Ethics and ACEI: beginning the conversation.

Codes of ethics are one of the important hallmarks of a profession. Along with prolonged training, specialized knowledge, and rites of passage, a code is one of the criteria that sets professionals apart from other workers (Katz & Ward, 1991). Literature describing the current focus on ethics in the workplace invariably describes codes addressing practitioners in business, health care, architecture, and other highly visible and widely respected fields. These discussions of professional ethics in the popular press, however, seldom address educators or describe codes of ethics designed to guide teachers, administrators, and others who work with children on a day-to-day basis.

ACEI recently created an Ethics Committee to focus on the organization's responsibility to explore the ethical dimensions of educators' work. The members of the committee have agreed to provide leadership for the organization in this area, because they believe ACEI has a responsibility to guide members who struggle to balance the conflicting needs of children, families, teachers, and caregivers, as well as a responsibility to help them answer the difficult question, "What should a principled educator do?"

Upon its formation in 2003, members of the ACEI Ethics Committee examined various codes of ethics as well as the processes others have used in developing such codes. At the 2004 Annual Conference in New Orleans, the Ethics Committee discussed different ethical codes, focusing on ways to develop a code for ACEI members that would meet their unique needs. After extensive discussion, the Committee agreed that the well-established Code of Ethical Conduct developed by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) suited ACEI's own purposes. It was first adopted in 1989 and joined to the existing codes of ethics of the National Education Association (1975), the Council for Exceptional Children (1976), and the National Association of Elementary School Principals (1976). Other codes that have been developed since NAEYC's include those of the National Association of Biology Teachers (1985) and the National Council for the Social Studies (2003). The ACEI Ethics Committee ended its deliberations in New Orleans by recommending to the ACEI Executive Board that our committee begin its work on professional ethics by first endorsing the NAEYC Code of Ethical Conduct (NAEYC, 1989/1992/1997). (1)

Beginning With the NAEYC Code of Ethical Conduct

While acknowledging that NAEYC's code is not the only one guiding the work of educators, the committee concluded that it is most appropriate to base our work in ethics on the NAEYC Code of Ethical Conduct for three important reasons. First, NAEYC, like ACEI, is a membership organization. All dues-paying members are entitled to full benefits. For ACEI, as with NAEYC and other open organizations, compliance with this code of ethics will be voluntary and not enforceable. Second, the NAEYC code addresses the needs of teachers and caregivers working directly with children. This is the population addressed in the original version of the NAEYC Code of Ethics and describes the majority of NAEYC's and ACEI's members alike (2). And finally, ACEI shares with NAEYC a commitment to children as their members' first and most vulnerable constituency. This priority is identified in the NAEYC Code--"Above all, we shall not harm children. We shall not participate in practices that are disrespectful, degrading, dangerous, exploitative, intimidating, emotionally damaging, or physically harmful. This principle has precedence over all others in this Code"--and is in line with ACEI's child-centered philosophy of dedication to the fulfillment of each child's potential and to the professional development of teachers.

Although the NAEYC code is an excellent starting place and a solid foundation for ACEI's work on ethics, we are convinced that ACEI needs to expand the NAEYC code to address ACEI's unique member profile. That is why the committee proposed to the ACEI Board that ACEI explore the possibility of supplementing the NAEYC code to include 1) sections addressing members' work with children through their early and middle childhood years and into early adolescence and 2) a worldwide perspective that speaks to the organization's role in the global community.

First Steps in Creating an ACEI Supplement to the NAEYC Code

As the committee undertakes this process of creating its supplement to the NAEYC code, the members recognize two important criteria of code development, as described by Kipnis and Feeney (1999): ownership and comprehensiveness. A beginning step toward meeting these criteria is to invite input from ACEI's membership. The committee wants to know about the ethical problems that members of ACEI face.

For that reason we are launching, with this article, an effort to collect descriptions of the difficult ethical situations that ACEI members face in their work, specifically those unique challenges that emerge for members who work with children from 8 years old into early adolescence and those who work in the international educational community.

ACEI also needs to ensure that its members feel a sense of ownership of and commitment to following the ethical code adopted as a position statement of the organization. That is why we need to work together to answer the important question, "What should a principled and well-informed educator do?" The committee will analyze members' responses to determine if any additional core values, ideals, and/or principles need to be included in order to ensure that the ACEI supplement meets the needs of all its members. The Ethics Committee will take its recommendations to the ACEI Executive Board in the form of a position statement created to reflect the additional core values, ideals, and principles of the membership. It is essential that we make the process of developing ACEI's ethics supplement collaborative and collegial. The committee hopes that you will become involved. You can begin by sharing with us one or more of the difficult ethical situations with which you struggle. We have attached a survey to the end of this article for that purpose. It also would be helpful if you describe your approach to the situation; that is, what you did or wish you had done to address the dilemma or shoulder the ethical responsibility.

Benefits

The work of focusing on professional ethics is important and will yield valuable benefits for all ACEI members and the children and families they serve. First, it will provide a framework for members' work with children and their parents. The process lets them know they are not alone in grappling with difficult situations; through its core values and ideals, a code of ethics clarifies what professionals should aspire to do and be like. It also identifies responsibilities and offers guidance in the resolution of dilemmas. When teachers' actions are guided by a code of ethics, they have an assurance that they are building on the wisdom of the field and they have a ready answer to the question, "What would a principled and informed educator do?" In short, when their backs are against the wall, educators can be confident that this code of ethics is holding up that wall.

Second, this effort will contribute to the creation of a unified image and message to those within and outside the field. It will bolster our efforts to claim professional status--a sorely needed boost to teachers during this difficult era characterized by high-stakes tests that often have a punitive effect on teachers and children alike.

We hope to hear from you as we carefully consider how we might expand and extend this existing code of ethics so that it meets the needs of members of ACEI, an organization committed to promoting and supporting "the optimal education and development of children" (from the ACEI Mission Statement).

With special thanks to Donald Murk, Nita Barbour, and the entire Ethics Committee for their careful review and helpful recommendations.

Notes:

(1) The NAEYC Code can be found at www.naeyc.org/resources/position-statements/pseth98.htm. Inexpensive printed versions in English and Spanish also are available.

(2) NAEYC, the National Association of Early Childhood Teacher Educators (NAECTE), and the American Associate Degree Early Childhood Educators (ACCESS) recently adopted a jointly developed Supplement to the NAEYC Code of Ethics that addresses Instructors and professors in two-year and four-year colleges and others who prepare adults to work with children and their families.

References

Council for Exceptional Children. (1976). Code of ethics for educators of persons with exceptionalities. Accessed January 10, 2004, at www.cec.sped.org/ps/code.html

Feeney, S., & Freeman, N.K. (1999). Ethics and the early childhood educator: Using the NAEYC Code. Washington, DC: National Association for the Education of Young Children.

Katz, L., & Ward, E. (Eds.). (1991). Ethical behavior in early childhood education (Exp. ed.). Washington, DC: National Association for the Education of Young Children.

Kipnis, K., & Feeney, S. (1999). Developing a code for early childhood education. Accessed online at http://iit.edu/departments/ csep/perspective/persp_v19_fal199_4html.

National Association of Biology Teachers. (1985). Ethics statement for biology teacher. Accessed January 10, 2004, at http://nabt.org/sub/position_statements/ethics.asp.

National Association for the Education of Young Children. (1989, 1992, 1997). Code of ethical conduct. Accessed January 10, 2004, at http://naeyc.org/resources/position_statements/pseth98.htm

National Association of Elementary School Principals. (1976). Statement of ethics for school administrators. Accessed January l0,2004, at http://naesp.org/ContentLoad.do?contentId=27

National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education. (2002). NCATE professional standards for the accreditation of schools, colleges and departments of education. Accessed January 10, 2004, at http://www.ncate.org/standard/unit_stnds_ch2_notes.htm

National Council for the Social Studies. (2003). Revised code of ethics for the social studies profession. Accessed January 10, 2004, at http://databank.ncss.org/article.php?story=20020402120622151.

National Education Association. (1975). Code of ethics of the education profession. Accessed January 10, 2004, at http://www.nea.org/code.html.

Nancy Freeman is Assistant Professor of Early Childhood Education and Director of Research USC/Gateway Child Development Research Center, University of South Carolina, Columbia.