• Overview
• Current Standards
• Criteria For Admission
• Member Competence
• Workshops
• Questions and Case Studies

Standards for the Education, Competence and Professional Conduct of Educators in BC

The BC College of Teachers is the professional body for the majority of educators in British Columbia, and is directed through legislation to set standards for the profession. Section 4 of the Teaching Profession Act (TPA) articulates this.

It is the object of the college to establish, having regard to the public interest, standards for the education, professional responsibility and competence of certificate holders and applicants for certificates of qualification and, consistent with that object, to encourage the professional interest of certificate holders in those matters.

Section 25 of the TPA also requires that the College admit only those persons who have met “standards of qualification and fitness” and are of “good moral character.”

The Purpose and Meaning of the Standards in Practice

Standards are a profession’s way of communicating to its members and the public the description of the work of professionals – what they know, what they are able to do, and how they comport themselves as they serve the public. The Standards provide the foundation and stability on which the profession can grow, articulating both the values and characteristics that distinguish the profession. Professionals enter into a contract with the public that provides the professionals with a level of autonomy and self-regulation in return for an agreement that the profession will place the interests of the public above individual interests. Professionals agree to be accountable to the public, and the Standards serve as a touchstone for this responsibility.

Commitment to the Standards

The College believes that the Standards are a positive force for educator professionalism that will honour the profession and benefit the children and people of BC through supporting student academic success and social development and by developing an informed citizenry. As new professionals become members of the College, they will be asked to sign a commitment that their professional practice will be governed by the ethics and principles as outlined in the Standards document. By agreeing to abide by the Standards, an educator enters into a contract with the public in which parents can confidently send their children into an educator’s care.