Abstract:
Previous research suggests that new teachers have more negative ethical perceptions than
their senior counterparts. However, there is limited research on teachers’ perceptions
regarding the relevance of professional ethics in the contemporary world. Hence this study
sought to explore the extent to which pre-service teachers in Lesotho consider professional
ethics to be relevant. A qualitative approach was adopted and Kohlberg’s (1987) moral
development theory was used as the theoretical framework for the study. Data were
generated with the use of both semi-structured and focus-group interviews. Forty-six (n 46)
final-year Bachelor of Education (BEd) students were purposively selected to take part in this
study. Sixteen (16) were interviewed individually, while 30 were interviewed in three focus-
groups of ten participants each. The findings are that the participating pre-service teachers
had mixed feelings about the relevance of professional ethics of teachers. Some emphasised
the importance of a teachers’ code of ethics while others indicated that some of the
regulations were outdated. The position taken in this paper is that teacher professional ethics
are timeless. These are meant to protect the interests of different stakeholders in education as
well as the image of the teaching profession.
