of curricula for the state normal schools of Pennsylvania. The report of this committee provided for the specific considera- tion of professional ethics at three places in the four-year curriculum : ( 1 ) in the first year as a part of an introductory course in general problems of education ; (2) during the practice teaching period when frequent opportunities occur for practical application of the principles of professional conduct; and (3) in the last year as a part of a course entitled History of Education in Pennsylvania, which includes the work of the state teachers’ association and its code of ethics.1 The diversity of practice indicated in the preceding paragraphs reflects the diversity of opinion regarding instruction in professional ethics held by those who formulate the curricula for prospective teachers. This diversity of opin- ion was frequently expressed in conference and correspondence. The following statements are typical illustrations : In my opinion there should be no course in profes- sional ethics. What an immense amount of time could be wasted in mere twaddle over the matter. In the courses that are indicated (elsewhere on the questionnaire) there is opportunity to state all that needs to be stated.2 It seems to me that professional ethics should be an outgrowth of the whole situation. I cannot con- ceive a course in professional ethics having any intellectual respectability.3 I am convinced that a course in professional ethics is indispensable in teacher training . . I have tried various schemes. One year I gave the work myself devoting thirty class periods to the subject. Another year we compressed the specific treatment to fifteen class periods. Wherever it is an open question, I should recommend that the subject be treated separately, with fifteen class periods devoted to it. It cannot be done by treating the matter incidentally in other courses.4 Requirements of State Departments of Edu- cation— The catalogue descriptions of courses in the schools of certain states were so similar as to suggest the probability that the State De- partment of Education had prescribed instruc- tion in professional ethics. Accordingly, a letter of inquiry was sent to the chief state school official in each of the forty-eight states.5 Forty- six replies were received. Five states, Idaho, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Connecticut, and Massachusetts, re- ported that instruction in professional ethics is a prescribed part of the regular curricula of their teacher training institutions. In Idaho this instruction has been included in a course entitled Teacher Psychology.6 In New Hamp- shire 7 and Rhode Island 8 the state codes of ethics have been made officially a part of the program of studies in the state normal schools, and in New Hampshire the subject is included 1 Report of the General Curricular Revision Committee to the Board of Normal School Presidents. 1926. p. 23-38. See also: State Teachers College, Millersville. Pa. Catalogue. February, 1929. p. 34. 36. 39. 2 Comment on questionnaire returned by L. C. Lord. President. Eastern State Teachers College. Charleston. Illinois. 3 Comment on questionnaire returned by Frank E. Baker. President. State Teachers College. Milwaukee, Wisconsin. 4 Letter from A. R. Brubacher. President. Albany State Teachers College. Albany. New York. 5 The form used is reproduced in the Appendix. 6 Letter f-om W. D. Vincent. State Commissioner of Education. Idaho. 7 Letter from E. W. Butterfield. State Commissioner of Education. New Hampshire. s Letter from Walter E. Ranger, State Commissioner of Education, Rhode Island. in the examination of teachers for certification. Connecticut and Massachusetts have prescribed definite courses in professional ethics. In Con- necticut a minimum of nineteen hours in the second year of the two-year curriculum is assigned to the subject.1 In 1923 the State Department of Education in Massachusetts published a 32-page Manual for Teachers covering the prescribed work in this field. This manual combines problems of professional conduct with those of personality and character development and emphasizes the importance of their consideration in all courses as well as in the definite course required of all graduates. The time allotment suggested is flexible, but twenty 45-minute periods are recommended as the minimum which should be devoted to problems of professional ethics.2 The following paragraphs represent the spirit of the plan outlined in this manual: Essential elements in the establishment of profes- sional ideals may be gained in the normal school from the general life of the school, from assembly exercises, from incidental instruction, and from planned instruction in various courses. Through such means the spirit of professional ethics for teachers may be caught. But the spirit alone is not enough; definite knowledge must be taught. This instruction, moreover, must not be left entirely to chance. In order that standards may become defi- nitely and clearly established, there must be some point or points at which the subject is brought to a focus, as in a distinct course. A course in professional ethics cannot of itself establish right habits, but it can focus attention upon important problems of great interest to the students. If wisely conducted, it ought to contribute to the development of important elements of per- sonality, improve attitudes, raise ideals, and develop appreciation of the dignity and worth of teaching.3 4 5 Twelve of the State Departments of Educa- tion, including four in which ethical instruc- tion is prescribed, reported that the present ar- rangement regarding such instruction is reason- ably satisfactory. Seven stated that it is not satisfactory and urged that definite rather than incidental attention be given to the subject. The following are typical examples of the com- ments received : I believe intending teachers should be thoroughly instructed in the ethics of the profession. I do not believe that there is enough subject matter in this field to justify a course. I think from three to six periods will cover it. It might be included in a course in school management, or it could be related to the practice-teaching work. In fact it might be worked into any course in education for seniors.* In Michigan each of the State Teachers Colleges has its own course in teachers’ ethics and the only improvement I could suggest would be that these Teachers Colleges get together and have a uniform course. They have that plan in mind and are work- ing it out at the present time.6 Definite rather than incidental attention should be given to the subject.” The matter of professional ethics itself is not satisfactory. We wish something could be done to have definite instruction in this subject.7 There ought to be fundamental and universal principles with which every teacher should be fa- miliar. Some definite provision ought to be made for making certain that the teachers know those prin- ciples.8 There is an occasional complaint from superin- tendents of schools that teachers college graduates are not up on professional ethics and so I believe the present situation is not entirely satisfactory. I believe our teacher-training committees should make some recommendation.9 The foregoing paragraphs indicate that a wide diversity of opinion also characterizes the State Departments of Education regarding the arrangements which should be made for ac- quainting prospective teachers with the stand- ards of the profession. Differences of Practice and Opinion — Two facts stand out prominently in this survey of provisions for ethical instruction in professional schools for teachers. One is that practically all institutions and leaders in the field agree that prospective teachers should receive training in the basic principles and accepted standards of professional conduct. The second fact is that these institutions and leaders are far from agree- 1 Letter from A. B. Meredith, State Commissioner of Education, Connecticut. 2 Massachusetts State Department of Education. Professional Ethics in Normal Schools. Bulletin No. 2. 1923. p. 10. 3 Ibid , p. 5. 4 Letter from B. L. Parkinson, Director of Teacher Training, Alabama. 5 Letter from Webster H. Pearce, State Superintendent of Public Instruction, Michigan. 6 Letter from May Trumper, State Superintendent of Public Instruction, Montana. 7 Letter from Charles W. Taylor, State Superintendent of Public^ Instruction, Nebraska. 8 Letter from James E. Hillman. Director of Teacher Training, North Carolina. 9 Letter from T. Howard Winters, Assistant Director of Education, Ohio. [22] ment as to how such training may best be given. A few schools provide definite courses in the subject, but these vary widely in content, in length, and in the year in which they are offered. Some of them are elective, while others are required of all students. Most of the schools either give specific attention to ethics in certain other courses, or else attempt to give it inci- dental consideration in all courses. Here also there is a wide diversity of practice. Hundreds of different courses are reported in which pro- fessional conduct is said to be given specific at- tention, but only 16 of these are listed by three or more schools, and none of them is listed by more than 54 of the 200 schools reporting in this category. In many of the courses it appears that the treatment of ethical problems is prob- ably not sufficient to meet the needs of gradu- ates who are about to enter the teaching pro- fession. In other courses these problems receive considerable time and careful attention. On the whole, the available evidence indicates that the present status of instruction in the ethics of the teaching profession is far from satisfac- tory. Summary of Practice in the Schools of Eight Professions This chapter has surveyed the provisions made by the training schools of eight profes- sions for instruction in standards of professional conduct. Nearly all of the schools included in the study reported some provision for instruction in this field, but these provisions vary widely in character. Forty-two percent of all the schools reported definite courses in professional ethics. Most of these courses are required of all stu- dents and are given near the end of the training period. Forty-one percent of the schools re- ported that they give problems of professional conduct specific attention in other courses. The other 17 percent either ignore the subject en- tirely or depend upon incidental instruction in all courses. The diversity of plans for providing ethical instruction reflects the differences of opinion on the question among leaders in the several pro- fessions. Differences of opinion are particularly conspicuous within the fields of law, medicine, journalism, business, and teaching. Although all agree that professional students should be trained to conform to accepted standards, some assert that such training should be wholly in- direct and incidental. Others, believing that whatever is taught incidentally is usually taught accidentally, advocate ethical instruction in spe- cific units of certain courses, while many insist that the problems of professional conduct are sufficiently numerous, important, and difficult to warrant separate treatment in a definite, full-fledged course. Advocates of systematic instruction in ethics have not only provided such instruction in their own institutions, but they have persuaded offi- cial organizations in their respective fields to recommend, and sometimes to prescribe, specific attention to ethical problems in all schools of the profession. In at least three instances courses in professional ethics have been under- written by endowments. The schools of nursing and dentistry usually provide definite courses in this subject. Schools of architecture, journalism, law, and medicine are more or less evenly divided for and against such courses, while relatively few schools for teachers or schools of business offer separate courses in ethics. The state departments of education in five states now prescribe instruc- tion in standards of professional conduct in their teacher training institutions. Neverthe- less, only eight percent of all the schools for teachers replying reported definite courses, whereas seventy percent reported specific pro- vision in other courses. From a superficial con- sideration of these figures one might conclude that, on the whole, the professional schools for teachers are giving fairly adequate attention to ethical instruction. A more critical study indi- cates, however, that many of the provisions for such instruction are inadequate, and that in most schools a new and more systematic em- phasis upon the subject is needed. [23] CHAPTER II What Arrangements for Instruction in Professional Ethics Should Schools for Teachers Provide? Three procedures may be employed for de- termining what instruction professional schools should offer in any given field : ( 1 ) an experi- ment may be conducted whereby the relative merits of various plans may be demonstrated ; (2) the opinions of a representative number of recognized leaders in the field under considera- tion may be studied; and (3) the proposed plans may be evaluated in the light of such ac- cepted principles of curriculum construction as are available. Demonstration by Experiment No course in the curricula of professional schools for teachers holds its place at the pres- ent time because of its scientifically demon- strated value. In 1920 a comprehensive investi- gation was proposed by which the relative merits of different types and materials of in- struction might be shown,1 but to date the cost in time and money has been prohibitive. The fact that such an experiment probably would require no less than ten years 2 places it quite beyond the scope of this study. Opinions of Leaders As shown in the preceding chapter, recog- nized leaders differ widely on the question of desirable provisions for instruction in profes- sional ethics. Some maintain that incidental in- struction is adequate ; others insist that ethical problems require a specific time allotment as units of certain courses; and still others assert that prospective members of a profession can- not be trained adequately in the ideals and standard practices of that profession unless separate and distinct courses in the subject are provided. Those who advocate the incidental proced- ure use the same arguments no matter which profession they represent : that every course in a professional school should train the student in regard to proper professional conduct ; that the curriculum is already overcrowded ; that the problems of professional relationships are neither sufficiently numerous nor sufficiently vital to warrant separate treatment; that the inauguration of definite courses in this subject establishes an artificial divorcement of ethical principles from the practical problems of the profession ; and that the courses thus created are almost invariably formal, perfunctory, un- interesting, and ineffective. Likewise, those who advocate definite courses in professional ethics use similar arguments whether they represent business, journalism, law, medicine, or teaching. They maintain that problems of professional conduct are already numerous and vital, and that with the increas- ing complexity of modern life, they are becom- ing more important and difficult; that new members of the profession frequently meet with embarrassing, and sometimes tragic experi- ences simply because they have not been taught the proprieties of the group; that ethics can be taught directly; and that systematic instruc- tion is essential because incidental teaching usually means accidental teaching. The last two of these arguments involve an important question of educational psychology and educational method. Cabot expresses his conviction on this question very positively: If ethics cannot be taught, no art can be taught, no literature can be taught, no history can be taught except by rote, no science worthy the name can be taught.3 Charters suggests a similar point of view in the following statement : The fundamental and somewhat dangerous weak- ness of the indirect training of character as a by- product of school exercises is its lack of system. Incidental instruction is accidental instruction; and the accidental inclusion of materials in a program of instruction is always inefficient.4 Those who advocate the specific treatment of professional ethics as definite units of other courses avoid somewhat the difficulties of the two extreme positions. Their policy eliminates the accidental aspect of ethical instruction, and 1 Learned, William S'., and others. The Professional Preparation of Teachers for American Public Schools. Bulletin No. 14. Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, 1920. p. 152. 2 Evenden, E. S. “Criteria for the Construction of Teachers College Curricula.” Proceedings, 1926, Vol. 64. National Education Association, 1926. p. 293. 3 Cabot, Richard C. Op. cit., p. 97. 4 Charters, W. W. The Teaching of Ideals. Macmillan, 1928. p. 164. [24] provides systematic training without adding another course to the already crowded curricu- lum, and with less likelihood that the discus- sion of ethical problems will be divorced from practical life situations. The data presented in the preceding chapter indicate that leaders in the field of teacher training are not generally inclined to favor sep- arate courses in professional ethics. Most of them evidently believe that specific treatment of these problems in definite units of other courses is sufficient to meet the needs of pros- pective teachers. However, the relatively even division of practice and opinion on this ques- tion among schools of law, medicine, architec- ture, and journalism, together with the over- whelming trend toward definite courses in schools of dentistry and nursing, make it im- possible to draw definite and final conclusions as to the relative merits of these procedures. There is not sufficient agreement to warrant a decision merely on the basis of authoritative opinion. Moreover, even among those who are agreed upon one or another of these general arrange- ments, there is a wide range of opinion as to administrative details. How much time should be devoted to the study of ethical problems? In what year or years of the curriculum should this work be placed? If instruction in profes- sional ethics is to be organized as specific units of other courses, in what course or courses does it belong? These and similar questions cannot be answered finally from a survey of present practice and opinion. Principles of Curriculum Construction Until an experiment of extensive propor- tions has been set up and carried through we shall not know definitely what is the best ar- rangement for instruction in professional ethics. Since the necessary time and money for such an experiment seem prohibitive at present, and since the opinions of leaders in the field differ so widely, the only practical recourse for an- swering the question is to evaluate proposed plans more or less subjectively in the light of available principles of curriculum construction. A series of principles for guidance in the construction of curricula in professional schools for teachers was used in a survey of the Mis- souri normal schools.1 Later a revision of these principles was employed in a survey of the state teacher training colleges of Louisiana.2 Since then they have been discussed and revised by three groups of graduate students in the field of teacher training.3 They represent, therefore, the composite judgment of a considerable num- ber of specialists in this field. An abridged statement of these principles follows : 4 1. The internal character of each curriculum and the constituent forces thereof should be determined by the nature and requirements of the future posi- tion which the student intends to fill. 2. The curricula should be differentiated and specialized. 3. Each curriculum should require of each pro- spective teacher a background in all of the better known fields of human knowledge. 4. The courses of study comprising each cur- riculum should be continuous in organization and inherently sequential. Courses should not only ex- tend forward, but should also be correlated laterally with other related subjects. 5. Relatively little “free election” should be allowed after the student has selected the type of position for which he wishes to prepare. 6. The constituent courses of a curriculum should be professionalized in character. 7. The curriculum should be extensive enough to give the prospective teacher all of the skills, atti- tudes, and ideals necessary for the work he is to do. 8. The curriculum should provide materials and activities for developing and strengthening the per- sonal and social equipment of the teacher. 9. All courses should be integrated around the actual work of teaching. All of these principles apply to the problem under consideration and in keeping with them the following tentative proposals are made : 1. That definite provision for instruction in pro- fessional ethics should be made in each curriculum offered. 2. That this instruction should be a prescribed part of every graduate’s professional preparation. 3. That incidental treatment of the problems of professional conduct should be given whenever pos- sible in all courses. 4. That the definite units devoted to systematic instruction in professional ethics should be located in at least three places in each curriculum: a. In the first year of training, so that the pros- pective teacher may develop early the habit of 1 Learned, William S., and others. Op cit., p. 152. - Louisiana State Department of Education. Report of the Survey Commission. 1924. p. 120-22. 3 Evenden, E. S. Op. cit., p. 290. 4 Ibid. [25] thinking and acting in accordance with approved professional standards. b. During the practice teaching period when frequent opportunities occur for practical applica- tion as well as theoretical discussion of problems of professional relationships. c. During the last months of the training period, when the prospective teacher needs to know the proper procedure for securing a position, and when, on the threshold of active service, he is most eager to know the standards of the profes- sion that he may win the respect and confidence of his employers and fellow workers. The plan outlined above is expressed in gen- eral terms, and is frankly intended to be merely suggestive. Conditions vary so greatly among professional schools for teachers that no single plan for ethical instruction will be suitable for all. The difficulty of finding a time and a place for the program proposed will be greater in a two-year curriculum than in a three or a four- year curriculum. On the other hand, students enroled in the shorter curricula generally have greater need for direct instruction in profes- sional conduct since the shorter period of train- ing affords less opportunity for the develop- ment of a broad general philosophy of life. The important thing, of course, is not that the details of any particular plan should be uni- versally adopted, but rather that all profes- sional schools for teachers should provide for each student the most effective program of sys- tematic instruction possible. Whenever neces- sary and feasible the training period should be lengthened so that fundamentally important subjects like professional ethics may receive more adequate treatment. Wherever possible, definite units of instruction in professional ethics should be provided in at least three places in the curriculum: ( 1 ) at the beginning of the training period; (2) in connection with the work of practice teaching; and (3) during the last months of professional study. [26] PART II STANDARDS OF PROFESSIONAL CONDUCT AMONG TEACHERS CHAPTER III Selection and Organization of Material One of the purposes of this study was to pre- pare a selected and annotated list of standards of professional conduct which may be used as a basis for discussion in teacher training classes and among teachers in service. The standards themselves were selected, for the most part, from codes of ethics adopted by the National Education Association and by state teachers’ associations. The illustrative and explanatory material was drawn partly from the codes and partly from the following sources: (1) reports of the National Educa- tion Association’s Committee on Ethics of the Profession; (2) violations of professional ethics reported by teachers, supervisors, and ad- ministrators; (3) books and magazine articles concerned with problems of teacher personnel and (4) the principles of medical ethics and the canons of legal ethics. Teachers’ Codes of Ethics Thirty-three codes of professional ethics for teachers were analyzed — the code of the Na- tional Education Association and 32 codes adopted by state teachers’ associations.1 These codes have been prepared by committees ap- pointed for that purpose and have been adopted by the respective associations as official state- ments of the standards of professional conduct which their members approve. At least six of them are revisions of earlier codes.2 The dates when they were adopted in their present form are indicated in Table 8. The nature of these codes varies greatly. In length they range from 73 words in the case of Maine to slightly less than 2000 words in the case of New York. Some consist almost entirely of broad generalities. Others contain a large number of specific admonitions and proscriptions. Most of them include both gen- eral principles and specific rules of conduct. Few of these codes are, strictly speaking, real codes since only four of them provide for enforcement.3 They are at best, as Koos points out, merely the composite opinion of organiza- tions of teachers on what is professional or un- professional behavior.4 They are not, how- ever, to be disparaged on this account, for even though violations are seldom followed by pen- TABLE 8.— YEARS IN WHICH STATE TEACHERS’ ASSOCIATIONS ADOP- TED THEIR PRESENT CODES OF PROFESSIONAL ETHICS Year of Adop- tion State Associations Num- ber Cumu- lative Num- ber 1915 New Hampshire, Rhode Island. 2 2 1916 Oregon 1 3 1920 Pennsylvania 1 4 1922 Idaho, Iowa. New York, Washington 4 8 1923 Louisiana, Maine, New Jersey, Missouri Oklahoma, South Dakota, Utah 7 15 1925 Connecticut, Michigan, South Carolina, Texas, Virginia, Wyoming 6 21 1926 Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Ohio 7 28 1927 Colorado, Kansas 2 30 1929 Mississippi, Nebraska 2 32 1930 Delaware 1 33 1 The code of the Nebraska Association was adopted in December, 1929, too late for inclusion in the analysis of standards presented in this study. Statements included from the Mississippi code were taken from the 1917 edition. A revision of this C9de was made in 1929. too late for inclusion in this study. Statements from the Delaware code were taken from the 1928 edition. A revision of this code was made in 1930, too late for inclusion in this study. Officials of the associations in the remaining fifteen states reported that their associations had no official codes. Accord- ing to Secretary Roy W. Cloud, the California Association as at present organized has never officially recognized the code originally adopted in 1904. Likewise the code prepared by the Committee of the Wisconsin Association and included in the 1926 Report of the National Education Association’s Committee has never been officially adopted by the association. 2 Alabama, Georgia, New Jersey, Ohio, Virginia, and West Virginia. 3 The codes of _ Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Pennsylvania provide for Commissions to handle violations reported, but according to the secretaries of these associations the Pennsylvania Commission is the only one which has functioned. 4 Koos, L. V. Op. cit. p. 678-9. [27] alties, comparable to disbarment, these official statements do have behind them the compulsion of the good or bad opinions of the group. All of these codes have the common pur- pose of raising professional ideals and of pro- moting the best possible relationships between teachers and those who are affected by the con- duct of teachers. Many of them express this purpose effectively, as the following examples show : In order that the aims of education may be real- ized more fully, that the welfare of the teaching profession may be promoted, that teachers may know what is considered proper procedure, and may bring to their professional relations high stand- ards of conduct, the National Education Association of the United States has developed this code of ethics. — National Education Association. To fortify those teachers who already have a professional code of ethics and who live by it; to furnish a touchstone for those not yet sure of their standard; to inform society what teachers them- selves consider to be suitable rules of conduct for those who teach ; to be able to serve our fellows to the utmost of our ability — we assemble from various sources the items of this ethical code for the teachers of Alabama. — Alabama. The purposes of this code are: To clarify our attitude toward professional problems; to inspire those new to the profession; to establish a general norm of conduct. — Ohio. In all of the codes it is either stated or im- plied that the term “teacher” refers to all persons engaged in educational work. The codes of Connecticut and New Jersey state this explicitly. The former document reads; “Throughout the word ‘teacher’ refers equally to teachers, principals, supervisors, and super- intendents.” The New Jersey code states: “The term ‘teacher’ .... is intended to include all persons engaged in educational work, whether in executive, supervisory, or teaching capacities.” The Colorado code in- cludes separate paragraphs covering the special duties of principals, supervisors, superintend- ents, and board members. The Michigan code also carries a special paragraph concerning board members. Criteria Employed in Selecting the Standards M any of the codes analyzed contain items which reflect merely local, temporary, or purely personal questions of conduct. For the purposes of this study, only those standards were selected which seemed to have broad and lasting significance for teachers in their pro- fessional relationships. The following criteria were used in making this selection : 1. The prescribed conduct should improve the service of teachers. 2. The prescribed conduct should have special significance because the persons involved are teachers. 3. The prescribed conduct should have relatively permanent and universal value among teachers. 4. The prescribed conduct should involve pri- marily a problem of professional relationships, rather than a problem which is limited strictly to the field of personal morality, educational philoso- phy, or educational method. Many of the standards selected have not yet received the unanimous approval of the profes- sion. Whether they ever will receive it is prob- lematical. It is hoped that their inclusion here will stimulate discussion, and thus lead to a clearer understanding of the issues involved and perhaps to more general agreement as to their validity. Frequency of occurrence in the codes has not been used as a criterion for determining the relative importance of the various standards. While the following chapters present figures in- dicating as accurately as possible the number of codes containing each standard, these figures should not be considered too seriously. The gen- eral statements used in many codes make it impossible to determine whether or not they apply to certain specific conduct mentioned in other codes. Furthermore, to use the words of the National Education Association’s Commit- tee, “When a State (code) does not condemn a certain practice which is generally considered to be unethical, and which the codes of many states do condemn as unethical, the lack of con- demnation does not necessarily mean that the State in question condones such practice. The lack of a statement on the point might mean that this particular State thought the practice in question was so universally condemned by common consent that a formal and written pronouncement on it would be commonplace; again the lack of statement on a certain prac- tice might be the result of oversight ; or again, it might mean that the State considers other matters of greater moment.” 1 1 National Education Association, Committee on Ethics of the Profession. Report: The Ethics of the Teaching Pro- fession. (Sarah T. Muir, Chairman) July, 1926. p. 21. [28] The standards selected from the codes have been grouped according to a purely arbitrary classification. This grouping is somewhat sim- ilar to arrangements used in several of the codes, but it does not follow any one of them exactly. Teachers’ Attitudes Toward Certain Practices In considering professional standards of con- duct, it is desirable to know something of the attitude toward such standards among the rank and file of the profession. Data of this sort were obtained from a survey conducted by the Na- tional Education Association’s Committee on the Ethics of the Profession.1 This committee distributed to a selected list of persons in each state a questionnaire concern- ing 39 questionable practices more or less com- mon among teachers. The recipient was asked to give his opinion as to whether each practice is ethical or unethical. From the 3145 individ- uals to whom the form was sent, 1606 replies were received : 646 from classroom teachers ; 444 from administrative subordinates (princi- pals, assistant superintendents, and college or university deans) ; and 516 from chief execu- tives (superintendents of schools and presidents of colleges and universities) . A summary of the results of this survey will be found in Table 20 in the Appendix. This survey revealed a considerable range in the percent of persons agreeing on the various practices. For example, 96 percent agreed that it is unethical for a school official to fail to rec- ommend one of his teachers for a promotion in another community because he does not want to lose her services ; whereas on the question of whether it is ethical to do more than to vote for candidates in a political campaign, 38 per- cent replied “Yes,” 30 percent replied “No,” 30 percent qualified their replies, and 2 per- cent failed to answer. On 30 of the 39 questionable practices, how- ever, more than 50 percent of the persons an- swering agreed that the practice is unethical, while on only 1 practice were 50 percent or more agreed that the practice is ethical. In the following chapters the discussion of the various standards includes pertinent fig- ures from this cross section of teacher opinion in every instance for which such figures are available. Violations of Professional Ethics To approach from another angle the problem of discovering what teachers regard as accepted standards of professional conduct, a collection was made of statements reporting violations of professional ethics. These statements serve three purposes. First, they provide specific illus- trations of failure to conform to principles found in the codes ; second, they give some indi- cation of the relative importance of various standards in the minds of educational work- ers; and third, they suggest the situations in which violations frequently occur. To obtain this material, mimeographed forms 2 wTere distributed to students in six classes of the 1928 Summer Session at Teachers College, Columbia University. The form asked for the salient facts concerning five cases ob- served by the persons reporting in which pro- fessional ethics had been violated. Four hundred nineteen returns were re- ceived, yielding a total of 1627 cases. One hun- dred thirty-five of these returns were from classroom teachers, 149 from principals or vice- principals, 35 from special supervisors, 62 from superintendents or assistant superintendents, and 38 from persons holding other positions. These persons represented 43 different states.3 These cases of violation were classified in general according to the categories used in analyzing the official codes of ethics. Table 9 shows the number of reported violations in TABLE 9.— MAIN CATEGORIES OF VIO- LATIONS OF PROFESSIONAL ETHICS REPORTED IN THIS STUDY Nature of Violations Frequency of Mention 1. In relations with pupils 108 2. In relations with parents 2 3. In relations with community 70 4. In relations with associates 1185 5. In relation to the profession 23 6. In connection with applications, recom- mendations, contracts, and termina- tion of employment 205 7. In relations with teachers’ agencies and publishing and supply houses 13 8. Miscellaneous — vague and indefinite. . . . 21 Total Number 1627 1 Muir, Sarah T., chairman. ‘'Final Report of the Committee on Ethics of the Profession — Abstract.” Proceedings, 1929. Vol. 67. National Education Association. 1929. p. 182-90. 2 This form is reproduced in the Appendix, p. 86. 3 See Appendix, Table 25. [29] each main category. Further analyses of the items within the main groups are presented in the following chapters. It is probably significant that more than two- thirds of the 1627 violations reported were concerned with relationships between teachers and their own professional associates. Caution should be observed, however, in the interpreta- tion of these frequencies of mention. Although they are reported, they cannot be considered accurate indices of either the actual frequency of occurrence or the seriousness of the viola- tions. A high frequency of mention may mean that teachers are inclined to resent or disap- prove that particular act more than others, or it may mean merely that they are more accus- tomed to think of that particular act as a viola- tion of professional ethics. Nevertheless, it is probable that a frequently mentioned violation either occurs relatively frequently or is recog- nized as particularly reprehensible. For ex- ample, the fact that 504 of the 1627 violations reported were “criticisms of associates” sug- gests the probability that this practice is either more prevalent or more strongly detested among teachers than any other item reported. Practices of this kind surely deserve special at- tention in courses of teacher preparation. In connection with this collection of specific violations of standards, a somewhat similar study of violations reported by the National Education Association’s Committee on Ethics of the Profession 1 should be mentioned. On the questionnaire used in obtaining teachers’ judgments concerning 39 questionable prac- tices, the teachers were also asked to list the six violations of professional ethics which they con- sidered the most frequent and the most serious among members of the teaching profession. The 1606 persons replying listed 327 different un- ethical practices, these having a total frequency of 4670. Table 10 shows how these were dis- tributed among the seven major categories used in the study. A list of the 53 specific types of violations which were mentioned 10 times or more will be found, together with their fre- quencies of mention, in the Appendix, Table21. It is impossible to make a completely satis- factory comparison of the results in these two studies because of certain differences in the classification of violations. A general compari- son of Tables 9 and 10, however, reveals that the two studies are in substantial agreement re- garding the relative frequency of mention in the broad categories of violations. First in rank by an overwhelming majority are those un- ethical practices which occur in the relations of teachers to one another and to the profession at large. Second in rank are those occurring in connection with the seeking and filling of posi- tions, including applications, recommendations, contracts, and termination of employment. The third most frequently mentioned group involves the relations of teachers with pupils, parents, and community. TABLE 10.— MAIN CATEGORIES OF UNETHICAL PRACTICES REPORTED IN A STUDY BY THE NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION’S COMMITTEE ON ETHICS OF THE PROFESSION1 Frequency of Mention By Number of Practices in Connection With: Different Practices Classroom Administrative Chief Teachers Subordinates Executives Total 1. Training and professional growth 6 92 52 61 205 2. Seeking and filling positions 38 226 220 405 851 3. Salaries and promotions 22 78 74 84 236 4. Contracts and tenure 18 130 108 145 383 5. Relations of teachers to each other and to the profession at large 124 1019 623 653 2295 6. Relations with the public and pupils 94 281 183 207 671 7. Miscellaneous 25 16 5 8 29 Total 327 1842 1265 1563 4670 Read table as follows: Under the heading of “Training and Professional Growth,” 6 different unethical practices were listed. These 6 different practices were reported 92 times by classroom teachers, 52 times by administrative subordinates, 61 times by chief executives, and 205 times by all three groups combined. Similarly read figures for the other major types of unethical practices. 1 Adapted from Table 5 in 1929 report of Committee on Ethics of the Profession of the National Education Association. See Muir, Sarah T., chairman, Op. cit. p. 188. 1 Muir, Sarah T., chairman. Op. cit. p. 184-90. [30] In the following chapters all statements con- cerning specific violations of ethical standards refer to those collected in the present investi- gation. For two reasons no further reference is made in the text to the corresponding data obtained by the National Education Associa- tion’s Committee on Ethics. First, the detailed classifications used in the two studies varied so widely as to preclude significant comparisons. Second, the violations collected by the Com- mittee on Ethics were not actual descriptions of specific practices occurring within the im- mediate experience of the persons reporting. In the present study, on the other hand, a special effort was made to obtain bona fide examples of violations which might be used to illustrate concretely the standards of conduct presented. General Method of Presentation It is not the purpose of the chapters which follow to propose a new code of ethics but rather to present in convenient form material from which those preparing to enter the pro- fession and others interested in the problem may develop their own codes of professional conduct. A modified form of the “case method,” used in many textbooks and schools of law, has been employed in the presentation of this material. Excerpts from the codes furnish official state- ments of certain accepted standards. Data from the study bv the National Education Associa- tion’s Committee on the Ethics of the Profes- sion throw light on the extent to which these standards are approved by representatives of the profession at large. The reported violations furnish concrete illustrations of conduct con- sidered improper for teachers. Finally, a num- ber of quotations from the professional stand- ards of law and medicine permit certain com- parisons between teaching and two of the old- est and best established professions. 31 CHAPTER IV General Principles of Conduct None of the codes of ethics analyzed in this study attempt to prescribe proper conduct for all of the specific situations which confront teachers in their professional relationships. Some codes contain a relatively large number of specific admonitions or proscriptions. Others include very few. It would be impracticable, if not impossible, to mention in any one code all of the various situations in which the con- duct of the teacher affects his own success and the welfare of the profession in general. All of the codes, therefore, contain certain broad generalizations which are intended to cover a multitude of unspecified situations. These principles indicate the general traits of character which teachers should manifest in all of their professional relationships. This chapter reviews briefly these personal qualities and general principles of action. Each of the thirty-three codes implies, and thirty of them specifically state, that the teacher should be a person of high moral char- acter. The following statements are typical: 1. Teachers should regard themselves as exam- ples for pupils and so conduct themselves that no just reproach may he brought against them. Where liberty of conscience is not concerned, a teacher should stand ready to make personal sacrifice be- cause of the attitude of the community. Every teacher should be, first, a good citizen, upholding the highest standards and ideals of the community in which he lives. In the school he should be, in his attitude toward his work and his superiors, a model of cooperation, justice, honesty, and those other character-building qualities which youth so surely discerns and as eagerly, though unconsciously, ab- sorbs.— Connecticut. 2. Teachers should present not only in conduct and in faithful service but also in well-retained health and in social attitude, a worthy example to their pupils and to the community. — Ohio. 3. The teacher owes it to his pupils to keep him- self physically fit, morally straight, and to cultivate the virtues of patience, courage, justice, truthful- ness, and serenity. — Wyoming. 4. The teacher should be neat and cleanly in person and of noble mind. He should be faithful in the discharge of duty, able after closest examina- tion to respect himself ... In his business relations his conduct should be such as to dignify his profes- sion.— lozva. 5. The teacher touches life at many points, and touches it at its most receptive period. He needs, therefore, to be alive to many interests. ... He must know the finer things, have a passion for them, and further still, a passion for leading others to see and love them. Whatever it is permitted others to be, he must be a genuine man. He must be noble in order to draw out nobility in others. He must be true, in order to show how manly it is to be true. In other words, he must be an embodiment of what he would have his pupils become. ... A womanly modesty or a manly dignity should char- acterize teachers in all their relations to the com- munity. A lack of one of these qualities may, by causing a lack of respect, seriously interfere with a teacher’s success. . . . The teacher should respect the customs, the traditions, the moral and religious sentiments of the community in which he labors. — South Carolina. 6. It is the duty of teachers to conduct themselves in such a manner socially that they may bring neither criticism nor suspicion upon themselves and their profession. — Michigan. General Principles From the large number of general state- ments in the codes, six broad principles of con- duct for teachers may be derived : 1. The teacher’s conduct should be such as will keep him physically and mentally fit. 2. The teacher’s conduct should be a worthy example for his pupils. 3. The teacher’s conduct should be such as will bring no reproach upon himself. 4. The teacher’s conduct should be such as will bring no reproach upon the profession. 5. The teacher’s conduct should conform in gen- eral to the accepted standards of the community in which he teaches. 6. The teacher’s conduct should contribute to harmony and efficiency in all of his professional relationships. In connection with these general principles of conduct, two practical questions arise: (1) Is the teacher under obligation to maintain a higher standard of personal conduct than members of other professions in the same com- munity? and (2) To what extent should the personal conduct of the teacher be controlled by the moral and social standards of the com- munity in which he teaches? The Canons of Professional Ethics for law- yers state that “a lawyer will find his highest honor in a deserved reputation for fidelity to private trust and to public duty, as an honest man and as a patriotic and loyal citizen.” They also admonish members of the profession to “aid in guarding the Bar against the admission [32] to the profession of candidates unfit or un- qualified because deficient in either moral character or education.” 1 The Canons of Ju- dicial Ethics specify that “a judge's official conduct should be free from impropriety and the appearance of impropriety . . . and his personal behavior, not only upon the Bench and in the performance of judicial duties, but also in his every day life, should be beyond re- proach.” They also stipulate that “he should be conscientious, studious, thorough, courteous, patient, punctual, just, impartial, fearless of public clamor, regardless of public praise, and indifferent to private, political or partisan in- fluences.” 2 The Principles of Medical Ethics state that “the obligation assumed on entering the pro- fession requires the physician to comport him- self as a gentleman and demands that he use every honorable means to uphold the dignity and honor of his vocation.” They also specify that he should be “ ‘an upright man instructed in the art of healing.’ Consequently, he must keep himself pure in character and conform to a high standard of morals. . . . ‘He should also be modest, sober, patient, prompt to do his duty without anxiety ; pious without going so far as superstition, conducting himself with propriety in his profession and in all the actions of his life.’ (Hippocrates)”3 The foregoing statements indicate that the standards of personal and social conduct for other professions are similar to those estab- lished for teachers. However, two factors oper- ate in the case of teachers which do not apply with equal directness in other professions. First, one of the definite responsibilities of every teacher is the development of the ethical character of his pupils. He works directly with boys and girls at an age when example is stronger than precept. His efficiency depends in large measure upon his personal influence on his pupils, and this in turn depends not only upon his expertness in the art of instruction but also upon his conduct and reputation out- side as well as inside the schoolroom. “The sins of the teachers are the teachers of sins.” 4 This idea has been well expressed by Herbert Hoover : . . . The public school teacher cannot live apart; he cannot separate his teaching from his daily walk and conversation. He lives among his pupils during school hours, and among them and their parents all the time. . . . His office, like that of a minister of religion, demands of him an exceptional stand- ard of conduct.5 In the second place, the teacher is a public servant. He is employed by the community to do a particular task. While it is not advisable for the public to bind its teachers with minute prescriptions regarding either the technics of their profession or the details of their personal lives, the community has a right to choose whom it will employ ; and it will usually em- ploy those who in their private lives, as well as in their professional relationships, conform in general to the moral and social standards of the community. Occasionally teachers owe it to themselves, their profession, and the public to resent and resist the rigid and puritanical censorship which some communities exercise over the con- duct of their teachers.6 If teaching is to be a profession which will attract the finest young men and women of each generation, those who enter it must be allowed to live normally inde- pendent lives. They should be expected to con- form to the generally accepted standards of propriety, but should be as free from the har- rowing limitations of narrow-minded bigotry and provincial prejudice as are the members of other vocations.7 On the other hand, it should be remembered that in most states a teacher may be dismissed for any cause that renders him unfit, and that not only a good character but a good reputation is essential to the greatest usefulness in his position.8 Teachers usually recognize the desirability of conforming to the generally accepted social 1 American Bar Association. Canons of Professional Ethics. Nos. 32 and 29. 2 American Bar Association. Canons of Judicial Ethics. Nos. 4 and 34. 3 American Medical Association. Principles of Medical Ethics. Chapter II, Art. 1, Sec. 1 and 3. 4 Quoted by Anderson, Earl William. The Teacher s Contract and Other Legal Phases of Teacher Status. Contribu- tions to Education, No. 246. Bureau of Publications, Teachers College, Columbia University, 1927. p. 78. 6 Hoover, Herbert. “Education as a National Asset.” Proceedings, 1926. Yol. 64, National Education Association, 1927. p. 729-30. 6 Anderson, Earl W. “Hamstringing Our Teachers.” Atlantic Monthly 145: 390-7; March, 1930. See also: Ewing, Stephen. “Blue Laws for School Teachers.” Harpers Monthly Magazine 156": 329-38; February, 1928. 7 Marsh, T. Frank. Op. cit., p. 163. 8 Allen, Ira Madison. The Teacher’s Contractual Status. Contributions to Education, No. 304. Bureau of Publications, Teachers College, Columbia University, 1928. p. 69, 71. [33] and moral standards of the communities in which they work. Sixty-five percent of those replying to the questionnaire circulated by the National Education Association’s Committee on Ethics stated that it is unethical for teach- ers “to engage in a practice of recreation, dress, etc., of which the community does not approve” ; whereas only 7 percent reported that they believed such procedure ethical, and 25 percent qualified their replies.1 Of the 1627 violations reported by teachers in the present study, only 52 were classified as “disregard of the social standards of the community.” 2 Although late hours, immodest dress, dancing, chewing tobacco, gambling, and drinking were mentioned, the only viola- tions cited more than twice were swearing, smoking, and indiscreet social relations be- tween teachers and pupils. These were men- tioned 4, 8, and 22 times respectively. The following are typical statements: 1. Two men teachers persisted in smoking in the men’s restroom during the school day. At the end of the year they were asked to leave. 2. A certain football coach smoked cigarettes in the gymnasium while coaching his team. The com- munity was very much opposed to it. 3. A teacher accepted the attentions of a high school boy whom she was teaching. 4. A man teacher persisted in courting senior girls and taking them to dances which lasted until the early hours of the morning. The teacher was dismissed at the end of the year. In regard to social relationships between teachers and pupils, Marsh says: Well established policies growing out of the experience of our most successful school systems warrant the condemnation of courtships between teachers and pupils.3 The fact that relatively few violations were reported under the heading of “disregard of the social standards of the community” should not be interpreted to mean that these problems are not important. Few problems are more complicated, and experience has shown that they are almost always crucial when they oc- cur, because communities do not usually over- look violations of their traditional standards of behavior. The general principles suggested on page 32 of this chapter indicate the social and personal standards to which the public expects members of the teaching profession to conform, and those who vary from them will frequently find it necessary to defend and justify their actions. Marsh sums up this situation con- cisely in these words: The teacher's success in her work and her conse- quent happiness depend to a rather large extent on the respect and confidence with whichsheisregarded in the community. Her social habits affect this opinion very decidedly. It is for this reason wise for her to conform to the social standards of the community, regardless of her personal attitude to- ward these standards.4 General Attitudes and Traits While many of the codes mention various attitudes and character traits in connection with certain definite relationships, others men- tion them merely as abstract qualities having general application. The desirable qualities mentioned are listed in Figure 1. Few undesirable attitudes are mentioned in the codes, doubtless due to the desire to have these documents emphasize the positive aspects of character. Occasionally the teacher is ad- monished not to be conceited, cynical, envious, grouchy, jealous, pessimistic, spiteful, suspi- cious, or tyrannical. Violations of General Proprieties All of the 1627 violations reported in Table 9, Chapter III, could be cited as illustrations either of failure to exemplify the desirable general traits listed in Figure 1, or of failure to conform to the more specific, concrete stand- ards which are discussed in later chapters. Most of them are more significant when used to illustrate lack of conformity to specific standards. On the other hand, some of them are particularly useful in attaching definite meanings to abstract qualities, because they show certain specific situations in which teach- ers frequently fail to exemplify the ideal quali- ties desired. Accordingly, a number of viola- tions having special reference to certain ab- stract qualities are cited below: Jealousy : 1. Jealousy over fancied preference led one teacher to circulate malicious rumors about another. 1 See Appendix, Table 20, Item 35. 2 See Table 12, Chapter V. 3 Marsh, J. Frank. Op. cit., p. 165 4 Marsh, J. Frank. Op. cit. p. 164. [34] 2. Because of jealousy a superintendent reported certain so-called irregularities to the State Depart- ment in order to give another superintendent a bad name with the Department. Lack of Tact: 1. A teacher tried to raise an argument with the superintendent of schools on some school issue be- fore bystanders as church was dismissing on Sun- day night. 2. A woodshop teacher told at every opportunity that he was the only one in his department who was competent to organize the work. 3. A teacher constantly harped upon the fact that she was the only one on the faculty who had come from a city and graduated from a city high school. 4. A teacher spent a great deal of time boasting about his accomplishments to unsophisticated stu- dents whom he could easily impress. Selfishness: 1. The principal of a high school, acting as chairman of the schedule committee of a county basketball league, used his position to frame the schedule so as to give his own team every advan- tage possible. 2. A teacher was selfish in sharing school equip- ment with other teachers, such as victrola, books, printing press, etc. Partiality and Prejudice: 1. A principal kept a teacher from promotion because of personal grievances against her. 2. A principal complained about a teacher’s work. Upon investigation it was found to be a case of religious prejudice with little truth in the com- plaint. Discourtesy : 1. A principal told a teacher to “shut up’’ before a class of pupils. This caused lack of respect for the principal among both teachers and pupils. 2. A superintendent lost his temper and shouted a teacher to silence in a faculty meeting. 3. A coach insulted the opposing coach and the umpire at the end of a baseball game. 4. Certain teachers interrupted the speaker at a professional meeting by getting up and leaving simply because it was 3:45 o’clock, the regular closing time for school. 5. A supervisor went into a classroom during the presentation of a lesson. She took the lesson out of the teacher’s hands and conducted it in an entirely different way. The children were given the impres- sion that the teacher’s method was wrong. Dishonesty: 1. A teacher created a financial obligation with no expectation of payment. 2. A superintendent promised (orally) a certain salary to teachers in June, and denied having made such promise in September. 3. A superintendent promised an applicant that he would do all he could for her, and then at the time of election did not even present her applica- tion to the members of the board. 4. A supervisor told a teacher she was doing satisfactory work and then recommended her for dismissal. 5. Two teachers in the absence of the principal went to the office and looked up the ratings of the other teachers in the school. 6. Teachers were allowed ten days sick leave with pay. Some teachers stayed out of school on days when they were not ill, thinking they were fooling the school authorities. 7. A teacher, after being out of school all day because of illness, attended a dance in the evening and remained at home next day because of illness. 8. A teacher who was excused from a regular building meeting to attend a lecture left the city early to attend a week-end party. 9. A teacher filled out attendance record at insti- tute as present full time when she was present only part time. 10. Teachers are expected to attend the meetings of the State Teachers’ Association because they receive full salary for the two days of the conven- tion. One teacher attended only the dance in the evening and none of the meetings. 11. A teacher married in a system where mar- riage automatically discharges. She kept her mar- riage a secret until newspapers disclosed the fact. 12. A teacher taking an extension course paid another to answer all the questions. FIGURE 1.— DESIRABLE ATTITUDES AND TRAITS The Teacher Should Be Alert Fair Modest Reverent Altruistic Faithful Neat Sensitive to Humor Approachable Generous Noble Serene Charitable Happy Openminded Strong (Physically) Clean Honest Optimistic Sympathetic Cooperative Idealistic Patient Tactful Courageous Impartial Patriotic Tolerant Courteous fust Poised True Democratic Kind Positive Truthful Dependable Loyal Progressive Dignified Magnanimous Pure (Morally) [35] 13. Tests were sent out with directions that they were not to be opened until a certain day. One teacher opened the tests and drilled her pupils on the questions. As a result, the children in that school ranked high. 14. A principal falsified the attendance register by marking a boy present when he was absent and working, in order to place him on the baseball team. 15. A grade teacher, upon protest by a mother and pupil that the latter’s grade in arithmetic kept her off the honor roll, raised the grade. 16. A high school teacher weak in ability to con- trol classes obtained poor examination results in elementary algebra and deliberately raised several marks to improve her own chances for retention. 17. A teacher systematically went through a pile of finished drawings by pupils in Grade I and “touched them up’’ for the supervisor to examine. 18. A teacher wrote a composition for a child. The composition won a prize. The child knew he had not written the composition and reported the affair to his parents. The mother came to school and traced the affair to the English teacher. 19. A superintendent made false statements to a service club in connection with a bond campaign. 20. A teacher boasted to others that she always kept a few well-planned lessons on hand for the supervisor’s visits. This chapter has discussed briefly the gen- eral attitudes and character traits which vari- ous codes of ethics designate as desirable for teachers to possess. Many of these are so vague and indefinite as to be of very limited value as guides to desirable conduct. Code-makers are coming to recognize this fact and are endeavor- ing, both in the revision of existing codes and in the preparation of new ones, to make their statements of standards as concrete and spe- cific as possible. A few general principles are necessary to cover the large number of situa- tions which are not mentioned specifically, but the greater proportion of any code should deal with concrete situations in which right conduct is desired. This chapter has suggested six gen- eral principles of conduct for teachers. The following chapters will analyze these in terms of more specific and definite standards. CHAPTER V Standards of Conduct in Relations with Pupils, Parents, and Community This chapter presents a selected list of stand- ards of conduct which, according to the vari- ous codes, the teacher should recognize in his relations with pupils, parents, and community. Each of these standards is accompanied by illustrative statements from the codes. In con- nection with each standard which involves a practice covered in the study by the National Education Association’s Committee on Ethics of the Profession, data are quoted to show the proportion of teachers who judged the prac- tice to be unethical.1 In addition, many of the standards are made more definite and mean- ingful by examples of their violation in spe- cific situations. Finally, the material on stand- ards of conduct for teachers is frequently sup- plemented by corresponding statements from the official standards of the legal and medical professions. The extent to which the standards for teach- ers are specifically mentioned in the 33 codes is shown in Table 11. The number of viola- tions reported in connection with each stand- ard appears in Table 12. The Welfare of the Child The teacher should recognize that the wel- fare of the child is the principal obligation of his profession. Twenty-one of the 33 codes specify that the welfare of the child is the pri- mary responsibility of every teacher. Personal gain and pleasure, community responsibilities, and even the mastery of subject matter are designated as subordinate interests, while serv- ice to the child is given first place. The follow- ing statements illustrate this point : 1. The highest obligation of every member of the teaching profession is due to those who are under his professional care. — Pennsylvania. 2. The teacher’s first duty is to his pupils. Their interest must not be sacrificed upon the altar of selfishness, community' responsibilities, or pleasure. — Wyoming. 3. It is the duty of the teacher to teach children, not mere subjects. — Alabama. 4. The first duty of teachers is to safeguard and bring to the highest state of perfection the physical, intellectual, aesthetic, moral, social, and so far as possible, the spiritual endowment of their pupils. — New Hampshire. 5. It is the duty of the teacher to consider service to the children paramount, rather than financial reward. — Colorado. 6. In adopting a comprehensive set of ethical principles, it is hoped that the Louisiana Teachers’ Association will keep uppermost the child as the only reason for an educational system. — Louisiana. Individual Differences Among Pupils The teacher should respect the individuality of each pupil and should train it according to its requirements. Ten of the codes stipulate that the teacher should deal with each child according to its individual requirements. At first glance this injunction may appear to be a question of pedagogical method rather than of professional ethics.2 Further consideration, however, reveals the fact that it involves a fundamental professional relationship. It rec- ognizes that each child is entitled to the op- portunity of developing himself to the limit of his capacity. It is a warning against the dan- gers of impersonalism inherent in mass pro- duction,3 and is a reminder that the benefit to society is greatest when the personal inter- ests and needs of each individual are recog- nized and respected. The following statements from the codes are typical : 1. The teacher should consider the different in- terests, aptitudes, abilities, and social environments of pupils. — National Education Association. 2. They (teachers) should always be mindful of the varied dispositions, characteristics, powers, and environmental conditions of children as determin- ing the methods of treatment. — Louisiana. 3. He (the teacher) should study pupils not only in the group, but also in their individuality, so as to develop wisely that individuality. In other words, respect the personality of each and train it accord- ing to its requirements. — South Carolina. The following are representative of the violations of this standard reported : 1. A teacher insisted on a boy going home and putting on better clothes, which he did not possess. 2. A boy of Syrian and Slavic parentage was failed because he did not talk loudly' enough. 1 For a summary of judgments on 39 such practices, see Appendix, Table 20. 2 Miller, George F. “Chaff in the Code of Ethics.” Phi Delta Kappan 12: 171; April, 1930. 3 “Teacher or Factory Hand.” Atlantic Monthly 145: 500-2; Apr., 1930. See also: Journal of the National Education Association 19: 171-2; June, 1930. [37] TABLE 11.— CODES OF ETHICS WHICH SPECIFY VARIOUS STANDARDS OF CONDUCT IN RELATIONS WITH PUPILS, PARENTS, AND COMMUNITY jaqranM [Bjox CN o oo to P'1 00 CN 00 CN - SuiraoX^ X X X — uojSuiqSEjtt. X ; eiuiSjia tron X X X X SBX3X X X X X EjoqBa qjnos X X X X X X biihojbo q;no§ X X X X X X X pUB|Sj 3poqH X X X X BiuBAiAsuuacj X X X X no3aJO X EraoqElHO ( X 1 X X X ONO X X X X X Bni|OJE3 qjjojtf X X X X qjOA M3tf iasraf X X X X ajiqsdniEH Ma|j X X X X X unossij^ X iddississiiq X X UBStqoijAl X X X sjjasnqoBssBj^ X X X X 3UIB^ inreismo'i | X X X X X X iqornuag X X X X X X SBSUTJ^J X BMOI X I X X X oqBpx X X BiSjoao X X Bpuou X X X 3JBMB[3Q X X X ;noi;D3nuo3 X | X 0PEJ0I03 X X X X X 1 1 Bra^q^iy X X X X •v -a -m X X X X X X X X X Standards 1. To recognize that the welfare of the child is the principal obligation of the teacher 2. To respect the individuality of each pupil and I ' 3. To deal justly and impartially with every rhilH 4. To be sympathetic and courteous toward his 5. To hold inviolate confidential information re- 1 6. To refrain from tutoring for remuneration ' 1 7. To refrain from imposing his religious or political convictions upon his pupils 8. To maintain cooperative relations with 9. To participate actively in the community life. . 10 To refrain from becoming aligned with factions i 11. To refrain from belittling in any way the com- [38] Impartiality The teacher should deal justly and impar- tially with every child. Eight codes specify that fair and impartial treatment by teachers is the right of every child. Exhibitions of prejudice or preference because of differences in intellec- tual ability or social standing should have no place in the relations between a teacher and his pupils. The following statements are typical : 1. In instructional, administrative and other rela- tions with pupils, the teacher should be impartial, just and professional. — National Education Asso- ciation. 2. Teachers should deal justly with every child without prejudice or preference. — Ohio. 3. The true teacher will strive to place whatever educational facilities the state can afford within easy reach of even the humblest of citizens. — Louisiana. Of the fourteen violations of this standard reported, the following are representative: 1. A teacher had two pupils of approximately the same ability whose work was below the passing grade. She passed one because of friendship and failed the other. 2. Certain teachers eliminated pupils from the Regents’ Examination who appeared to have little TABLE 12.— REPORTED VIOLATIONS OF STANDARDS OF CONDUCT IN RE- LATIONS WITH PUPILS, PARENTS, AND COMMUNITY Frequency Nature of Violations of Mention 1. Failure to recognize the individuality of each child 3 2. Failure to deal justly and impartially with each child 14 3. Unsympathetic and discourteous atti- tude toward pupils: a. Discouraging pupils by harsh criti- 24 b. Calling pupils insulting names 12 c. Giving discourteous replies to ques- 3 d. Threatening pupils, shouting at them and using physical force in discipline a 4. Failure to hold inviolate confidential information 35 5.' Tutoring for remuneration pupils of his own classes 4 6. Imposing private views on pupils 2 7. Lack of tact in meeting criticism of parents 2 8. Failure to participate in community 3 9. Disregard for social standards of the community 52 ‘ 10. Becoming aligned with factions in the community 15 Total Number 180 1 For discussion of these violations see p. 33-34. chance of passing. These teachers did this in order to assure themselves of a high marking average in the Regents’ Department, without considering the welfare of the pupils. 3. A teacher refused to allow a pupil to continue in a certain course because of personal feeling. Sympathy and Courtesy The teacher should be sympathetic and courteous toward his pupils. Five codes stipu- late that the general virtues of sympathy and courtesy should be applied specifically in the teacher’s treatment of his pupils. Some typical statements are : 1. The teacher should be approachable. He should show his sympathy for the child in such a way that the latter may feel that in the teacher he has a personal friend. — South Carolina. 2. The teacher should always be courteous, kind, and sympathetic. — Iowa. 3. My attitude towards children will be sympa- thetic but not irrational; kind but not coddling. — Utah. No man or woman should enter the teach- ing profession without a deep interest in and a genuine sympathy with children. The cir- cumstances under which the teacher works make it easy for him to lapse into discourteous habits which are detrimental to both teacher and pupil. The nervous strain of teaching often produces an irritability and a sharpness of retort which would not be tolerated by cli- ents in any other field. The inhibitions which usually prevent discourtesy between adults are often absent in the relationship of teacher and pupil, and the very intimacy which exists in the teacher-pupil situation frequently leads to an unfortunate laxness about courteous pro- prieties. Frankness is usually a virtue, but brutal frankness is a vice, which the teacher should avoid as scrupulously as does the physician, whose ideal in this regard is plainly stated : A physician should give timely notice of danger- ous manifestations of the disease to the friends of the patient. He should neither exaggerate nor minimize the gravity of the patient’s condition. He should assure himself that the patient or his friends have such knowledge of the patient’s con- dition as will serve the best interests of the patient and the family.1 Teachers frequently find it necessary to call a pupil’s attention to his own shortcomings, 1 The American Medical Association. Op. cit. Chapter I, Section 3. 1 39] but there is no excuse for the careless, flippant, and discourteous remarks which teachers often employ. Of the fifty violations of this type reported, the following are typical illustrations: 1. An instructor used sarcasm extensively and the pupils became reluctant to recite. 2. A teacher said to a boy early in the year, “You are a failure. You cannot be promoted.” 3. A teacher used a poorly written English theme, but one which represented a pupil’s best work, as an example before the class of everything which should not be done in such a composition. 4. A teacher of mathematics told certain students that they were too “dumb” to learn mathematics. 5. A teacher called her pupils such names as “little simpleton,” “little nut,” and “good-for-noth- ing.” Confidential Information The teacher should hold inviolate all confi- dential information concerning his pupils. Twelve of the codes for teachers condemn the release of confidential information regarding pupils as a thoroughly unprofessional practice. Here are some representative statements of this standard : 1. The professional relations of the teacher with his pupils demand the same scrupulous guarding of confidential and official information as is ob- served by members of other long established pro- fessions.— National Education Association. 2. The teacher will hold inviolate matters of a purely professional and private nature, such as the intelligence rating of his children, or other data which might reflect upon the lives and opportunities of the children under his charge. Such matters should be kept as sacred by the teacher as the physician and the lawyer would keep the profes- sional secrets of their own profession. — Colorado. 3. Teachers should consider information con- cerning the mental, moral, physical, and financial limitations of parents and pupils in confidence and not discuss them in a way to embarrass parents or pupils. — Georgia. 4. Teachers should never indulge in remarks with pupils or before classes concerning the pecu- liarities or shortcomings of other pupils. — Louisi- ana. The corresponding specifications for physi- cians and lawyers are interesting and sugges- tive : Patience and delicacy should characterize all the acts of a physician. The confidences concerning individual or domestic life entrusted by a patient to a physician, and the defects of disposition or flaws of character observed in patients during medical attendance should be held as a trust and should never be revealed except when imperatively required by the laws of the state.1 I will maintain the confidence and preserve in- violate the secrets of my client.2 Ninety-three percent of the teachers who re- plied to the questionnaire of the National Edu- cation Association’s Committee on Ethics stated that it is unethical “to discuss defici- encies of pupils in such a way as would em- barrass them or their parents.” 3 1 hirty-five violations of this standard were reported. The following are typical state- ments: 1. A parent’s confidence concerning his child was discussed with another parent by the prin- cipal. 2. A teacher discussed with parents an experi- ment being conducted by the Educational Measure- ments Department and gave out facts which were misinterpreted, causing considerable disturbance and ill feeling. 3. A teacher, after a mental test had been given in her room, told various people the intelligence quotients of their neighbors’ children. 4. A teacher discussed the poor mental prepara- tion of various children with a fellow teacher be- fore the whole class and referred to some of them as being ‘stupid,’ ‘ignorant,’ and from ‘mean, low parentage.’ 5. A teacher talked to one pupil about another pupil’s faults. 6. A teacher made an unkind remark about the parent of a child before the class. Tutoring Pupils of His Own Classes The teacher should not tutor for remunera- tion the pupils of his own classes. Eight codes stipulate that it is unprofessional for a teacher to accept remuneration for giving outside help to students of his own classes. Five of these codes add the phrase “except by special permis- sion of the school authorities.” 4 These state- ments are typical : 1. The sincere teacher will not accept remunera- tion for tutoring his own pupils in subjects which he teaches them. There is grave danger of bringing the profession into disrepute by this practice. — Wyoming. 2. It is unprofessional for a teacher to tutor pupils of his own classes for remuneration, except by special permission of the school authorities. — Massachusetts. 1 The American Medical Association. Op. cit. Chapter I, Section 2. 2 The American Bar Association. Canons of Professional Ethics. “Oath of Admission.” 3 See Appendix, Table 20, Item 16. 4 Kentucky, Massachusetts, Michigan, Ohio, and South Dakota. [40] Four cases of violation of this standard were reported. Of the teachers responding to the questionnaire of the National Education As- sociation’s Committee on Ethics, 67 percent stated that the practice referred to is unethical, 8 percent said it is ethical, and 24 percent qualified their answers to the question.1 Imposing Religious or Political Views Upon Pupils The teacher should refrain from imposing his religious or political vieivs upon his pupils. This practice is mentioned specifically by only a few of the codes. The Utah document defi- nitely condemns the imposition of religious convictions upon pupils, and the code of the National Education Association warns against unnecessary and ill-advised controversies which may jeopardize the teacher’s effectiveness in the classroom. The New Jersey and New Hampshire codes stipulate that although teach- ers do not forfeit their right to their own so- cial, political, and religious beliefs, they should maintain them in an unobtrusive and dignified way.2 This viewpoint is well expressed in the code of the National Education Association: The schoolroom is not the proper theater for re- ligious, political, or personal propaganda. The teacher should exercise his full rights as a citizen, but he should avoid controversies which may tend to decrease his value as a teacher. While this advice is sound in general, it may, if carried to extremes, devitalize the char- acter as well as the work of the teacher. The whole question of academic freedom has a highly significant bearing upon the progress of scientific thought and the welfare of society in general.3 Teachers and pupils alike must be free, and must be encouraged, to discuss cer- tain types of controversial issues in an unpreju- diced and impartial manner.4 Otherwise, the art of thinking will languish, and the many evils which beset society will continue undis- turbed by the light of honest criticism. Dewey has recently raised the question of the right of the teacher to discuss controversial matters as one of the major issues confronting the public schools today,5 and the Committee on Ethics of the American Association of University Professors has called attention to the fact that among teachers no worthy end can be achieved without an attempt to educate or influence others.6 A satisfactory solution will not be forthcoming until teachers as a professional group recognize that a reasonable amount of independence of thought and speech is a uni- versal right w’orth fighting for. Lee reports that 48 percent of the teachers of social science included in his study stated that they avoid all controversial issues in their classes.7 Such a situation is unfortunate. However, it is one thing to discuss contro- versial issues without partiality or undue emo- tion, and quite another thing to attempt to force one’s convictions upon others. The latter practice is vicious, and should be carefully avoided by teachers on all occasions. Ninety- two percent of the teachers replying to the questionnaire of the National Education As- sociation’s Committee on Ethics stated that it is unethical “to teach one’s religious, political, or other private beliefs to pupils.” 8 Only two violations of this standard were reported. One of these is particularly sugges- tive : A teacher used the class time to expound specific political and religious views and ridiculed persons not holding these views. Cooperation with Parents The teacher should maintain cooperative re- lations with parents. Eighteen of the codes mention cooperative relations with parents as being essential to efficiency in the work of the school. Teachers are advised to maintain such relations by keeping parents informed regarding the attendance and progress of their children ; by communicating these facts candidly but tactfully ; by meeting the criticism of parents with courtesy and 1 See Appendix, Table 20, Item 18. 2 See section on Politics and Factions, p. 43-44. 3 Brubacher, A. R. Teaching •' Profession and Practice. Century Co., 1927. p.^ 106. 4 National Education Association, Research Division “Vitalizing the High-School Curriculum.” Research Bulletin 7: 173-276; September, 1929. “Can Social Issues Profitably Be Taken Up in High-School Social Science Classes?” p. 210. 5 Dewey, John. A Series of Questions Relating to the Duties and Responsibilities of the Teaching Profession with Reference Especially to Taking Decided Positions on Important Social and National Problems. (Presented at the meeting of the National Council of Education, June 28, 1930.) 6 Seligman, Edwin R. A. “Propaganda by Public Utility Corporations.” Bulletin of the American Association of Uni- versity Professors, 16: 349-68; May, 1930. 7’Eee, Baldwin. Issues in the Social Studies. Bureau of Publications, Teachers College, Columbia University, 1928 p. 169. 8 See Appendix, Table 20, Item 17. [41 ] patience; and by participating in organizations designed to promote cooperation between par- ents and teachers. The following statements from the codes are illustrative: 1. The teacher should seek to establish friendly and intelligent cooperation between the home and the school. — National Education Association. 2. The parents’ viewpoint should be appreciated. It may not be accepted, but it must not be ignored. — Florida. 3. It is the teacher’s duty to seek in every way the cooperation of parents; to show no partiality on account of the high social standing of some parents, or lack of sympathy and kindness, on account of the lack of high social standing of others. He should be especially considerate of ignorant and unreasonable parents. He should keep parents informed about the progress or lack of progress, the attendance or lack of attendance of their chil- dren. The teacher should tactfully make sugges- tions as to conditions suitable for study, when studying is to be done at home; should advise as to suitable equipment in books and other things needed by the child for the work to be done. All parents need information on these points. The teacher should welcome the visits of parents to the school, and should endeavor to create in them a personal interest and pride in the success, not only of their own children, but of the whole school; should enlist their interest in adorning the school grounds, in protecting the school property, and in making the school the center of interest to the whole community. — South Carolina. 4. . . . the duty of teachers to parents is to seek their acquaintance, to cooperate with them in the education of their children, to become informed of the home life and conditions by friendly visits, and in all other respects to manifest an interest in the individual child. Above all, a teacher should be frank, as well as sympathetic, in dealing with parents. Criticism by parents should be received with courtesy and patience. — New Hampshire. 5. All teachers should establish friendly and frank relations of cooperation with pupils and parents and support organizations for that purpose. — Ohio. Participation in Community Life The teacher should participate actively in the life of the community. Twenty-one of the 33 codes specify that active participation in worthy community activities is a professional duty of teachers. These statements are typical : 1. In his relation to the community, the teacher should be an example of the value to society of an educated citizen. So far as may be consistent with the best performance of his specific duties as a teacher, he should actively identify himself with all movements of civic and social interest. — North Carolina. 2. The teacher’s second duty is to the community which employs him. He should interest himself in its problems and take an active part in its civic, social, and religious life. — Wyoming. 3. Teachers should support all efforts for the betterment of the community, for they are the foundation builders of it. Through daily contact with the children, a teacher gleans the essential needs of the community, the activities that will lead the community to a higher physical, moral, and spiritual plane. Knowing these needs, a teacher should give unstinted support to worthy efforts. To support an effort does not always mean to finance it, or to be an active worker in it. As a teacher is a personage of standing in the com- munity, his advice and counsel are often accepted and followed. With inspiring words, he can lead an activity to success; by his attitude he can blaze a trail to cultural heights that others in the com- munity will seek to travel. — Connecticut. 4. Inasmuch as the public schools belong to all the people of the community, it is essential that teachers form contacts with all those groups with whom sympathetic understanding of educational problems should be cultivated, or with whom a more active cooperation may secure a larger serv- ice to the life of the community or the state. — W ashington. In connection with this standard and the one which follows, two important questions deserve attention : ( 1 ) How far is the teacher under obligation to participate in community life? and (2) How far should the teacher be permitted to participate in community life? As a citizen the teacher has both the right and the responsibility of participating actively in political, religious, and social activities. As an educated person he has an added responsi- bility in such matters, and in his capacity as a public servant, the community has a right to expect certain service from him along these lines, particularly in the direction of further- ing the cause of popular education. On the other hand, the proviso which appears in the Connecticut Code — “To support an effort does not always mean to finance it or to be an active worker in it” is a significant and subtle pro- test against the undue pressure often brought to bear upon teachers in some communities. The teacher’s primary job is the instruction of children; and it is unfair to expect him to spend all of the time outside of school hours in performing miscellaneous tasks which fre- quently can be done quite as well by others whose vocations are less exacting than teach- ing.1 While the contacts formed by the teacher 1 See Dewey, John. “What is the Matter with Teaching?” Delineator 107: 5-6, 78; October, 1925. [42] through participation in community activities frequently help to promote educational wel- fare, it is doubtful whether his obligation in this regard is significantly greater than that of other educated citizens of the community. The Canons of Professional Ethics of the American Bar Association contain no state- ment as to the responsibility of lawyers for participation in community activities. The Principles of Medical Ethics specify only a limited number of community duties which physicians as good citizens and as professionally trained individuals are under obligation to per- form : Physicians, as good citizens and because their professional training specially qualifies them to render this service, should give advice concerning the public health of the community. They should bear their full part in enforcing its laws and sus- taining the institutions that advance the interests of humanity. The}' should cooperate especially with the proper authorities in the administration of sanitary laws and regulations. They should be ready to counsel the public on subjects relating to sanitary police, public hygiene, and legal medicine. Physicians, especially those engaged in public health work, should enlighten the public regarding quarantine regulations; on the location, arrange- ment, and dietaries of hospitals, asylums, schools, prisons, and similar institutions; and concerning measures for the prevention of epidemic and con- tagious diseases.1 Few would seriously question the physician's obligation to perform certain extra services to the community, over and beyond his regular practice, along those lines for which he is pe- culiarly fitted by training and experience. Similarly, few would question the responsi- bility of the teacher for participating in worthy community activities insofar as his time and strength permit, but the time has passed when the teacher should be looked upon as a “com- munity nurse maid” 2 subject to the beck and call of every social welfare movement. His specialized training enables him frequently to assume a leadership in many community affairs, but his first duty is to his pupils and their wel- fare must not be sacrificed upon the altar of community responsibilities.3 However, participation in community activi- ties often helps the teacher to serve the school. It broadens his outlook upon life and yields contacts with other leaders in the community which enable him to advance the cause of edu- cation. Six of the codes specifically mention this responsibility.4 5 The following statements are typical : 1. It is the duty of the teacher to be a loyal citizen of the community . . . and to lead others to a realization of the educational needs of the community. — Alabama. 2. It is the duty of teachers and their organiza- tions to keep the public informed as to the funda- mental importance of universal democratic educa- tion and the needs and problems of the school and the profession. — Ohio. 3. The teaching profession must assume a large share of responsibility for making common school education available to all and for the eradication of illiteracy. — W ashington. Of the teachers who responded to the ques- tionnaire of the National Education Associa- tion’s Committee on Ethics, 79 percent stated that it is unethical for a teacher “to fail to par- ticipate in activities for community better- ment.” Below are a few statements in which viola- tions of this principle were reported : 1. A teacher did not attend any meetings of the Parent Teacher Association. Neither did she take part in the extra-curricular activities of the school. 2. A teacher spent many week-ends out of town instead of cooperating with the superintendent in activities of the community related to the school. 3. Certain teachers showed an attitude of dis- respect and disregard for the affairs of the small community where they were teaching. Politics and Factions The teacher should avoid aligning himself with factions in a community. Participation in community activities, although highly com- mendable in certain circumstances is not with- out complications and dangers. The first duty of the teacher is to the children under his care. Other activities must invariably be subordi- nated to this primary responsibility. Although the codes insist that the teacher should exercise his full rights as a citizen, they also condemn undue political ambition, participation in con- troversies s which precipitate ill feeling, and 1 The American Medical Association. Op. cit. Chapter III. Sections 1 and 2. 2 Walsh, Matthew J. Teaching as a Profession. Henry Holt and Co., 1926. p. 271. 3 See section on The Welfare of the Child, p. 37. 4 Alabama, Iowa, Ohio, Rhode Island, Texas, and Washington. 5 See the discussion of academic freedom in the section Imposing Religious or Political Views Upon Pupils, p. 41. [+3] alignment with factions in the community. This point of view appears clearly in the fol- lowing typical statements: 1. The teacher should exercise his full rights as a citizen, but he should avoid controversies which may tend to decrease his value as a teacher. — National Education Association. 2. The duty of refraining from undue political ambitions and activities is especially enjoined upon all teachers. This item, however, shall never be construed as discouraging the exercise of the fran- chise; and the eminent propriety of teachers hold- ing public office of an educational character is hereby recognized. — Louisiana. 3. Every member of the teaching profession, be- cause of his special relationship to the school board of his district, should carefully refrain from all political activity in connection with the election of school directors in his district, except the casting of his ballot. — Pennsylvania. 4. It is incumbent on teachers loyally to acknowl- edge all the duties and obligations of citizenship, and to discharge them both in letter and spirit . . . Teachers are and should be the servants of the people, without regard to distinctions of political party, religious faith, or other matters which are brought into issue and upon which individuals honestly disagree. Teachers are fully entitled to liberty of conscience, but it is unprofessional for them to become partisans upon issues which divide the community. — New Elampshire. In a similar manner the American Bar As- sociation warns judges against aggressive par- ticipation in political affairs: While entitled to entertain his personal views on political questions, and while not required to sur- render his rights or opinions as a citizen, it is inevitable that suspicion of being warped by polit- ical bias will attach to a judge who becomes the active promoter of the interests of one political party as against another. He should avoid making political speeches, making or soliciting payment of assessments or contributions to party funds, the public endorsement of candidates for political office, and participation in party conventions.1 There is considerable division of opinion among teachers as to their professional prerog- atives in political matters. Of those who re- plied to the questionnaire of the National Edu- cation Association’s Committee on Ethics, 30 percent stated that it is unethical “to do more than to vote for a candidate in a political cam- paign 38 percent stated that such practice is ethical ; and 30 percent qualified their an- swers.2 Doubtless there are occasions when school people may and should exert their influ- ence to secure the election of certain candi- dates. However, it is usually advisable for teachers to avoid flaunting their political pref- erences and convictions before the public. Of the 15 cases reported in which teachers appeared guilty of unwise factional activities, the following are typical: 1. A principal passed out handbills to pupils in regard to a coming election. 2. A superintendent lost his job because he joined the Ku Klux Klan. 3. An assistant principal proceeded to get mem- bers elected to the school board for the purpose of ousting the principal and getting himself ap- pointed to that position. 4. A school superintendent asked his teachers to permit distribution of election cards for certain school board members in the homerooms on the day before election. 5. A superintendent asked a supervisor to go to the polls on election day and work for those Board of Education candidates who were known to be favorable toward the present educational policy in the district, and upon whose election depended the reappointment of both the superintendent and supervisor. Disparaging the Community The teacher should refrain from belittling in any way the community in which he is em- ployed. This obligation is evidently considered so obvious or so widely accepted that most of the codes make no specific mention of it. The Florida code is the only one which contains a definite reference to the matter. The statement is brief and direct : It is unethical for the educator to belittle in any way the community in which he or she has accepted a position. This standard is much more important than the scant attention given to it in the codes would indicate. Teachers frequently find fault with various characteristics of the communi- ties in which they are employed, particularly in the smaller towns and villages. The practice usually arouses resentment in the loyal resi- dents of the community, and reacts unfavor- ably upon the teacher and the teaching profes- sion as a whole. Constructive criticism is often necessary and valuable, but petty, malicious, or purely destructive criticism usually does more harm than good. 1 The American Bar Association. Canons of Judicial Ethics. No. 28. 2 See Appendix, Table 20, Item 34. [44] CHAPTER VI Standards of Conduct in Relations With Associates Codes of ethics for teachers place special emphasis upon the need for harmonious and cooperative relations among the teachers in every school system. This chapter presents the specific standards of conduct under this head- ing which were derived from an analysis of the codes. The discussion and illustration of these standards follow the same general plan as in the preceding chapter. General Statements Several of the codes cover the relations of the teacher with his associates by very general and vague statements. For example, six docu- ments state that teachers should apply the Golden Rule in all their professional relations and activities.* 1 Such general qualities as loy- alty, cooperation, confidence, respect, fairness, frankness, honesty, friendliness, generosity, sympathy, charity, goodwill, sincerity, and courtesy are usually emphasized as essential in relationships with associates. These generali- ties are not as useful to the student of profes- sional ethics as are the more specific standards which follow, but they are interesting as illus- trations of the type of material found fre- quently in many of the codes. The following are typical of these generaliz- ing statements : 1. As guidance for the conduct of teachers in their relations to one another, the Golden Rule is adequate and applies with explicit force and beauty. — North Carolina. 2. The teaching profession differs from the other learned professions in the fact that the service to the community is not individualistic like that of the lawyer, the physician, and the minister. The personal service of the teacher cannot be efficient without cooperation, without solidarity, without perfect unity of effort. . . . The very A B C of professional loyalty is mutual confidence and faith in one another. — New York. 3. It is the duty of every teacher to regard every other teacher as a fellow craftsman and as entitled to all the rights, courtesies, and emoluments that usually obtain in other professions with recognized standards. — New Hampshire. 4. The most important obligation of individual teachers toward themselves and coworkers is to be imbued always with the spirit of loyalty. This ideal involves sacrifice for the common good ; cheerful cooperation with one’s colleagues ; the exclusion from one’s nature of all tendencies to envy, jeal- ousy, rivalry, and distrust. — Michigan. In many of the codes the general obligations mentioned above are applied to certain specific types of situations. Table 13 shows the extent to which each of these specific standards is in- cluded in the thirty-three codes. Table 14 in- dicates the number of violations reported in each type of situation. Assisting in the Formulation and Execu- tion of Policies The teacher should assist in developing and carrying out the policies of the school system. Eighteen of the codes stipulate that teachers have an obligation to aid in the formulation and execution of official school policies. By implication as well as by direct statement ad- ministrators are admonished to give teachers a share in the development of these policies. This does not mean, of course, that the ad- ministrators of a school system should not have final authority in establishing policies, or that teachers have a right to ignore policies of which they do not personally approve. Once a policy has been officially adopted all members of the staff should adhere to it as long as it re- mains in effect. The codes of three states specify that a teacher should resign if he can- not accept in good faith the policies adopted.2 The following are typical statements of this standard : 1. The superintendent should be recognized as the head and professional leader of the school sys- tem. He in turn should give his teachers an oppor- tunity to collaborate in the solution of the profes- sional problems. When a policy has been deter- mined upon, it should be loyally supported by all teachers. — Georgia. 2. Those who are responsible to the public for the conduct of the school should attempt to acquaint the teacher with the larger purposes of the organi- zation and to furnish him with such assistance and guidance as will enable him to cooperate intelli- gently. The teacher should make a sympathetic effort to understand those purposes and, regardless of personal feeling or private opinion, so long as he continues a part of the organization, faithfully to carry them out. Teachers, however, should be 1 Alabama, Delaware, Kentucky, Louisiana, North Carolina, South Carolina. 1 New Hampshire, Ohio, and Rhode Island. [45] TABLE 13— CODES OF ETHICS WHICH SPECIFY VARIOUS STANDARDS OF CON- DUCT IN RELATIONS WITH ASSOCIATES jaquinjj pno£ 00 to *— < - O' IO CN o SniraojC^. | :.l i X X X X uo}3uiqsB.M. | Eini3J!A X 4EJI1 SUX3X X X X x | ejosibq qjnog X X X X BUflOJ*3 q;nos X X X X X X puB|S j apoq^j X X X X X X EinBAiAsuuaj X X X X X U033JQ BinoqB|3lo | X X X X ;.l X X X °!40 X X X X X EUH0JE3 qjJOfj | X 3IJ0A M3M X X X : : iasjsf M3JJ ! x X X X X X ajiqsdniBjj msjj X | ; 1 ■: : X unossi^ X iddississij^ : X X X I UESrqaij^; j X X X snasnq3ESSBi\[ X X I ; X 8n!BW i BUBisinoq X 1 * : 1 x X X I 1 X X X X 1 SBSUB^ 1 ; X X BMOJ X • : oqdpi 1 •: l : X EI3J09Q X 1 : 1 1 * X EpiJOIJ X I x *\ : X X 3JBMBJ3Q X X x : X : X jnopoauno^ X X X x l •: X j 0PBJ0J03 X X | i 1 I : « 1 * X 1 BUIBqBlV X 1 * X •v 'a 'N X X ! x 1 ; ! 1 * 1 X j Standards 1. To assist in determining and carrying out the Dolicies of the system 2. To support his associates in conversation with others within and without the system 3. To help his associates with constructive advice and helpful ideas - ■ — — — 4. To give due credit for assistance received and 5. To assist associates to secure merited promo- 6. To refrain from interfering in any way, unless official position warrants, in the schoolroom 7. To refrain from shifting responsibility to another which should be borne by self 8. To hold inviolate confidential information regarding his associates 9. To avoid gossip about or adverse criticism of fellow-teachers 10. To transact all business through proper channels 11. To organize properly and leave for successor such information, data and records as may be A u 0 5 /> u t3 V >» * a V 3 CkO a a a i V o c a in 2 O HH to < > in W to O to to S* u fe 2 H U w to m 2 u o H 2 O 2 £ £3 co W U to 2 H W to 0 co to Q O u 1 VO to p M < H i JaqninM jEtox Tf< o PO On NO CN 00 SuiinoA/^ X X X nojSuiqsEj^ X X eiujSjia X X X X : wn X X X SExax X X X X X E}03[Ea qinos X X X X X BuqojBQ qjno§ X X X X puEisj apoq^j | X X BIUBAl^SUUad X X 1 X X uoSaJO X X BtnoqBiqo X X X X X oiqo X X X X X X ediiojeo qjJOM X X X X V°a M3M X X Xssjaf M3M | X X X 1 x X ajiqsdraBH X X X unossiyj X X X 1 : X X iddississ!^ X X UBSiqai^i X X X X X sjjasnqoBSSB^ X X X X X 9U!BH X X 1 X X i BUBismoq X X X X X ijpnjuaji 1 ; X X x SBSUB^ 1 X X BMOJ X X X oqspi X X X X X ET2J030 X X X X X X X aJBMBjaa X X X X ;noqo3uuo3 X X X X X X OpBJO[03 X X X H BtaBqB]y X X ‘V ‘3 ‘M X X X X X Standards 1. To manifest a personal pride in the teaching profession 2. To support and assist in raising the standards of entrance to the profession 3. To broaden his educational equipment for teach- ing after entering the profession 4. To maintain an open mind towards all forms of professional progress 5. To affiliate actively with professional associa- tions 6. To work for material conditions necessary for high degree of professional service — — ■ 7. To report to the proper authorities corrupt and i dishonorable practices known to exist [56] TABLE 17.— REPORTED VIOLATIONS OF STANDARDS OF CONDUCT IN RE- LATION TO THE PROFESSION Nature of Violations Frequency of Mention 1. Lack of pride in the profession 5 2. Failure to support and assist in raising standards of entrance 1 3. Failure to be a progressive student of education 6 4. Failure to affiliate actively with pro- fessional organizadons 8 5. Failure to work for material conditions necessary for a high degree of profes- sional service 3 Total Number 23 The corresponding statements for physicians and lawyers are as follows : The obligation assumed on entering the profes- sion requires the physician ... to exalt its standards and to extend its sphere of useful- ness ... It is unprofessional for a physician to assist unqualified persons to evade legal restric- tions governing the practice of medicine . . . Every physician should aid in safeguarding the profession against the admission to its ranks of those who are unfit or unqualified because deficient in either moral character or education.1 The lawyer should aid in guarding the Bar against the admission to the profession of candi- dates unfit or unqualified because deficient in either moral character or education. He should strive at all times to uphold the honor and to maintain the dignity of the profession and to improve not only the law but the administration of justice.2 Seventy-eight percent of those who replied to the questionnaire of the National Education Association’s Committee on Ethics reported that it is unethical “to fail to encourage the fit to enter and to discourage the unfit from enter- ing the profession.” 3 The only violation of this standard reported was: A teacher accepted a position to teach subjects which she was unprepared to teach. Growth in Service The teacher should be a progressive student of education. Thirty of the codes stipulate that the teacher should increase his educational equipment after entering the service, and nine specify that he should maintain an open mind toward all forms of professional progress. The various means suggested for accomplishing these standards are summer school and exten- sion courses, reading professional magazines and books, travel, visiting classes, attending institutes and teachers’ meetings and serving on committees. The following statements are typical : 1. The teacher should maintain his efficiency and teaching skill by study and by contact with local, state, and national associations. — National Educa- tion Association. 2. All teachers should be subscribers to at least one professional journal of recognized worth, should read a few of the most important books on education, including those appearing each year, should visit classes of other teachers, should attend teachers’ meetings as often as is practicable and should enroll in summer or extension courses in normal schools, colleges or universities. — New Jersey. 3. Every member of the profession should be a progressive student of education. To this end, he should be a thoughtful reader of educational litera- ture, should attend and participate in educational meetings, should engage in such experimentation and collection of data as will test the value of edu- cational theories and aid in the establishment of a scientific basis for educational practice, and should be willing to give to his fellow members the benefit of his professional knowledge and experience. — Pennsylvania. 4. In the interest of professional growth, he (the teacher) should maintain a friendly attitude toward change. — North Carolina. The Michigan code suggests that the board of education should stimulate and encourage the professional growth of teachers while in service by granting them permission to attend educational meetings without loss of pay, al- lowing visiting days, and encouraging them to attend summer school, to travel, and in other ways to improve their knowledge and skill in teaching. Physicians are likewise advised to avoid stagnation : A physician should not base his practice on an exclusive dogma or sectarian system, for “sects are implacable despots; to accept their thraldom is to take away all liberty from one’s action and thought.” 4 1 American Medical Association. Op. cit., Chapter II, Article I, Sections 1, 6 and 7. 2 American Bar Association. Canons of Professional Ethics, No. 29. 3 See Appendix, Table 20, Item 31. 4 American Medical Association. Op. cit., Chapter II, Article I, Section 1. [57] Eighty-eight percent of those who replied to the questionnaire of the National Education Association’s Committee on Ethics reported that it is unethical “to fail to be a progressive student of education.” 1 Of the six violations of this standard re- ported, the following are typical: 1. An older teacher consistently belittled exten- sion work and other means of growth before en- thusiastic beginning teachers. 2. A teacher showed a general let-down as soon as she was safely established under the state tenure law. 3. A teacher habitually assumed an adverse atti- tude toward any suggested new activity or pro- cedure. Affiliation with Professional Associa- tions The teacher should cooperate actively with local, state , and national professional organiza- tions. Twenty-six of the codes stipulate that the teacher should affiliate with and participate actively in the programs of professional or- ganizations. Three specify no definite organ- izations;2 two specify membership in the state association ; 3 one specifies membership in state and local associations;4 two specify member- ship in the state and local associations and add, “and the national, if possible” ; 5 while two specify the state and national associations ;6 and 16 specify the local, state, and national associations.7 The following statements are typical : 1. The teacher should cooperate actively with local, state and national associations, should know their plans and help by active membership in mak- ing better plans and contribute purposefully to their fulfillment. — Alabama. 2. It is the ethical duty of the educator to be- come an active member of at least the state and local education associations. — Florida. 3. It is unethical to accept benefits while with- holding support from organizations which secure and maintain them. Consequently a teacher should give active support to the local association, to the State Federation and to the National Education As- sociation.— Massachusetts. 4. Every teacher should be a member of the South Dakota Education Association and, if pos- sible, the National Education Association. — South Dakota. The Principles of Medical Ethics contain the following specifications: In order that the dignity and honor of the medi- cal profession may be upheld, its standards exalted, its sphere of usefulness extended, and the advance- ment of medical science promoted, a physician should associate himself with medical societies and contribute his time, energy, and means in order that these societies may represent the ideals of the pro- fession.8 Seven violations of this standard were re- ported of which the following are typical: 1. A teacher refused to join the state education association because he was from outside the state and expected to remain for only one year. 2. A teacher refused to join local, state, and na- tional organizations of the profession. Improving Economic and Social Conditions The teacher should work actively for such economic and social conditions as will permit the profession to render the best possible serv- ice. Eighteen of the codes mention the responsi- bility of the teacher to work for the conditions which are necessary to secure a high type of professional service. The specific conditions stipulated vary in the different states. Two codes advise teachers to refrain from accepting a position in communities “where conditions are such that no ambitious or self-respecting teacher could hope to succeed” ; 9 three specify tenure of position ; 10 one mentions “provision for teachers who have given many years of faithful service to the state”;11 three specify 1 See Appendix, Table 20, Item 30. 2 Delaware, Michigan, and New Hampshire. 8 Mississippi and Oregon. 4 Florida. 6 South Carolina and South Dakota. 6 Missouri and Oklahoma. 7 National Education Association, Alabama, Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Idaho, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Ohio, Texas, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming. 8 American Medical Association. Op. cit., Chapter II, Article I, Section 2. 9 Mississippi and New Jersey. 10 Florida, Idaho, and Kansas. 11 Florida. [58] !|“equal salaries for equal service to all teachers of equivalent training, experience, and suc- cess”;1 2 and 14 stipulate that teachers should demand a “just and worthy compensation in keeping with training, experience, and suc- cess.” 2 The following statements are typical: 1. Should a condition so unethical ever exist in a community, or within a board of education, that teachers are forced out of their positions and such situations created that no self-respecting per- son can subscribe to the conditions maintained, such position should be left absolutely open, and any candidacy for the position on the part of those thoroughly advised of the conditions should be re- garded as unprofessional. — New Jersey. 2. Ethical practice looks toward securing for teachers, tenure of position during efficiency, this being the condition under which a teacher can best plan for a life of development and service. — Florida. 3. Teachers should expect and work collectively for salaries sufficient to enable them to live in comfort and security, improve themselves by travel, study, and meeting, and provide for the year of retirement. — Ohio. +. Every member of this profession and the professional organizations should demand for its members a just and worthy compensation in keeping with the training, experience, and success of the individual members. For equal training, expe- rience, and ability there should be equal remunera- tion to all teachers, whether they teach in elementary grade, junior or senior high schools. While it is unprofessional for the teacher to measure his work in terms of financial rewards, it is unprofessional to teach for a wage that is insufficient to cover living expenses for twelve months. — Oklahoma. The corresponding statements for physicians and lawyers are as follows : It is unprofessional for a physician to dispose of his services under conditions that make it impos- sible to render adequate service to his patient or which interfere with reasonable competition among physicians of a community. To do this is detri- mental to the public and to the individual phy- sician, and lowers the dignity of the profession.3 In fixing fees, lawyers should avoid charges which overestimate their advice and services, as well as those which undervalue them.4 Forty-five percent of those who returned the questionnaire of the National Education Asso- ciation’s Committee on Ethics reported that it is unethical “to accept a position from which the immediately preceding occupant was dis- missed unjustly.” 5 Twenty-four percent re- ported that this procedure is ethical and 30 percent qualified their replies. Fifty-one per- cent reported that it is unethical for teachers “to enter a combination to force increases in salaries.” Sixteen percent reported that this procedure is ethical and 31 percent qualified their replies.6 Three violations of this stand- ard were reported of which the following is representative : A superintendent always managed to get his salary raised but when the teachers asked for an increase he said there was no money. Reporting Corrupt and Dishonorable Practices The teacher should report to the proper au- thorities corrupt or dishonorable practices known to exist in the profession. Eleven of the codes stipulate that the teacher should report to the proper authorities any matters which involve the best interests of the school. The following statements are typical : 7 1. Teachers should fearlessly expose corrupt or dishonest conduct in the profession, and there should be no hesitancy on the part of teachers in exercising the utmost diligence to disqualify and debar the criminal teacher whose conduct at any time becomes a reproach to the profession. — Missis- sippi. 2. When the rights of the children are being de- nied, and when the schools are being subordinated to personal and partisan politics, and whenever it is known that the schools are being exploited for personal gain, it becomes the duty of the teachers, principal, or superintendent, jointly or individually, to appraise the public of the facts, and through legitimate channels to seek to remedy the evils. — New Jersey. For the legal and medical professions the duty of reporting corrupt and dishonest prac- tices is specified in the following statements : 1. Lawyers should expose without fear or favor before the proper tribunals corrupt or dishonest conduct in the profession, and should accept with- 1 Florida, Missouri, and Oklahoma. 2 National Education Association, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, and Texas. 3 American Medical Association, Op. cit., Chapter II, Article 6, Section 2. 4 American Bar Association. Canons of Professional Ethics , No. 12. 5 See Annendix, Table 20, Item 3. 6 Ibid, ncm 12. 7 Additional statements will be found under the section on Criticism of Associates, p. 51. [59] out hesitation employment against a member of the Bar who has wronged his client. The counsel upon the trial of a cause in which perjury has been committed owe it to the profession and to the public to bring the matter to the knowledge of the prosecuting authorities.1 2. Physicians should expose without fear or favor, before the proper medical or legal tribunals, corrupt or dishonest conduct of members of the profession.2 3. Physicians should warn the public against the devices practiced and false pretensions made by charlatans which may cause injury to health and loss of life.3 Apparently this standard has not yet re- ceived general approval among the members of the teaching profession, as only 50 percent of those who replied to the questionnaire of the National Education Association’s Committee on Ethics reported that it is ethical “to censure and disclose unprofessional or immoral con- duct, including inefficiency within the pro- fession,” while 24 percent reported that this is unethical and an equal number qualified their replies.4 1 American Bar Association. Canons of Professional Ethics, No. 29. 2 American Medical Association. Op. cit., Chapter II, Article I, Section 7. 3 Ibid, Chapter III, Section 3. 4 See Appendix, Table 20, Item 29. [60] CHAPTER VIII Standards of Conduct in Securing and Terminating Employment This chapter presents the standard proced- ures which the codes suggest for teachers in securing positions and in terminating employ- ment. Table 18 shows the extent to which each standard is specifically mentioned in the codes analyzed. Table 19 indicates the number of vio- lations reported in connection with these pro- cedures. Applying for a Position Unless the rules of the system prescribe otherwise the teacher should apply for a posi- tion to or through the superintendent. All of the codes imply and most of them state specifi- cally that with certain exceptions it is an ap- proved procedure for teachers to seek appoint- ment and promotion by filing applications and credentials either with the superintendent direct or through a teachers’ agency. Ten of the codes specify that unless the rules of the system pre- scribe otherwise, applications should be made to or through the superintendent. Four suggest that applications may with propriety be filed through a teachers’ agency,1 and one stipulates that “no teacher should accept the aid of an agent of any book or supply house in obtaining a teaching position.” 2 The following statements are representative : 1. Unless the rules of the school otherwise pre- scribe, he (the teacher) should apply for a teaching position to the chief executive. — National Education Association. 2. Application for positions should be made to boards (of education) through the superintendent of schools as executive officer, and not to individual members of the board of education. — Colorado. 3. It is proper for the candidate to make his qualifications known to the school authorities either directly or through a teachers’ agency. — Massachu- setts. Sixty-five percent of those who returned the questionnaire of the National Education Asso- ciation’s Committee reported that it is un- ethical “for a teacher to apply for a position di- rectly to the board instead of to the superin- tendent or to a similar executive.” 3 The teacher should apply only for a position known to be vacant. Twenty of the codes recognize the danger of injury to the profes- sion which arises from teachers broadcasting general applications for positions. These twenty codes stipulate that a teacher should apply only for a position which is known to be vacant. Five 4 of these twenty codes, however, are un- able to get completely away from approving the traditional system of distributing applica- tions indiscriminately, and they qualify the standard by stating that it should not be con- strued to mean that teachers should not file gen- eral applications on blanks furnished for that purpose or direct letters of inquiry to educa- tional authorities concerning probable vacan- cies. It is a significant fact that earlier editions of three 5 of the codes specifically discouraged applying for several positions simultaneously.6 Until certification requirements are raised to include the recommendation of an accredited professional school, and until the professional schools recognize more fully their responsibility for limiting their output somewhat in keeping with the demand, it is probable that the quali- fied proscription of general applications will remain in vogue. However, it seems inevitable that eventually the custom of broadcasting ap- plications will fall into disrepute as completely as have “ambulance chasing” and “display ad- vertising” in the fields of law and medicine. Advisers to graduating classes in professional schools, although aware of the futility of gen- eral applications, frequently hesitate to pro- scribe their use for fear that some of their pro- teges may fail to secure positions. No one fa- miliar with the facts doubts the futility of gen- eral applications, and their detrimental effect upon the development of the profession is equally obvious. 1 Massachusetts, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, and South Dakota. 2 Massachusetts. 3 See Appendix, Table 20, Item 2. 4 Colorado, Georgia, Massachusetts, Mississippi, and New Jersey. 6 Alabama, Michigan, and Oklahoma. 0 National Education Association, Committee on Ethics of the Profession. Report: The Ethics of the Teaching Pro- fession. (Sarah T. Muir, Chairman.) July, 1926. p. 24. [61] TABLE 18.— CODES OF ETHICS WHICH SPECIFY VARIOUS STANDARDS OF CONDUCT IN SECURING AND TERMINATING EMPLOYMENT jaqrany ]e)ox o O CN oo Tf CN -o CO o CN SuimojCjft X X X X X uojSutqsBj^ X X X X EimSjiA ! : 1 qBjn X X X X SRX9X X X X B}03iB<3 q;no§ X X X X X X X EUIJ0JB3 qjnog X X X puujs j 9poi]H X X X BiUBAiAsuna^ X X X X X X X uoSsjo X X X X X BUioqBjqo X X X X X X X X °!TO X X X X X eui[0JB3 qjJOfj X X 5(J0A X X j£asiaf Mafj X X X X X X ajiqsduiBH X X X X X unossij^ X I X X X X X iddississi^ X X X X X X UBSiqaipj X X X sjjasnqDBSSB^ X X X X X X i 1 BUBismox X X X X X Asjarnuag X 1 x *1 X X SBSUE^J BMOJ X oqepi X X BpiJOIJ ajei»e[3(i X X jnaijoanaoo OpEJOIOQ X X X X Erneqeiy X X X •v 'a 'M x I * X X X X T3 a $ C/3 3— ' QJ o X! c >* . < J a > a o3 a a 3 T3 co »— < Oj •03 ° O H a G C o a3 o-z ■CO'S > o fc! ® O W o. g2.2 o3 — x: W> “I g c.2-5 >,