Ethical Issues Responsibilities and Dilemmas Assignment Paper

Ethical Issues Responsibilities and Dilemmas Assignment Paper

Early childhood educators encounter many
ethical issues in the course of their work with
children and families. Each of the Focus on
Ethics columns in Young Children presents an
ethical issue and asks our readers to determine how
an early childhood educator might best respond to it.
Is it an ethical issue?

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As we have written in NAEYC books about Ethical Issues Responsibilities and Dilemmas Assignment Paper
professional ethics, when faced with a challenging
situation in the workplace, the first thing an early
childhood educator needs to do is to determine
whether it is an ethical issue. Our experience tells
us that this can be a difficult process, one that many
are unsure about. The first question you should ask
yourself is, “Does it concern right and wrong, rights
and responsibilities, human welfare, or individuals’
best interests?” If you answer no to each of these
items, the situation is not an ethical issue and you
can handle it as you would handle any workplace
concern. If you answer yes to any of the items, you
are facing an ethical issue. How you respond to it
depends on whether it is an ethical responsibility or
an ethical dilemma. Ethical Issues Responsibilities and Dilemmas Assignment Paper
An ethical issue: Is it an ethical
responsibility or an ethical
dilemma?

Over the years that we have been conducting
workshops and teaching courses about professional
ethics, we have found that early childhood educators
do not always know the difference between an
ethical responsibility and an ethical dilemma, nor
are they sure about how each should be approached.
To make this distinction clearer, we decided to use
this March 2016 column to look at these two kinds of
ethical issues.
Ethical responsibilities
Ethical responsibilities are mandates that are clearly Ethical Issues Responsibilities and Dilemmas Assignment Paper
spelled out in the NAEYC Code of Ethical Conduct
(www.naeyc.org/positionstatements/ethical_
conduct)—they describe how early childhood
educators are required to act and what they must do
and must not do. The fact is, however, that instead of
honoring these responsibilities, even well-meaning
and conscientious early childhood educators are
sometimes tempted to do what is easiest or what will
please others. It is important to remember that when
you encounter a situation that involves an ethical
responsibility, you must follow the Code’s clear
direction. The most important of the responsibilities
spelled out in the NAEYC Code is Principle 1.1:
P-1.1—Above all, we shall not harm children.
We shall not participate in practices that are
emotionally damaging, physically harmful,
disrespectful, degrading, dangerous, exploitative,
or intimidating to children. This principle has
precedence over all others in this Code.
You can be confident that when you have done the
right thing, the Code is there to back you up. You
can rely on it to help you explain why you made a
difficult or unpopular decision.
It can be helpful to think of ethical responsibilities as
being very similar to legal responsibilities in that they
require or forbid a particular action. And sometimes
legal and ethical responsibilities are the same—for
example, mandating the reporting of child abuse.
Ethical dilemmas
When you determine that a situation involves ethics
and you don’t think it is a responsibility, it is likely
to be an ethical dilemma. A dilemma is a situation
for which there are two possible resolutions, each of
which can be justified in moral terms. A dilemma
requires a person to choose between two actions, Ethical Issues Responsibilities and Dilemmas Assignment Paper
Ethical Issues
Responsibilities and Dilemmas
Stephanie Feeney and Nancy K. Freeman
FocusonEthics
86 Young Children March 2016
each having some benefits but also having some 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
expression “on the horns of a dilemma,” describing the
two-pronged nature of these situations. The example
of an ethical dilemma we often give is the case of the
mother who asks a teacher not to let her child nap at
school because when he sleeps in the afternoon he
has a hard time falling asleep at night. The teacher
must choose between honoring the mother’s request,
which may have a detrimental effect on the child,
or refusing the request, which will have a negative
impact on the mother.
Ethical dilemmas are sometimes described as
situations that involve two “rights.” In the case of the
nap, the early childhood educator can conclude that
it is morally right to allow a child who needs a nap, to
nap. But it is also right to keep the child from napping
to help a busy mother keep the child on schedule.
When you encounter an ethical issue, it may be helpful
to remember that it is either a responsibility or a
dilemma—it cannot be both. A characteristic of an
ethical dilemma is that it involves deliberation. It can
rarely be resolved quickly or by simply applying rules
and relying on facts. You won’t find easy solutions in
any article or book for the dilemmas you face in your
early childhood workplace. You can, however, learn
to work through these difficult deliberations with
guidance from the NAEYC Code. When you are certain
that you have encountered an ethical dilemma, you can
use the process described in the example that follows to
help you to find a justifiable resolution. Ethical Issues Responsibilities and Dilemmas Assignment Paper
A discussion of the difference between an ethical
responsibility and an ethical dilemma, and 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 the
how the Code can be applied to a number of dilemmas
that recur frequently in early childhood programs.
March 2016 Young Children 87
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Information about ethical responsibilities and dilemmas
is adapted from two NAEYC books, Ethics and the Early
Childhood Educator: Using the NAEYC Code, second
edition, and the newly updated Teaching the NAEYC Code
of Ethical Conduct: A Resource Guide (forthcoming in
spring 2016).
A New Ethical Issue—“Make sure my child drinks her milk”
Jane, a petite just-turned-3-year-old, is new in Kristen’s class. Jane’s father brings her to school each day
at breakfast time.
As required by licensing and the USDA food program, the school serves milk at breakfast and lunch. Like
a number of children in the class, Jane refuses milk and drinks water instead. Kristen allows children to
make this choice. One day Jane’s father tells Kristen that he and his wife do not want her to allow Jane
to drink water until she has drunk at least a full cup of milk. Kristen assures them that she will encourage
Jane to drink her milk. Ethical Issues Responsibilities and Dilemmas Assignment Paper
At the next meal, Kristen tells Jane that her family wants her to drink milk so she’ll be healthy and grow
strong. Jane sobs uncontrollably. Kristen comforts her and allows her to drink water. She tells Jane she
will talk to Jane’s father about letting her drink water. Jane’s eyes grow wide, and she sobs even harder,
saying, “Don’t tell Daddy! Don’t tell Daddy!”
Should Kristen honor the wishes of the family or allow Jane to continue to drink water instead of milk?
How could she use the NAEYC Code to guide her thinking and decision making in this situation?
The dilemma
This issue’s Focus on Ethics column asks you to
consider the story of 3-year-old Jane, whose family
does not want her to drink water in school until she
has finished drinking her milk. This ethical issue,
like others we have presented in previous columns,
involves a conflict between requests made by a family
member and what teachers think is good practice.
You might use this case as the basis for a staff meeting
or an assignment for undergraduate or graduate
students, or you might mull it over on your own or with
a friend or colleague. We recommend that you use the
process we describe in Chapter 3 of Ethics and the Early
Childhood Educator to help you reach a well-reasoned
response that systematically applies the Code:
1 Determine the nature of the problem
› Is it an ethical issue?
› If it is an ethical issue, does it involve ethical
responsibilities or is it an ethical dilemma? (If
it is an ethical responsibility, what does the
Code mandate that Kristen do? If it is an ethical
dilemma, Kristen can seek a resolution using the
steps that follow.)
2 Analyze the dilemma
› Identify the conflicting responsibilities.
› Brainstorm possible resolutions.
› Consider ethical finesse (finding a way to meet Ethical Issues Responsibilities and Dilemmas Assignment Paper
everyone’s needs without having to make a
difficult decision).
› Look for guidance in the NAEYC Code. Carefully
review its Ideals and Principles—particularly
those that apply to responsibilities to children
and families.
› Based on your review of the Code and using your
best professional judgment, describe what you
think is the most ethically defensible course of
action in this situation.
When you have finished deliberating on this case and
have decided on the best course of action for Kristen,
send an email to the coeditors that includes your
recommendation and a brief description of how you
used the Code to reach this decision.
88 Young Children March 2016
About the authors
Stephanie Feeney, PhD, is professor emerita of education
at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. She has served on the
governing boards of NAEYC and the National Association for
Early Childhood Teacher Educators (NAECTE). Stephanie has
written extensively about professionalism and ethics, and
since the 1980s she has been involved in the development of
the NAEYC Code of Ethical Conduct and the Code’s revisions.
feeney@hawaii.edu
Nancy K. Freeman, PhD, is professor emerita of education
at the University of South Carolina in Columbia, where she
was a member of the early childhood faculty. She has served
as president of NAECTE and was a member of its board for
many years. Nancy has written extensively on professional
ethics since the 1990s and has been involved in the Code’s
revisions and in the development of its supplements
for program administrators and adult educators.
nkfusc@gmail.com  Ethical Issues Responsibilities and Dilemmas Assignment Paper
Focus on Ethics is available at www.naeyc.org/yc/columns.
Copyright © 2016 by the National Association for the Education of Young Children.
See Permissions and Reprints online at www.naeyc.org/yc/permissions.
March 2016 Young Children 89
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Respond to this situation
Focus on Ethics is designed to involve
the readers of Young Children. Email your
proposed resolution to the situation presented
to coeditors Stephanie Feeney (feeney@
hawaii.edu) and Nancy Freeman (nkfusc@
gmail.com). Be sure to use the subject line
“NAEYC ethics.” Responses should be no more
than 500 words and must be received by
June 30, 2016. The analysis will appear in the
September 2016 issue of Young Children.
. . . or send us an ethical issue
you have experienced Ethical Issues Responsibilities and Dilemmas Assignment Paper
We hope you will share with us an ethical
dilemma you have encountered in your
workplace that you would like to be
considered for presentation in this column.
Send a short (400–500 words) description of
the situation to the coeditors. Be sure to use
the subject line “NAEYC ethics.”
Copyright of YC: Young Children is the property of National Association for the Education
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