The Extent Of Physical Education Teachers’ Compliance With The Professional Code Of Ethics And Conduct In Tanzania

ABSTRACT

Every profession considers the development and application of the Professional Code of Ethics and Conduct (PCEC) as a means of maintaining acceptable professional standards. As for the teaching profession, teachers are supposed to exhibit high level of professionalism by showing high ethical and moral standards in their relationships with other educational stakeholders. This is also imperative for PE teachers since their work involves close interactions with students in and outside the classroom and school contexts when they double their duties as teachers and coaches. The purpose of this study was to determine the compliance level of PE teachers with PCEC in Tanzania. The study utilized descriptive survey design and was conducted in secondary schools and teachers colleges in Tanzania. The target population was 5,948, which included 54 PE teachers, 5,844 students, 21 heads of institutions and 29 TSD officials. The sample comprised 809 respondents, who were purposively selected depending on their involvement in PE, administrative role as heads of institutions or as officials responsible for teacher conduct and discipline. Instruments for data collection were questionnaires. The instruments were pre-tested in two secondary schools. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics; while hypotheses were tested using independent t-test and ANOVA to test the significance difference between variables at p ≤ 0.05 level of significance, with the help of SPSS version 19. Findings revealed that PE teachers had high knowledge on PCEC (M = 4.41, SD= .32). There were significant differences in knowledge on PCEC across educational levels (p = .000), institutional ownership (p =.011), and institutional level (p = .019). There were no significant differences in knowledge on PCEC across age (p=.056), gender (p = .926), marital status (p = .153), teaching experience (p = .258) and location (p =.252). Findings also revealed that PE teachers complied with PCEC at high level (M = 4.11, SD = .53). Compliance with PCEC differed significantly across educational levels (p =.002), and institutional variables (p < .05). There were no significant differences in compliance with PCEC across age (p = .868), gender (p = .502), marital status (p = .208) and teaching experience (p =. 469). Moreover, the findings indicated that ECD were prevalent (M = 3.04, SD = .79) in the implementation of PCEC. There were no significant differences in ECD faced by PE teachers across demographic variables (p > .05). However, there were significant differences in ECD faced by PE teachers across institutional variables (p < .05). It was concluded that PE teachers have adequate knowledge on PCEC and comply with it at high level. It was further concluded that PE teachers encounter ECD in implementing PCEC. Based on the findings, it was recommended that the Ministry of Education and school administrators should improve PE and sport programmes in schools and colleges, and should encourage and facilitate teachers‟ in-service professional development courses. Moreover, teachers should be encouraged to obtain copies of PCEC. Further studies should be carried out across all teachers in different subject specializations to determine their compliance level with PCEC. Moreover, studies should also be conducted on the role of PE and sport in schools and colleges in enhancing work commitment and collaboration among teachers.