Development of the Code and Standards
The Code and Standards were crafted over a year of close consultation with teachers and leaders across the profession.
On this page
The Code | Ngā Tikanga Matatika
What do we expect from each other? How do we want our profession to be seen by others? These are some of the questions that informed the crafting of the Code, which we brought to teachers through a range of channels:
Focus groups: We conducted six focus groups with approximately 60 teachers and professional leaders working in early childhood education, primary, intermediate and secondary settings.
Online surveys: We issued two surveys on the Code of Professional Responsibility. The initial online survey sought views on the general scope of the code, as well as its purpose and how it might be used by student teachers, teachers, learners, families and whānau, employers and regulatory bodies. The second survey asked questions about what role the code should play by presenting a range of scenarios, based on some of the cases that have been brought to the Council.
Review of other codes of conduct: We looked at a range of other codes of conduct and codes of ethics to see how they were framed and what issues were covered. This included relevant codes for teachers both here and overseas, other professional bodies such as nursing, the medical profession, the legal profession, social work, organisational codes and other businesses.
The Code working group: This group provided advice on the draft Code as it developed as well as the wider consultation process.
The Standards | Ngā Paerewa
To develop the Standards, we sought guidance from a working group made up of teachers, leaders and teaching experts and key sector representatives.
We worked with a team of writers to develop the Standards in both English and te reo to better reflect contemporary teaching. The writers consulted with early childhood specialists and a Māori Medium advisory group to make sure the new Standards work in a range of learning contexts.
Consultation
This consultation built on a long period of engagement with the profession throughout the second half of 2016 through a range of surveys, focus groups and face-to-face meetings and meetings with the respective Code and Standards working groups (composed of representatives from across the profession). The feedback and suggestions from these activities guided the approach to developing the draft Code and Standards.
The Draft Code of Professional Responsibility and Standards for the Teaching Profession was released for consultation in March 2017.
Who responded?
The consultation period ran for just over six weeks with 2,110 submissions received, a majority of which came through the online survey.
There were 23 group submissions which were a mixture of staff from schools or early childhood centres providing a collective submission, and submissions from the various representative bodies such as PPTA, NZEI, NZPF, ECC, IHC, New Zealand Kindergartens, and Montessori Aotearoa New Zealand.
We also took feedback from learners and their families and whānau in a separate survey.
*Educational role, education setting, teaching experience graphs
Feedback on the values
There was strong support for the values that are intended to underpin both the Code and the Standards, with 84% of participants indicating they are in favour of the draft values.
Additional suggestions included:
- More direct translations with Māori terms. The English descriptive statements that are associated with each word are not direct translations, which is confusing
- The word ‘tikanga’ was understood to refer to customs or protocols and was not widely understood as being associated with ‘doing the right thing’ or ‘integrity’ in the way it has been used here
- Add ‘Ako’, the concept of reciprocity in the teaching and learning relationship.
Some of the proposed changes were:
- Make minor adjustments to refine the phrasing of these values.
Your go-to hub: My Rawa
My Rawa brings the Code and Standards to life with practical tools and real-world guidance. No matter where you are in your journey, it helps you stay grounded and connected to the heart of the profession.
