2023-2024 / PEDA1231-2

Deontology

Duration

30h Th

Number of credits

 Master in education (120 ECTS)3 crédits 

Lecturer

Florence Pirard, Marianne Poumay

Coordinator

Florence Pirard

Language(s) of instruction

French language

Organisation and examination

Teaching in the first semester, review in January

Schedule

Schedule online

Units courses prerequisite and corequisite

Prerequisite or corequisite units are presented within each program

Learning unit contents

Deontology addressed in this course initially relates to all functions carried out in the field of training and education (teachers, directors,trainers, educational advisors, educational resource producers, accompaniers, assessors, researchers, etc.) where the relational dimension and question of power relationships is central. It involves:

  • researching meaning in complex daily practice,
  • consultative work and collaboration with other actors,
  • taking into account existing normative frameworks (beyond the application of procedures and rules),
  • an interdisciplinary approach (psychology, law, communication, philosophy, sociology, etc.).
It involves dealing with questions such as practitioner fairness, responsibility to third parties, confidentiality, professional integrity, information, falsification or plagiarism, etc. in terms of an approach involving various legal, moral and ethical aspects.

Learning outcomes of the learning unit

This course will enable students to:

  • differentiate / identify links between deontology, moral standards and ethics,norms and values,
  • identify the diversity of situations in which deontological problems can present themselves to masters in educational sciences,
  • develop reflexive skills based on the analysis of real situations in relation to functions carried out in educational sciences. These skills in particular deal with responsibility towards third parties, protection of private life and freedom of participation, intellectual property and freedom of expression, evaluation,
  • develop a view on the meaning given to deontology in the field of educational sciences based not only on situations proposed during class by each student with the group, but also upon deontological or ethical principles.
By the end of the course, students will be able to:

  • analyse a real situation which poses deontological problems based on their spontaneous representations and personal references,
  • research useful and relevant documentary references in relation to the chosen situation (legal texts, guides, professional articles, scientific articles, etc.) and to conduct interviews with resource persons,
  • integrate these elements and resources into a critical analysis of the situation, leading to the identification of possible and admissible behaviours,
  • communicate the results of the analysis of the situation to a peer group and to encourage a discussion to go further with this analysis,
  • draft a report which takes the analytical approach into account in its various phases and its conclusions, highlighting the links established with the deontological principles set out in various publications.
Those outcomes match the development of the 5th competence of the reference grid for the Master in Educational Sciences at ULiège. Nevertheless, the development of competencies nr 1 and 4 will be targeted as well, and also partly evaluated.

Prerequisite knowledge and skills

Prerequisite : YTRA9003-1  Travail d'initiation à la recherche en enseignement or YTRA9002-1  Travail d'initiation à la recherche en formation des adultes  

Planned learning activities and teaching methods

The teachers organize two introductory plenary sessions on September 18 and 25 (5 p.m.-8 p.m.). These two sessions are the only face-to-face MANDATORY sessions of the year. The other Mondays are therefore free, except for optional appointments with the teachers and their assistants.

Students also have a reading file available. In groups, they identify a situation experienced by themselves or by a third party. The situation has to be linked to the educational functions of a master's in educational sciences and should raise questions of ethics. With a view to its validation, the students present the selected situation to the teachers according to a grid made available; during their group work, they also present it, as well as its analysis, to peers ("critical friends"), those debates leading to the filling in of a grid (mandatory), and the enrichment of the analysis.
The analysis of the situation is carried out by the groups on the basis of a consultation of various resource persons as well as scientific resources. This leads to both action proposals and preventive measures. The groups also link their analysis to existing ethical principles.

The case analysis of each group is the subject of a written report and the production of an audio power point support. It is supplemented by a short individual reflective report based on viewing the sound presentation of 4 cases (including the one for which the student was a critical friend). On the basis of these three mandatory elements, the teachers exempt certain groups from the January oral exam. The exempted groups receive notification of their success.

Mode of delivery (face to face, distance learning, hybrid learning)

Blended learning


Additional information:

  • A reading list containing different types of documents:
    - scientific articles from different disciplines,
    - legal texts,
    - professional documents.
  • Presentations mainly by the teachers and former students.
  • Online feed-back by the teachers on preliminary descriptions of the cases.
  • Office hours to answer questions of the student groups on their cases.
  • Group work, partly organized during class time.
  • Intervision session led by the Teaching Assistants.

Recommended or required readings

A reading list will be made available to students. This is the basis for work carried out during class and a reference for the analysis of situations carried out by each student by the end of the course.

Exam(s) in session

Any session

- In-person

oral exam

- Remote

oral exam

Written work / report


Additional information:

The case analysis of each group is continuously assessed on the basis of (1) a written report (including individual and collective parts) submitted electronically in the online course in November, (2) an audio "PowerPoint" support submitted in the online course in December and (3) a short individual reflective report submittef in the online course in January. These three productions are conditional on obtaining a mark and will all be included in the final mark.On the basis of these elements, the teachers dispense certain groups of the oral exam in January. Groups that are exempt from the January oral receive notification of their success.

Each student also plays the role of "critical friend" in relation to a group of students and has watched (online) the power point presentations (with sound) from four other groups. Although not graded, each student's participation in these activities is required to earn a passing grade for this course.

The exact dates for handing in works as well as the evaluation criteria are communicated through the online space of the course.

Work placement(s)

Organisational remarks and main changes to the course

The two face-to-face lessons (MANDATORY!) are set for September 18 from 5 to 8 p.m. and September 25 from 5 to 8 p.m.

Contacts

Florence Pirard, professor (florence.pirard@uliege.be)

Marianne Poumay, professor (m.poumay@uliege.be)

Jasna Vorgic, secretary  (jasna.vorgic@ulg.ac.be)

Teaching Assistants : Lisa Marée (lisa.maree@uliege.be) and Isabelle Lambert (I.Lambert@uliege.be)

Association of one or more MOOCs

Items online

Online space
A reading portfolio as well as the PowerPoint presentations used during the course are available on the online space of the course, together with other resources.