School of Education
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE CODE OF CONDUCT FOR PRE-SERVICE TEACHER EDUCATION
STUDENTS
This Code of Conduct relates to the AITSL Domain of Professional Engagement
(https://www.aitsl.edu.au/teach/standards), specifically standards:
6.3 Engage with colleagues and improve practice
Seek and apply constructive feedback from supervisors and teachers to improve teaching practices
7.1 Meet professional ethics and responsibilities
Understand and apply the key principles described in codes of ethics and conduct for the teaching
profession.
7.2 Comply with legislative, administrative and organisational requirements
Understand the relevant legislative, administrative and organisational policies and processes
required for teachers according to school stage.
Personal It is the professional responsibility of pre-service teachers to:
presentation • ensure professional dress and grooming standards;
• adopt an approachable and pleasant demeanour at all times;
• maintain high standards of personal hygiene.
Use of school It is the professional responsibility of pre-service teachers to:
resources • respect the needs of the staff at the school in the use of equipment
such as computers, photocopiers and learning environments;
• comply with school or department procedures for the use of audio-
visual, library, and other resources;
• ensure that learning resources and materials are created, carefully
prepared and accessed well before the lesson;
• recognise that schools have limited budgets and that resources should
be used thoughtfully.
Collaborative It is the professional responsibility of pre-service teachers to:
relationships • refrain from public criticism of the University, school and school
colleagues (also see later item relating to social media);
• engage with and respond positively to professional advice and feedback;
• promote harmonious and respectful interpersonal relationships among
staff and peers;
• manage emotional tension with maturity.
Legislation and It is a legal requirement of pre-service teachers to:
Policy • obtain and hold all (valid) checks and clearances required for working
with children.
It is the responsibility of the pre-service teacher to:
• comply with duty-of-care requirements;
• be cognisant of, and operate within the legislative requirements relating
to schools, staff, students, the community and the broader education
environment;
• be cognisant of University, system, school policies, procedures and
requirements.
Professional It is the responsibility of the pre-service teacher to:
diligence • prepare thoroughly for all aspects of the professional experience
placement, allowing sufficient time for consultation with the mentor
teacher;
• participate actively in the life of the school community by working with
their mentor teacher in all aspects of their duties and becoming
involved in a diversity of activities within the school; including yard duty,
staff meetings, planning meetings;
• demonstrate commitment through the effective management of time,
including early arrival at school, productive use of DOTT time and tactful
use of recess and lunch times, school departure times and meeting
university and school deadlines;
• demonstrate engagement in the school community; including building
collegiality with staff through interacting during break times;
• observe school and university regulations regarding attendance;
• undertake willingly all duties as required by the mentor teacher;
• meet ethical and professional responsibilities;
• abide by Curtin Values.
ICT and Social It is the responsibility of the pre-service teacher to:
Media • be cognisant of their behaviour in public forums outside the Professional
Experience setting, including public presence on social media such as
Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, which are easily accessed by children,
families and colleagues;
• abide by the directive that no professional experience related
information, including school, student or staff details are to be uploaded
to the internet and/or social media;
• gain written permission from the unit coordinator, mentor teacher,
Principal, student and parent/carer to take images of student(s).
• abide by the directive that no images and/or videos are to be uploaded
to the internet, social media and/or personal devices;
• be informed of their digital identity;
• ensure that ICT usage during school hours must be for professional
purposes unless in case of an emergency.
Confidentiality It is the responsibility of the pre-service teacher to:
• respect and maintain the confidentiality of colleagues, parents/carers
and students at all times;
• de-identify professional experience information for any unit study
requirements (e.g. no school, teacher or student names).
I have read and fully understand the above and agree to abide by this Code of Conduct during
my pre-service education course. In doing so, I confirm my legal responsibility to obtain the
required checks and clearances and to ensure that these are valid, prior to any professional
experience placement. I confirm that this professional experience will be undertaken in the
arrangements approved by the Curtin School of Education and in accordance with the
documentation submitted.
Name: Student No:
Course:
Signature: Date:
