Educators encounter many ethical questions in their work with children and families. Each of the Focus on Ethics in Young Children columns presents an ethical question and asks our readers to understand how an early childhood educator might better respond. If you find that a situation involves ethics and you don`t believe it`s a responsibility, it`s probably an ethical dilemma. A dilemma is a situation for which there are two possible solutions, each of which can be morally justified. A dilemma requires a person to choose between two actions, each with benefits but also costs. In a dilemma, the legitimate needs and interests of one individual or group must give way to those of another individual or group – hence the commonly used phrase “on the horns of a dilemma”, which describes the dual nature of these situations. The example of an ethical dilemma that we often cite is the case of the mother who asks a teacher not to let her child sleep at school because he has trouble falling asleep at night when he sleeps in the afternoon. The teacher must decide whether to comply with the mother`s request, which may have a detrimental effect on the child, or refuse the request, which has a negative effect on the mother. and must not. The fact is, however, that even well-meaning and conscientious educators are sometimes tempted to do what is easiest or what pleases others instead of taking on that responsibility.
It is important to remember that if you are faced with a situation that involves ethical responsibility, you must follow the clear guidelines of the Code. The most important of the responsibilities set out in the NAEYC Code is Principle 1.1: If you encounter an ethical problem, it may be helpful to remember that it is a responsibility or a dilemma – it cannot be both. One of the characteristics of an ethical dilemma is that it involves consideration. It can rarely be resolved quickly or simply by applying rules and relying on facts. You won`t find simple solutions to the dilemmas you face in your early childhood workplace in an article or book. However, you can learn to deal with these difficult considerations under the guidance of the NAEYC Code. If you are sure that you have encountered an ethical dilemma, you can use the process described in the following example to find a defensible solution. Information on ethical responsibilities and dilemmas comes from two NAEYC books, Ethics and the Early Childhood Educator: Using the NAEYC Code, Second Edition, and the recent update of Teaching the NAEYC Code of Ethical Conduct: A Resource Guide (forthcoming spring 2016). Over the years, we have held workshops and courses on professional ethics, we have found that early childhood educators do not always know the difference between an ethical responsibility and an ethical dilemma, nor do they know how to approach them. To clarify this distinction, we decided to use this March 2016 column to explore these two types of ethical questions. It can be helpful to think of ethical responsibilities as very similar to legal responsibilities because they require or prohibit a specific action.
And sometimes the legal and ethical responsibilities are the same – for example, the obligation to report child abuse. An analysis of the difference between ethical responsibility and ethical dilemma, as well as the process of ethical analysis, is described in detail in Chapter 3 (pages 27-36) of Ethics and the Early Childhood Educator, Second Edition. The book also provides examples of how the Code can be applied to a number of dilemmas commonly encountered in early childhood programs. As we have written in the NAEYC books on professional ethics, an early childhood educator in a difficult work situation must first determine whether it is an ethical issue. Our experience teaches us that this can be a difficult process that many are not sure about. The first question you should ask yourself is: “Is it right and wrong, rights and duties, human well-being or the good of the individual?” If you answer no to each of these points, the situation is not an ethical issue and you can treat it as you would any workplace issue. If you answer yes to any of the points, you are faced with an ethical problem. How you react depends on whether it is an ethical responsibility or an ethical dilemma. The Ethics Focus section of this issue asks you to watch the story of 3-year-old Jane, whose family doesn`t want her to drink water at school until she`s drunk her milk. This ethical question, like others we have presented in the previous columns, involves a conflict between the demands of a family member and what teachers consider good practice. You can be sure that if you`ve done the right thing, the code is there to help.
You can count on her to help you explain why you made a difficult or unpopular decision. P-1.1 – Above all, we will not harm children. We will not engage in practices that are emotionally harmful, physically harmful, disrespectful, degrading, dangerous, exploitative or intimidating to children. This principle takes precedence over all other principles set out in this Code. Copyright © 2016 by the National Association for Early Childhood Education. View permissions and reprints online at www.naeyc.org/yc/permissions. You can use this case as a basis for a staff meeting or task for undergraduate or graduate students, or you can think about it alone or with a friend or colleague.