Teacher codes of conduct

A code of conduct is a set of written guidelines, produced by public authorities or professional organizations, which details the set of recognized ethical norms (or values) and professional standards of conduct to which all members of a profession must adhere.

In particular, such codes aim to enhance the commitments, dedications, and efficiency of service of members of the teaching profession, and to provide self-disciplinary guidelines by establishing norms of professional conduct.

Codes are being developed in an increasing number of countries either by an autonomous body, as in Hong Kong, or by teacher organizations themselves, as in the province of Ontario in Canada. Research has shown that teacher codes can be an effective instrument for promoting ethics in education. However, their implementation sometimes proves difficult due to – among other variables – limited access, unclear content, and inadequate teacher training, as shown in IIEP’s research in South Asia (access publication).

To help countries in the design and implementation of teacher codes, IIEP has developed Guidelines, describing every step involved in the development of a code. 

Consult examples of codes taken from around 89 different countries worldwide, by clicking on the map below:

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Move the cursor over the countries in green on the map to get tooltips for each country, including the name of the code, the date of adoption, and a link to download the PDF. You can also access these codes by clicking on the list of countries below.

CC = Code of Conduct

CE = Code of Ethics

CP = Professional Code

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