Ethics for Early Education; Core Concepts for Approaching Ethical Issues
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.18662/rrem/16.2/845Keywords:
Early Education, ethical decision-making, case-studiesAbstract
Early Education is a strategic area for individual and social development. Kindergartens are spaces for ethical practice, where teachers make decisions for the children they are responsible for. The major aim of this theoretical study is to propose approaches to ethical decision-making in working with young children, with the role of improving self-reflection for teachers and future teachers. The secondary aims of the study are: 1. To identify the values and ethical guidelines for ethical-decision in Early Education; 2. To establish core concepts for approaching ethical issues, including the use of ethical codes; 3. To propose case studies in order to stimulate teachers‘ ethical reflection. A set of basic ideas of professional ethics in Early Education is presented below: (a) The Early Education profession is primarily an emotional, relational and ethical practice. Teachers bring to school their personal values, from the places where they live. (b) In order to make ethical decisions teachers need to understand the difference between the professional ethics area and the personal area. (c) Teachers should not confuse personal dilemmas with professional ethics dilemmas. Our study can provide guidelines for developing a professional learning protocol to support teachers' ethical reasoning. Reflection on issues of ethical practice exposes teachers and future teachers to various perspectives, expanding their knowledge of children and teaching.
References
Bloch, M.N. (2018). Becoming scientific and professional: an historical perspective on the aims and effects of early education. In T. S. Popkewitz (Ed.) The formation of school subjects (pp. 25-62). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429454165
Camilli, G., Vargas, S., Ryan, S., & Barnett, W. S. (2010). Meta-analysis of the effects of early education interventions on cognitive and social development. Teachers college record, 112(3),579-620. https://doi.org/10.1177/016146811011200303
Cardno, C. (1999). Problem-based methodology in leadership development: interventions to improve dilemma management. New Zealand Journal of Educational Administration, 14, 44-51.
Cardno, C. (2020). Managing leadership dilemmas. In Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Education. https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780190264093.013.768
British Association for early childhood education (2021). Code of Ethics, https://early-education.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Code-of-Ethics.pdf
Dahlberg, G., & Moss, P. (2005). Ethics and politics in early childhood education. Routledge.
Dalli, C. (2008). Pedagogy, knowledge and collaboration: Towards a ground‐up perspective on professionalism. European Early Childhood Education Research Journal, 16(2),171–85. https://doi.org/10.1080/13502930802141600
Dunn, M. (2003). Putting the child first: How one student teacher negotiated the moral landscape of teaching. Journal of Early Childhood Teacher Education, 24(1), 51–60. https://doi.org/10.1080/1090102030240108
Engster, D. (2005). Rethinking care theory: The practice of caring and the obligation to care. Hypatia, 20(3), 50-74. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1527-2001.2005.tb00486.x
Feeney & Freeman (2005). Ethics and the early childhood educator: Using the NAEYC Code. National Association for the Education of Young Children.
Feeney, S. (2010). Ethics today in early care and education: Review, reflection, and the future. Young Children, 65(2), 72-77.
Feeney, S., Freeman & N. K., & Moravcik, E. (2008). Teaching the NAEYC code of ethical conduct: Activity sourcebook. National Association for the Education of Young Children.
Fredrickson, B. L. (2013). Positive emotions broaden and build. In Advances in experimental social psychology, (Vol. 47, pp. 1-53. Academic Press. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-407236-7.00001-2
French-Lee, S., & Dooley, C. M. (2015). An exploratory qualitative study of ethical beliefs among early childhood teachers. Early Childhood Education Journal, 43, 377-384 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10643-014-0659-0
Ghiațău, R. (2015). Dileme etice și raționament moral al educatorilor români, In B. Olaru & A. Holman (Eds.), Contribuţii la psihologia morală: evaluări ale rezultatelor şi noi cercetări empirice (pp. 115-148), ProUniversitaria.
Ghiațău, R. (2017). Defining and identifying ethical dilemmas in the Romanian context. Analele Ştiinţifice ale Universităţii Alexandru Ioan Cuza, Iaşi. Ştiinţe ale Educatiei, (XXI), 51-64.
Giovacco-Johnson, T. (2010). Applied ethics as a foundation in early childhood teacher education: Exploring the connections and possibilities. Early Childhood Education Journal, 38, 449-456. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10643-010-0428-7
Gunnestad, A., Mørreaunet, S., Chahboun, S., & Pearson, J. (2022). Values in Early Childhood Education (ECE): A cross-cultural comparative study of values for ECE expressed in policy documents. ECNU Review of Education, 5(4), 577-600. https://doi.org/10.1177/20965311221109842
Husu, J., & Tirri, K. (2003). A case study approach to study one teacher's moral reflection. Teaching and Teacher Education, 19(3), 345-357. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0742-051X(03)00019-2
Kennedy, A. (2009) Ethics: a part of everyday practice in child care. Extract from Putting Children First, The magazine of the National Childcare Accreditation Council (NCAC ) 29, pp. 9-11.
Kuusisto, A., & Lamminmäki-Vartia, S. (2012). Moral foundation of the kindergarten teacher’s educational approach: Self-reflection facilitated educator response to pluralism in educational context. Education research international, https://doi.org/10.1155/2012/303565
Lyons, N. (1990). Ethical and epistemological dimensions of teachers’ work and development. Harvard Educational Review, 60(2), 159-180. https://doi.org/10.17763/haer.60.2.v71123u7768r47w6
Maselko, J., Kubzansky, L., Lipsitt, L., & Buka, S. L. (2011). Mother's affection at 8 months predicts emotional distress in adulthood. Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health, 65(7), 621-625. http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/jech.2009.097873
Melhuish, Edward C. and Ereky-Stevens, K. and Petrogiannis, K. and Ariescu, A. and Penderi, E. and Rentzou, K. and Tawell, A. and Slot, P. and Broekhuizen, M. and Leseman, P. (2015) A review of research on the effects of Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) upon child development. CARE project; Curriculum Quality Analysis and Impact Review of European Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC). Technical Report. European Commission, http://ecec-care.org/resources/publications/.
Moravcik, E., Feeney S. & Freeman N. (2016). The situation-“make sure my child drinks her milk”. Young Children, 71(4). https://www.naeyc.org/resources/pubs/yc/sep2016/focus-on-ethics
NAEYC Code of Ethical Conduct (Revised April 2005, Reaffirmed and Updated May 2011). https://www.naeyc.org/sites/default/files/globally-shared/downloads/PDFs/resources/position-statements/Ethics%20Position%20Statement2011_09202013update.pdf
Newman, L. (2002). Making the hard decisions: Student teachers moving towards ethical judgment. Journal of Early Childhood Teacher Education, 23(1), 19–26. https://doi.org/10.1080/1090102020230104
Noddings, N., (1984). Caring. A feminine approach to ethics and moral education. University of California Press.
Sirotnik, K. A. (1990). Society, schooling, teaching, and preparing to teach. In J. I. Goodlad, R. Soder, & K. A. Sirotnik (Eds.), The moral dimensions of teaching (pp. 296-327). Jossey-Bass.
Stan L., Ghiaţău, R. (2016). Grija pentru copil - imperativ deontologic prioritar. In L. Stan (Ed.) Educaţia timpurie; probleme şi soluţii, pp. 359 – 372, Polirom.
Strike, K. A., & Soltis, J. F. (2009). The ethics of teaching. Teachers College.
The Early Childhood Australia Code Of Ethics (n.d). https://www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au/our-publications/eca-code-ethics/
Tirri, K., & Husu, J. (2000). Uncovering a relational epistemology of ethical dilemmas in early childhood education. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED440104
Tirri, K. (1999). Teachers’ perceptions of moral dilemmas at school. Journal of Moral Education, 28 (1), 31-47. https://doi.org/10.1080/030572499103296
Van Manen, M. (2002). Care-as-worry, or “don't worry, be happy.” Qualitative Health Research, 12(2), 262-278. https://doi.org/10.1177/104973202129119784
Vasconcelos, T. (2006). Children’s spaces as sites for ethical practices: A ‘School-as-a Tree’ in an economically impoverished neighbourhood. International Journal of Early Years Education, 14(2),169–182. https://doi.org/10.1080/09669760600661690
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2024 The Authors & LUMEN Publishing House
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain copyright and grant this journalright of first publication, with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work, with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g. post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g. in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as an earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).
Revista Romaneasca pentru Educatie Multidimensionala Journal has an Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs
CC BY-NC-ND
