An Educator's Code
principles and responsibilities of all aquatic educator professionals
Since 1990 there have been
periodic international educational gatherings of professionals involved in
aquatic programs for the pediatric age group (newborns through 10 years of age
by our definition for our purposes). These meetings have confirmed that
educator views on professionalism are similar despite diverse program goals.
Recently, cooperative voices from numerous countries have begun calling
for a written statement of a shared sense of professionalism, one that is
activist in shaping aquatic programs for babies, toddlers and other young
children.
Responding to this
challenge, the WABC has developed a
"code" to encompass a set of principles of behavior to which all educators
involved with aquatic programs for the youngest of children should aspire.
The code supports efforts to ensure that programs and the educators
working within them remain committed to student welfare.
Moreover, the code is intended to be applicable to different cultures
and political systems.
Preamble
Professionalism is the
basis of aquatic education's contract with society. It demands placing the interests of students above
those of the educator, and providing expert advice to society on matters of
aquatic skill development, drowning prevention drowning prevention, water safety
and / or parent-child interactive-bonding-recreative aquatic experiences
relative to the youngest of children. The principles and responsibilities of
aquatic educational professionalism must be clearly understood by both the
profession and society. Essential is public trust in the
aquatic educator, which depends on the integrity of both individual educators
and the whole profession.
At present, the aquatic
educator profession is confronted by unresolved concerns and questions from the
medical community, some non-conformance to generally accepted program
guidelines, escalating construction and operating costs for facilities, and
struggles for pool time and space. As
a result, educators can find it increasingly difficult to meet their
responsibilities to students and society. In these circumstances, reaffirming
the fundamental and universal principles and values of aquatic educator
professionalism, which remain ideals to be pursued by all educators, becomes all
the more important.
The aquatic educator
profession everywhere is embedded in diverse cultures and national traditions,
but its members share the role of teacher, which has roots extending back to
Socrates, Plato and Aristotle and the education of children in ancient Greece.
Indeed, the aquatic educator profession must contend with complicated
political, legal, and market forces. Moreover, there are wide variations in
program philosophy and methods through which any general principles may be
expressed in both complex and subtle ways. Despite these differences, common
themes emerge and form the basis of this charter in the form of three
fundamental principles and as a set of definitive professional responsibilities.
Fundamental Principles
Principle of primacy
of student welfare. This
principle is based on a dedication to serving the interest of the student.
Altruism contributes to the trust that is central to the educator–student
relationship. Market forces, parent misinformation and inexperience, societal
pressures, and administrative requirements must not compromise this principle.
Principle of parent
and student autonomy.
Aquatic educators must have respect for the young student and parent
autonomy. It remains a parental choice for the student to learn to swim
and adopt water safety behaviors and for the parent and other caregivers to
learn drowning prevention strategies and / or parent-child
interactive-bonding-recreative aquatic experiences .
Educators must be honest with parents and empower them to make informed
decisions about the aquatic education of their young children.
Parents' decisions about their child's aquatic education must be
paramount, as long as those decisions are in keeping with ethical practices and
do not lead to demands for inappropriate instruction.
Principle of social
justice.
The aquatic educator profession must promote justice in the education offerings. Educators should work actively to eliminate discrimination in
aquatic education, whether based on race, gender, socioeconomic status,
ethnicity, religion, or any other social category.
A Set of Professional Responsibilities
Commitment to
professional competence.
Aquatic educators must be committed to lifelong learning and be
responsible for maintaining the knowledge and methods and team skills necessary
for the provision of a quality aquatic education. More broadly, the profession
as a whole must strive to see that all of its members be competent and must
ensure that appropriate mechanisms are available for educators to accomplish
this goal.
Commitment to honesty
with students and parents.
Aquatic educators must ensure that parents are completely and honestly informed
before enrolling in an aquatic program and as the program proceeds. This
expectation does not mean that parents should be involved in every minute
decision about the aquatic education; rather, they must be empowered to decide
on the course of the instruction. Educators should also acknowledge that
educator errors that effect students do sometimes occur.
Whenever students are affected as a consequence of participation or
instruction, parents should be informed promptly because failure to do so
seriously compromises parent, student and societal trust.
Reporting and analyzing professional mistakes provide the basis for
appropriate prevention and improvement strategies.
Commitment to
maintaining appropriate relations with students. Given the inherent vulnerability and dependency of
students, certain relationships between educators and students must be avoided.
In particular, aquatic educators should never exploit students for any sexual
advantage, personal financial gain, or other private purpose.
Commitment to
improving quality of instruction.
Aquatic educators must be dedicated to continuous improvement in the quality of
their educational programs for young children.
This commitment entails not only maintaining teaching competence but also
working collaboratively with other professionals to reduce professional error,
increase student safety, minimize misuse of resources, and optimize the outcomes
of instruction. Aquatic educators
must actively participate in the development of better measures of quality of
instruction and the application of quality measures to assess routinely the
performance of all individuals, organizations, and systems responsible for
education delivery. Educators, both
individually and through their professional associations, must take
responsibility for assisting in the creation and implementation of mechanisms
designed to encourage continuous improvement in the quality of instruction.
Commitment to
improving access to instruction.
Educator
professionalism demands that the objective of all educational programs be the
availability of a uniform and appropriate standard of instruction. Educators
must individually and collectively strive to reduce barriers to equitable
instruction. Within each system,
the educator should work to eliminate barriers to access based on education,
laws, finances, geography, and social discrimination.
A commitment to equity also entails the promotion of water safety and
drowning prevention, and parent-child interactive-bonding-recreative experiences
as well as public advocacy on the part of each educator, without concern for the
self-interest of the educator or the profession.
Commitment to
scientific knowledge. The future
of the profession's contract with society is based on the integrity and
appropriate use of pedagogical and scientific knowledge.
Educators have a duty to uphold pedagogical and scientific standards, to
promote research, and to create new knowledge and ensure its appropriate use.
The profession is responsible for the integrity of this knowledge, which is
based on scientific evidence and educator experience.
Commitment to
maintaining trust by managing conflicts of interest. Aquatic
educators and their organizations have many opportunities to compromise their
professional responsibilities by pursuing private gain or personal advantage.
Such compromises are especially threatening in the pursuit of personal or
organizational interactions with for-profit industries, including swim equipment
and clothing manufacturers along with swimming pool and water safety companies.
Aquatic educators have an obligation to recognize, disclose to the
general public, and deal with conflicts of interest that arise in the course of
their professional activities. Relationships between industry and opinion
leaders should be disclosed, especially when the latter determine the criteria
for reporting education results, writing articles, editorials or educational
guidelines.
Commitment to
professional responsibilities.
As members of a profession, aquatic educators are expected to work
collaboratively to maximize student learning, be respectful of one another, and
participate in allowable and appropriate processes of self-regulation. The
profession should also help define and organize the educational and
standard-setting process for current and future members.
Aquatic educators have both individual and collective obligations to
participate in these processes. These obligations also include engaging in
internal assessment and accepting external scrutiny of all aspects of their
professional performance.
Summary
The practice of aquatic
education for the pediatric age group is beset with unprecedented challenges in
many cultures and societies. These challenges center on increasing disparities
in determining the legitimate needs and capabilities of young students relative
to aquatic education, the legal ramifications of conducting aquatic programs and
of endorsing certain courses and methods of instruction, and the temptation for
aquatic educators to forsake their traditional commitment to the primacy of
students' interests. To maintain the fidelity of aquatic education's social
contract during this turbulent time, we believe that aquatic educators must
reaffirm their active dedication to the principles of professionalism, which
entails not only their personal commitment to the welfare of their students but
also collective efforts to improve the aquatic education for the welfare of
society. This Code on Pediatric Aquatic Educator Professionalism is intended
to encourage such dedication and to promote an action agenda for the aquatic
educator profession that is universal in scope and purpose.
copyright World Aquatic Babies & Children, Inc. 2002
renewed and reaffirmed in 2008, 2011.
Note: code may be
reproduced in its entirety with the complete information below:
permission to reprint from World Aquatic Babies & Children
www.WABCswim.com
More questions?
email us at office@WABCswim.com
