The purpose of this Statement of Ethics is to ensure that the evaluation is conducted in accordance with generally accepted ethical standards and with due regard for the welfare of those involved in or affected by the evaluation. These guidelines are subject to applicable laws and the overriding principle stated in the Convention on the Rights of the Child: “In all actions concerning children ... the best interests of the child shall be a primary consideration.”	Who?
	Why?
	What?
	How?
	Ethical Guidelines
	Publications

 

Nature and Purpose of the Evaluation	1.	We are undertaking this evaluation at the request of the Cree School Board in order to find out how well the school board is doing in relation to various matters judged to be important to its major stakeholders. It shall be conducted in accordance with these ethical guidelines, which shall be made available to relevant stakeholders, together with a written description of the evaluation.
Relationships with Participants	2.	All interactions with ‘participants’ during this evaluation shall be conducted in an ethical, professional manner, based on respect, honesty and openness.
		(a)	A ‘direct participant’ is someone who takes part in the evaluation by completing a questionnaire, being part of an interview, focus group or observed activity;
		(b)	An ‘indirect participant’ is anyone about whom a third party provides information.
	3.	We shall provide all prospective direct participants with a description of the evaluation, as well as an explanation of the nature and implications of their involvement.
Privacy	4.	Except for the ‘routine information’ listed in paragraph 9, we shall ensure that the disclosure of information about or the direct participation of every individual is voluntary, with no coercion of any kind applied, including the right to allow only partial disclosure or not to participate in any part of the evaluation and to cease participating at any time.
Confidentiality	5.	We shall ensure that ‘raw data’ – information as collected from and about participants – are treated confidentially and shared only with members of our evaluation team, all of whom have undertaken to respect the confidentiality of the data. This information may be used by future evaluation teams under these same conditions.
Anonymity	6.	Categories of respondents (e.g., teachers, female students) may be identified in the evaluation report or other media; however, we shall protect by all reasonable and appropriate means the identity of any individual participant in any such report or other media, unless that person has explicitly consented in writing to be identified.
Informed Consent	7.	Except for the ‘routine information’ listed in paragraph 9, we shall obtain written consent from each participant in advance of the data collection, having first informed him or her:
		(a)	about the evaluation (as per paragraph 3);
		(b)	of the type of participation requested;
		(c)	that his or her participation is voluntary, including the right to withdraw at any time; and
		(d)	that all information received shall be treated confidentially.
Special Cases	8.	In the case of a minor, we shall ensure that the written consent of a parent or legal guardian (as per paragraph 7) shall be obtained. Moreover, consent shall also be sought from the participant unless he or she is too young to understand. In the case of any other person incapable of giving informed consent, we shall ensure that the written consent of a parent or legal guardian (as per paragraph 7) shall be obtained.
Routine Information	9.	Consent shall not be requested to collect or use the following types of information:
		(a)	written, verbal or observational data about staff (e.g. qualifications & experience) or about students (e.g. test results) that do not identify the participant or permit him or her to be identified;
		(b)	data from current students about academic work or school/community activities (e.g. student rating of classroom teaching);
		(c)	job-related data from current staff (e.g. feedback on school organization).
		However, the principles of confidentiality and anonymity stipulated above (as per paragraphs 5 and 6) shall be respected concerning the use of these data.
Data Analysis and Reporting	10.	We undertake that the analysis and reporting of data shall be conducted ethically and honestly so as to produce fair and accurate findings about the school, and that the data shall only be used for the purposes described above (see paragraph 1).
Conservation of Data	11.	The evaluation team leader shall be responsible for ensuring that the raw data and other materials from the evaluation shall be conserved for a minimum of two years; the confidentiality provisions of paragraph 5 apply to all data so conserved.
Commitment	12.	The commitments made in this statement are known and have been agreed to by the Cree School Board and its officials who are likewise bound by these guidelines.

 

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