BAI Professional Ethics & Standards 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A junior archer discloses signs of abuse at home during a session. What is the BAI instructor's first obligation?
- Maintain confidentiality and counsel the student privately
- Contact the student's parents immediately to discuss the claim
- Report the disclosure to the appropriate child protective authority (Correct answer)
- Document the claim and review it at the next instructor meeting
Correct answer: Report the disclosure to the appropriate child protective authority
Instructors are mandated reporters in most US states and must report suspected child abuse to the appropriate authorities immediately.
Question 2: When advertising archery instruction services, what ethical standard must a BAI-certified instructor uphold?
- Highlight only the most impressive student outcomes to attract clients
- Make truthful and accurate claims about qualifications and services offered (Correct answer)
- Use the BAI logo on all personal business materials without restriction
- Imply higher certification levels to appear more competitive
Correct answer: Make truthful and accurate claims about qualifications and services offered
Instructors must represent their qualifications and services honestly in all marketing and communications.
Question 3: An instructor's personal archery philosophy conflicts with the technique being taught in the BAI curriculum. What should the instructor do?
- Teach their personal philosophy since it may be superior
- Teach the BAI curriculum and note personal perspectives as supplemental context if appropriate (Correct answer)
- Ask students to choose which method they prefer
- Omit the sections of the curriculum they disagree with
Correct answer: Teach the BAI curriculum and note personal perspectives as supplemental context if appropriate
Certified instructors are obligated to deliver the established curriculum; personal views should not override official instructional content.
Question 4: A student asks an instructor to sign a waiver stating the student has completed a course they have only partially attended. What is the ethical response?
- Sign it as a professional courtesy to help the student
- Refuse to sign and explain that documentation must accurately reflect attendance (Correct answer)
- Sign with a note indicating partial completion
- Consult with other instructors before deciding
Correct answer: Refuse to sign and explain that documentation must accurately reflect attendance
Falsifying completion records violates professional integrity and can have legal consequences; accurate documentation is non-negotiable.
Question 5: Which of the following best describes the concept of 'scope of practice' for a BAI-certified instructor?
- Teaching only compound bow techniques
- Limiting instruction to the skills and content covered by the BAI certification (Correct answer)
- Refusing to answer any questions outside of the lesson plan
- Restricting class sizes to the number covered in the BAI manual
Correct answer: Limiting instruction to the skills and content covered by the BAI certification
Scope of practice means operating within the boundaries of one's training and certification, not venturing beyond qualified expertise.
Question 6: An instructor receives a gift from a student's parent after a successful tournament. What is the ethically appropriate response?
- Accept the gift and thank the parent warmly
- Accept the gift privately to avoid embarrassing the parent
- Politely decline or follow organizational policy on gifts to avoid conflicts of interest (Correct answer)
- Accept the gift but disclose it to the club director
Correct answer: Politely decline or follow organizational policy on gifts to avoid conflicts of interest
Accepting gifts can create real or perceived conflicts of interest; instructors should follow organizational policy and generally decline or disclose.
Question 7: What is the instructor's responsibility when a student demonstrates risky behavior that violates range safety rules?
- Warn the student once and allow them to continue
- Remove the student from the range immediately and address the behavior (Correct answer)
- Document the behavior and address it at a later date
- Ask other students to monitor the individual going forward
Correct answer: Remove the student from the range immediately and address the behavior
Unsafe behavior must be addressed immediately by removing the student from the active range to protect all participants.
BAI Professional Ethics & Standards 3
A junior archer discloses signs of abuse at home during a session.
What is the BAI instructor's first obligation?