GLA Professional Ethics in Education 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A teacher discovers a colleague is falsifying student attendance records. What is the most ethically appropriate first step?
- Ignore it to avoid conflict with a colleague
- Confront the colleague privately and report to administration if unresolved (Correct answer)
- Publicly announce the misconduct to other staff
- Alter the records back without telling anyone
Correct answer: Confront the colleague privately and report to administration if unresolved
Ethical standards require educators to address misconduct by first speaking directly with the colleague, then escalating to administration if the behavior continues.
Question 2: Which behavior best demonstrates an educator's commitment to equity in the classroom?
- Giving extra credit only to high-achieving students
- Providing identical instruction regardless of student needs
- Differentiating instruction to ensure all students can access learning (Correct answer)
- Focusing attention primarily on students most likely to pass standardized tests
Correct answer: Differentiating instruction to ensure all students can access learning
Equity requires educators to adapt instruction so every student has a fair opportunity to learn, not treating all students identically.
Question 3: A parent asks a teacher to share another student's academic records during a conference. The teacher should:
- Share the records since the parent is asking in good faith
- Decline, as FERPA protects the privacy of other students' records (Correct answer)
- Share only grade information, not behavioral records
- Refer the parent to the other student's teacher
Correct answer: Decline, as FERPA protects the privacy of other students' records
FERPA prohibits educators from disclosing any student's educational records to unauthorized parties, including other parents.
Question 4: An educator who accepts expensive gifts from parents of students in their class is most likely violating which ethical principle?
- Competence
- Impartiality and conflict of interest standards (Correct answer)
- Transparency
- Professional development obligations
Correct answer: Impartiality and conflict of interest standards
Accepting gifts from parents can create real or perceived conflicts of interest, compromising the educator's ability to evaluate students fairly.
Question 5: When using social media, which action is most consistent with professional educator ethics?
- Posting photos from the classroom without student consent
- Friending current students to maintain open communication
- Keeping personal and professional online personas strictly separated (Correct answer)
- Sharing student success stories using full names to celebrate achievement
Correct answer: Keeping personal and professional online personas strictly separated
Educators should maintain clear boundaries between personal and professional digital identities to protect student privacy and professional integrity.
Question 6: A school counselor learns from a student that the student's parent is using illegal drugs at home. The counselor's primary ethical obligation is to:
- Keep the information confidential to preserve trust
- Immediately call law enforcement without notifying the student
- Assess whether the student's safety is at risk and follow mandatory reporting protocols (Correct answer)
- Discuss the situation with other counselors before taking any action
Correct answer: Assess whether the student's safety is at risk and follow mandatory reporting protocols
Mandatory reporting laws require school counselors to report suspected child endangerment, and student safety supersedes confidentiality.
Question 7: Which scenario represents a dual relationship that an educator should avoid?
- Teaching a student whose parent is also a teacher in the district
- Tutoring a current student for private pay outside of school hours (Correct answer)
- Coaching a sport that includes students from your own class
- Attending a student's public performance such as a school play
Correct answer: Tutoring a current student for private pay outside of school hours
Entering into a private financial relationship with a current student creates a dual relationship that can compromise professional objectivity.
GLA Professional Ethics in Education 2
A teacher discovers a colleague is falsifying student attendance records.
What is the most ethically appropriate first step?