NAEYC Code of Ethics Paper

Leadership and Ethics Paper

Tyrah Urie

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NAEYC Code of Ethics Paper

Introduction

The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) Code of

Ethical Conduct provides guidelines for responsible behavior and sets forth a common basis for

resolving the principal ethical dilemmas encountered in early childhood care and education

(NAEYC, 2011). Knowing that ethical behavior is essential to the teaching profession and that

teachers are public figures and leaders in the community and as such are under scrutiny for

evidence of their character and citizenship, it is important to consider ethical issues that may

arise. A code helps us to understand our responsibilities, prioritize our obligations, and find wise

resolutions to the ethical dilemmas we face (Feeney, 2010). The code of ethics sets a framework

of professional responsibilities in four sections that helps to build and maintain a safe

environment. The four sections include ethical responsibilities to children, families, colleagues

and community/society through ideals and principles in which we aspire to that guide our

conduct. (NAEYC, 2011).

There are four specific reasons for a code of ethics that have endured since first

introduced in 1978 as follows; (Feeney, 2010) Power and status of practitioners, multiplicity of

clients, uncertainty of the data base, and role of ambiguity. The power and status of practitioners

is described that young children are vulnerable and do not have power, we as teachers are bigger

and stronger. We as teachers control resources and privileges that the children want and need

(Feeney, 2010). Multiplicity of clients is described that us teachers serve a variety of clientele.

Educators consistently face the challenge of balancing the needs of various clients like; children,

families, employers, and community (Feeney, 2010). Uncertainty of the data base refers to the

education field and how there was nothing to be considered “best practice”. This created a few

problems for educators in that they would be swayed by fads following whims that emerged, and

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without research based standards, educators were not able to articulate the teaching practices that

were and were not acceptable (Feeney, 2010). Role ambiguity is described as: educators wear

many “hats” and having several roles can lead to teachers feeling uncertain in their boundaries

and expectations. Due to this, there is potential for tension between parents and caregivers.

Educators may have difficulty meeting the needs of children while supporting family’s goals for

their children. In doing so we are also expected to maintain positive productive relationships

with colleagues, employers, parents, and community (Feeney, 2010).

Dilemma’s

Dilemma #1:

Discuss:

The first ethical dilemma arose from interviewing my cooperating teacher. The dilemma

occurred in a toddler classroom with children aged 1 years old to 3 years old, run by one other

lead teacher, student workers, and student teachers. The situation was considered to be a

teacher/family dilemma. The dilemma my Cooperating Teacher (CT) described was about being

a young teacher hired at a child care center. The ethical dilemma surfaced around the fact that

she was newly out of college, and was hired as a lead teacher in a toddler classroom. My CT

faced challenges as the lead teacher as she was the head of other colleagues, student workers, and

student teachers who were around the same age as her. She found that line of respect was

crossed. She struggled with communicating with all colleagues, lacked the confidence to direct

them in what and what not to do in the classroom, and speak up for herself (Cooperating Teacher

S, Personal Communication, 2019). Because she did not want to come off as being ‘bossy’,

demanding, and rude, it put her in a tricky situation.

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Apply:

This dilemma was an ethical responsibility to colleagues. Principle P-3A.1 states “We

shall recognize the contributions of colleagues to our program and not participate in practices

that diminish their reputations or impair their effectiveness in working with children and

families” (NAEYC, 2011). Colleagues need to be sensible and supportive of other colleague’s

roles, practices and duties as educators which are attributed to child centers. My CT’s co-workers

should have shown respect despite the age similarities and supportive of her new job title and the

success of the children. As co-workers it is our job to support all others in our work environment

in meeting their professional needs. If this is not happening, it can be detrimental to all those

involved. Ideal I-3A.3, responsibilities to colleague’s states “To support co-workers in meeting

their professional need and in their professional development” (NAEYC, 2011). Principle P-3B.4

responsibilities to employer’s states, “If we have concerns about a colleague’s behavior, and

children’s well being is not at risk, we may address the concern with that individual. If children

are at risk or the situation does not improve after it has been brought to the colleague’s attention,

we shall report the colleagues unethical or incompetent behavior to an appropriate authority”

(NAEYC, 2011). When being hired as a lead teacher, it is important to establish professional

boundaries and expectations for colleagues. Teaching can be a very solitary profession;

communication amongst colleagues is how educators learn from each other and inform practice.

Describe:

After this challenging situation occurred for some time, my CT began to look at it more

on the positive side. She stated that she began to perceive the idea that becoming a new lead

teacher at such a young age with colleagues similar in age was going to be new to everyone. It

needed some time of getting used to by everyone. She explained that after she had been there for

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a longer period of time, and the idea of things being new started to become more natural. She and

her colleagues started establishing the ‘roles’, built relationships, trust began to form and mutual

respect surfaced, and the issues began to resolve themselves. My CT had explained the

importance that all of the factors that took part in resolving the dilemma, were steps that she and

her colleagues needed to take for everyone to learn and understand that my CT’s role was the

lead: the one who was in charge, but that they were all in it for the children.

Dilemma #2:

Discuss:

The second ethical dilemma was from interviewing my centers Professional Interim

Director, who was a preschool teacher with children aged 3 years old to 5 years old at the time.

The situation was considered to be a teacher/teacher and teacher/child dilemma. My site

supervisor started off by explaining that she had a child in her class who was waiting to be seen

for special education services. The school psychologist who was involved was asked to do

assessments on the child to determine the exact diagnosis and what services needed to be

provided to support the child. Prior to the assessments performed on the child, the school

psychologist, the teacher, and the child’s family sat down and discussed what assessments would

be evaluated on the child. Later, after one day, two hours, and one assessment the psychologist

diagnosed the child with “mental retardation” (Professional Interim Director S, Personal

Communication, 2019). This was an ethical dilemma as the psychologist did not perform the

assessments she stated with the families, the assessment was not accurate and done in the correct

environment, and she only performed one, and was still able to diagnose the child. My Interim

Director went on to explain that she did not agree with the diagnosis that the child was given by

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the school psychologist and wanted to do something about it (Professional Interim Director S,

Personal Communication, 2019).

Apply:

This dilemma was an ethical responsibility to children first and foremost, but also to

families, and colleagues. Ideal I-1.6 in ethical responsibilities to children states “To use

assessment instruments and strategies that are appropriate for the children to be assessed, that are

used only for the purposes for which they were designed, and that have the potential to benefit

children” (NAEYC, 2011). This ideal fit with the dilemma because of the single assessment

performed on the child, and the other strategies used that were not appropriate for the child. It is

extremely important to follow the special education process, and collect data and information

overtime with several assessments/evaluations before diagnosing the child. Principle P-1.6 in

ethical responsibilities to children also states “We shall strive to ensure that decisions such as

those related to enrollment, retention, or assignment to special education services, will be based

on multiple sources of information and will never be based on a single assessment, such as a test

score or a single observation” (NAEYC, 2011). In order to diagnosis a child, there must be

multiple assessments implemented on that child for the diagnosis to be seen as ethically

appropriate. If only one assessment is done, the accuracy, and trueness of that diagnosis become

invalid. In regards to ethical responsibilities to colleague’s principle P-3A.2 states “When we

have concerns about the professional behavior of a co-worker, we shall first let that person know

of our concern in a way that shows respect for personal dignity and for the diversity to be found

among staff members, and then attempt to resolve the matter collegially and in a confidential

manner” (NAEYC, 2011). As co-workers it is our job to respond to a concern of another co-

worker to them personally before taking other actions. Ideal I-3A.1 says, “To establish and

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maintain relationships of respect, trust, confidentiality, collaboration, and cooperation with co-

workers” (NAEYC, 2011). Maintaining relationship, trust and confidentiality is crucial while

working with others and trying to possess a positive, healthy work environment. For my Interim

Director, she could have gone straight to higher authority in the center due to the severity of the

situation. However, this could have created mistrust, dramatization on the therapist’s end, and

further problems down the road between the both of them.

Describe:

My Interim Director, who was a preschool teacher at the time dealt with this ethical

dilemma by going right to the school therapist and sharing her concerns with her. She had told

the therapist that she did not agree with the diagnosis and her reasons for thinking the way she

did. Due to such a severe dilemma, she had extensively thought about whether or not she should

go to someone with more authority or the family before the therapist. However, because she

went right to the therapist it allowed for a professional conversation about the situation. Though

my director took the professional route it made for her work relationship with the therapist, who

was also a close friend of hers before the incident very tough. She said that she had to stay calm

while things turned controversial. “Things turned personal even though it wasn’t the goal”

(Professional Interim Director S, Personal Communication, 2019).

Critical Reflection

Personal Code of Ethics

When thinking of my own personal beliefs in regards to ethics, I route back to my family

background and upbringing. My family has been very involved with my education throughout all

of my academic career, from preschool to college. Having this has made me realize and

understand the importance of family engagement, involvement and communication in all aspects.

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As parents/families, many of them want to be as engaged with their children’s learning as their

own children are and as teachers it is our job to involve families as much as we can. It is also our

job as teachers to keep open communication with families and colleagues to build relationships

so when the challenging situations arise both teachers and families are part of the team effort in

problem solving.

Besides the family involvement and values, another influence that has shaped my

personal code of ethics is the journey through my 504 plan when I was a freshman in high

school. This was a huge event in my life where I was struggling with academic work and really

was not sure why I was struggling. I worked hard to be successful and for some reason, I was not

achieving as best as I wanted to. The teachers came together with my parents and me and said

that they were noticing some challenges and difficulties I was facing and knew I needed extra

support so that I could become as successful as I wanted to be, and as they knew I could be. It

took a lot of assessments/evaluations, communication between my family, teachers, and

specialists, trust and confidence in one another that everyone was doing what was best for me.

The Code of Ethics ensure all children and their families that all educators will do what is best

for them in any given situation. This makes it more inviting and comforting for families to be

engaged in the children’s educational lives. Which, as a teacher and future leader of a classroom

is key as family involvement is so important to my personal code of ethics. These two influences

have guided my own personal ethics as a person and how I aspire to be as a future teacher.

Dilemma #1 and Dilemma #2

In both dilemmas, I now understand the importance of communicating with colleagues in

a timely manner when dilemmas arise. Establishing a professional relationship of mutual trust

and respect is important when trying to maintain a healthy work and classroom environment.

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Some strategies I would use to address similar dilemmas, using the code of ethics, in the future I

would establish expectations and boundaries with my colleagues, communicate those clearly and

in a timely manner, distinguish common goals of the children, and give the problem some time to

work itself out. Through researching both of these situations, it became clear that the foundation

of successful professional relationships are based on building and maintaining respectful,

trustworthy, confidential, collaborative, and clear communication between educators.

Professional Goals:

When I think about where I see myself in ten years from now, I always try and picture in

my head and what it will be like but it always seems to change. When people ask me this

question, they often paint the picture in their own head and verbally explain to me where they see

me years from now. However, no one can predict the future better than yourself. In ten years I

see myself working in the education field as a teacher of my own classroom, coaching different

sports team for young children, and being involved in the community as much as possible. I

aspire to change the lives of young children, advocating while keeping my voice heard, and

continue to support and implement the importance of family involvement in young children’s

lives while having a positive impact on both. I plan to use the code of ethics to support me in

handling dilemma’s I face with children, families, and colleagues. I think that it is important to

remember that the code of ethics is an important resource for educators and can be consulted

when dilemmas arise.

Informed Advocacy:

From now on, advocacy for ALL children and families will be one of my top priorities as

a teacher. Knowing that the NAEYC code of ethics is always available if I need it as a resource.

As my own personal code of ethics is engraved in the back of my head and growing, and all of

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the resources that are out in the world to help keep me informed is so comforting as a teacher. I

believe that going to as many conferences, community events, volunteering, spreading the word

and staying connected is the best way to stay informed to advocate for the early childhood

education field. After having several different experiences in different school settings and

classrooms throughout my time as a college student, I discovered that I am extremely passionate

about the importance of play for young children, and aim to integrate it in some form in my own

classroom, and possibly other classrooms for young children around me. Having a voice and

acting in support of what I believe in by being passionate about something, advocating for it, and

trying to find ways to implement it into my own practice as best I can is crucial in the early

education field.

Closing:

After the NAEYC Code of Ethics and interviews with professionals at my site, I have

learned the strong importance of the code of ethics and ways that I can continue to shape and

build upon my own personal code of ethics as I become a future teacher. “Any code helps us to

understand our responsibilities, prioritize our obligations, and find wise resolutions to the ethical

dilemmas we face” (Feeney, 2010). When trying to properly solve challenging situations the

code of ethics supports us by outlining several different routes to take when trying to solve the

situation that is in the best interest of children, families, colleagues, and community/society. As a

future teacher and professional I strive to use these code of ethics, while blending in my personal

code to achieve a successful classroom.

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References

Feeney, S. (2010). Ethics today in early care and education: Review, reflection and the future.

Young Children, 72-77.

NAEYC. (2011). Code of ethical conduct and statement of commitment. Position Statement.

Washington, D.C: NAEYC. Retrieved:

https://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/Ethics%20Position%20Statement2011.p

df

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