Ethics and the Early Childhood Teacher Educator A Proposed Addendum to the NAEYC Code of Ethical Conduct Editor’s note: One of NAEYC’s most effective strategies for promoting excellence in early childhood education has been to adopt (after broad-based dialogue and input) position statements that reflect the collective knowledge and wisdom of the early childhood profession. NAEYC position statements—from the first, 1929’s “Minimum Essentials for Nursery Education,” to the latest, 2002’s “Early Learning Standards: Creating the Conditions for Success” (adopted jointly with the National Association of Early Childhood Specialists in State Departments of Education)—have shaped policy, practice, and public opinion. To ensure that they continue to reflect the latest expert knowledge of research and practice, all position statements are regularly reviewed and updated. NAEYC’s Code of Ethical Conduct was first adopted in 1989. It was revised in 1992 and 1997 (available at www.naeyc. org/resources/position_statements/ pseth98.htm). To launch the next review of this important document, we are pleased to publish this article by Nancy Freeman, Stephanie Feeney, and Eva Moravcik proposing an addendum to the Code specific to issues related to teacher educators. NAEYC’s Interest Forum on Ethics will be moderating an online dialogue about the proposed addendum as well as other suggested revisions. Members may participate in this dialogue by going to www.naeyc.org/members/default.asp, then choosing Ethics in Early Chilhood Education Interest Forum. Comments on the proposed addendum or other suggested revisions may be submitted to NAEYC online at ethics_ revision@ naeyc.org or by mail to NAEYC Ethics Code Revision, 1509 16th Street, NW, Washington, DC 20036. Comments must be received by June 30, 2003.

Nancy Freeman, Stephanie Feeney, and Eva Moravcik

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You are making decisions about students’ final grades. Felicia is wonderful with children and is so proud to be the first member of her family to pursue higher education. She cannot, however, communicate ideas in writing and is not proficient in standard English. She has earned a D+ in your class but needs a C to continue in your program.

s early childhood educators who train teachers, we are called upon to sustain different relationships and to balance the needs of a wider variety of clients than those who work directly with young children and their families. In fulfilling our responsibilities to adult students (see “Clarification of Terms”), we encounter some unique ethical challenges in the context of a complex network of relationships, as in the case of Felicia. One of our primary challenges is to find a balance between our obligation to support and nurture our adult students and our obligation to provide caring and competent professionals to work with young children and their families. Here are two more examples of the ethical dilemmas early childhood teacher educators regularly face. Beverly is a single parent. She holds a full-time assistant teacher position in addition to carrying a full course load. She needs both money and education. Her academic record is marginal. You’re thinking about advising her to postpone her education. Before you do so, your dean sends out a plea to faculty to do what they can to increase enrollment to counteract steep budget cuts. Nancy K. Freeman, Ph.D., is an assistant professor of early childhood education at the University of South Carolina in Columbia. She coauthored NAEYC’s two books on professional ethics and serves on the executive board of the National Association for Early Childhood Teacher Educators. Stephanie Feeney, Ph.D., is professor of education at the University of Hawaii in Honolulu. A former member of the NAEYC Governing Board, Stephanie is coauthor of NAEYC’s Code of Ethical Conduct and of the NAEYC books Ethics and the Early Childhood Educator and Teaching the NAEYC Code of Ethical Conduct. Eva Moravcik, M.Ed., is an assistant professor at Honolulu Community College and site coordinator for Leeward Community College Children’s Center in Pearl City, Hawai’i. Eva is coauthor of Who Am I in the Lives of Children? an introductory early childhood text; Teaching the NAEYC Code of Ethical Conduct; and Discovering Me and My World, a curriculum for four- to six-year-olds.

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In your community there are few early childhood programs that model developmentally appropriate practice, and most are located far from campus. The nearby Les Enfants Academy is convenient for students. However, its teachers pride themselves on their formally taught academic curriculum and their strict approach to child management—practices that reflect the preferences of most of their families. Cynthia does not drive, so she needs a nearby practicum assignment. But you are concerned about placing her at Les Enfants Academy because she already has difficulty planning developmentally appropriate instructional activities. Issues like these led us to the conclusion that we, like the students we teach, need guidance navigating these difficult waters. While the NAEYC Code of Ethical Conduct (NAEYC 1998) has proven to be a valuable resource that addresses many of the ethical situations encountered by early childhood professionals, it does not provide teacher educators with all the guidance we need. In this article we introduce a proposed addendum to the NAEYC Code of Ethical Conduct that concerns the unique ethical challenges confronting teacher educators. Additionally, we provide some historical perspective on the proposed addendum and an opportunity for teacher educators to have input into its final form.

Clarification of Terms We adopted these definitions of the terms early childhood teacher educators and students to clarify the content and intent of the proposed addendum. Early childhood teacher educators—Professionals who teach in an institution of higher education (both two-year and four-year colleges and universities) or who conduct not-for-credit training for the early care and education workforce under the auspices of a training or a regulatory agency. Students—Adult learners, both preservice and inservice personnel, who work in or are preparing to work in settings for the care and education of young children from birth through eight years of age.

recurring ethical dilemmas faced by teacher educators, to explore these dilemmas, and to attempt to reach consensus about how they might be resolved.

Creating ethical guidelines for early childhood teacher educators

In the mid-1990s leaders in the National Association for Early Childhood Teacher Educators (NAECTE) and the American Associate Degree Early Childhood Educators (ACCESS) identified collaboration on professional ethics as a vehicle that could help strengthen the links between the two organizations, which share the common purpose of providing professional support to teacher educators. Workshop sessions led by members of NAECTE, ACCESS, and the Division of Early Childhood of the Council for Exceptional Children (DEC/CEC) were designed to help participants use the NAEYC Code to work through some of the ethical situations teacher educators confront. It soon became apparent that the Code did not offer guidance for the dilemmas they were facing, nor did it articulate the particular responsibilities shouldered by those who teach teachers. Teacher educators’ ethics has been a work in progress since that time. We three authors of this article and Ann Dorsey, Toni Ungaretti, Elaine Surbeck, and Teresa Bologna have worked together and with others on a variety of publications. We have made presentations about the ethics of teacher education at meetings of NAECTE, ACCESS, NAEYC, and other professional organizations, gathering cases from the field and exploring the question, “What would a good early childhood teacher educator do?” Our goal has been to identify the

When the NAEYC Code of Ethical Conduct was developed, the decision was made to focus on the ethical quandaries of teachers working directly with young children and their families in early care and education programs. The developers of the Code were aware that early childhood professionals who have specialized roles or work in other settings—teacher educators, center directors, and licensing staff, for example—also face some distinctive ethical challenges and could benefit from guidance. However, they saved that task for another day. For teacher educators, that day has now come. We believed from the start that any efforts to develop an addendum to the NAEYC Code must begin with an understanding of the process of creating the Code. The NAEYC Code was first adopted by the Governing Board in 1989 (Feeney & Kipnis 1989), with revisions in 1992 (Feeney & Kipnis 1992) and 1997 (NAEYC 1998). Its development was a multiyear project that included the publication of a questionnaire in Young Children, input from a number of focus groups, and other efforts to solicit insights and buy-in from a wide variety of stakeholders. We were also guided by the premise that a profession’s code of ethics should come from its members. It needs to reflect the profession’s core values, offer guidance when members grapple with difficult decisions in their practice, and give them the courage to do what is right, even when the ethical high road is not the most popular nor the easiest course of action (Feeney & Kipnis 1985).

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How we got here: A little history

We began the process of developing ethical guidelines for teacher educators by talking to our colleagues in ACCESS and NAECTE. In sessions we conducted over the years, participants identified the recurring ethical issues they face, thoughtfully engaged with them, and helped us map the ethical dimensions of the early childhood teacher educator’s work. They also encouraged us to persist in the task of developing ethical guidelines for teacher educators. As we explored the ethics of teacher education, the next steps to take emerged. In our workshops we learned that the dilemmas faced by teacher educators tend to cluster around a set of issues that includes grading, gaining access to the profession, balancing multiple responsibilities, overseeing practicum settings, ensuring program quality, and assuring workforce diversity. Workshop participants made it clear that they subscribe to the core values of the NAEYC Code, but they concluded that one additional core value was needed for teacher educators. They told us they thought that ethical guidelines for teacher educators should be initiated and approved by NAECTE and ACCESS and published as an addendum to the NAEYC Code. In November 2000 the board of NAECTE endorsed the development of an addendum to the NAEYC Code. That mandate helped to refocus our efforts and led us to the development of the draft addendum presented here. It is important to appreciate that the core value, ideals, and principles described in the draft addendum came from the field. They represent what we learned during the ongoing effort to involve early childhood teacher educators, from a variety of institutions and with varied perspectives and constituencies, in conversations about ethics and teacher education. The most significant discovery we made during this process is that teacher educators, like the teachers and caregivers they teach, identify the child as their primary client. We worked from that foundation to identify the core values, ideals, and principles in the draft document that follows. We hope these elements lead to a consensus that makes us stronger as teacher educators and bolsters our efforts to support our adult students and, in the end, the young children whose welfare is our ultimate responsibility.

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References and selected resources Feeney, S. 1995. Professionalism in early childhood education: Focus on ethics. Journal of Early Childhood Teacher Education 16 (3): 13–15. Feeney, S., & K. Freeman. 1999. Ethics and the early childhood educator: Using the NAEYC Code. Washington, DC: NAEYC. Feeney, S., N. Freeman, & E. Moravcik. 2000. Teaching the NAEYC Code of Ethical Conduct: Activity sourcebook. Washington, DC: NAEYC. Feeney, S., & K. Kipnis. 1985. Public Policy Report. Professional ethics in early childhood education. Young Children 40 (3): 54–58. Feeney, S., & K. Kipnis. 1989. A new code of ethics for early childhood educators: Code of Ethical Conduct and Statement of Commitment. Young Children 45 (1): 24–29. Feeney, S., & K. Kipnis. 1992. Code of ethical conduct and statement of commitment. Brochure. Washington, DC: NAEYC. Freeman, N. 1996. Professional ethics: A survey of early childhood teacher educators and a curriculum for preservice teachers. Doctoral dissertation, University of South Carolina, Columbia. Freeman, N., & M. Brown. 1996. Ethics instruction for preservice teachers: How are we doing in ECE? Journal of Early Childhood Teacher Education 17 (2): 5–18. Freitas, D. 1991. A professional code of ethics for teacher educators: A proposal to stimulate discussion and debate. Action in Teacher Education 20 (4): 96–98. Katz, L., & E. Ward, eds. 1991. Ethical behavior in early childhood education. Exp. ed. Washington, DC: NAEYC. Kipnis, K. 1987. How to discuss professional ethics. Young Children 42 (4): 26–30. NAEYC. 1998. Code of ethical conduct and statement of commitment. Rev. ed. Brochure. Washington, DC: Author. Nash, R. 1991. Three conceptions of ethics for teacher educators. Journal of Teacher Education 42 (3): 26–30. NEA (National Education Association). 1975. Code of ethics of the education profession. Online: www.nea.org/code.html Nord, W.A. 1990. Teaching and morality: The knowledge most worth having. In What teachers need to know: The knowledge, skills, and values essential to good teaching, eds. Dill & Associates, 173–98. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Rich, J. 1984. Professional ethics in education. Springfield, IL: Charles C. Thomas. Siegel, M., & R. Barr. 1997. Critical issues: Case study of a professional organization grappling with ethical issues. Journal of Literacy Research 29 (1): 105–34. Ungaretti, T., A. Dorsey, N. Freeman, & T. Bologna. 1997. A teacher education ethics initiative: A collaborative response to a professional need. Journal of Teacher Education 48 (4): 271–79. Copyright © 2003 by the National Association for the Education of Young Children. See Permissions and Reprints online at www.naeyc.org/resources/journal.

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NAEYC Code of Ethical Conduct: Proposed Addendum for Teacher Educators Nancy Freeman, Stephanie Feeney, and Eva Moravcik

Preamble

Ideals and Principles

Like those who work with young children, early childhood teacher educators are regularly called upon to make decisions of a moral and ethical nature. The NAEYC Code of Ethical Conduct is a foundational document that maps the ethical dimensions of early childhood educators’ work in early education and care programs. Early childhood teacher educators share the ethical obligations assumed by all early childhood educators reflected in the core values, ideals, and principles set forth in the NAEYC Code. Teacher educators have additional relationships and ethical responsibilities beyond those spelled out in the NAEYC Code. They have responsibilities to adult students, agencies that conduct training, institutions of higher learning, colleagues in professional education, and personnel in the institutions in which they place adult students.

In this addendum to the Code, we identify additional ideals (aspirations) and principles (guides for conduct; definitions of practices that are required, prohibited, and permitted) that address the unique ethical responsibilities of early childhood teacher educators. These ideals and principles have been developed by analyzing teacher educators’ descriptions of the recurring ethical dilemmas they encounter in their work.

Core Values

Ideals

In addition to the core values spelled out in the NAEYC Code of Ethical Conduct, we early childhood teacher educators commit ourselves to the following additional core values:

• To support the development of competent, caring professionals to work with young children and their families. • To provide a diverse workforce that reflects the cultural/ ethnic backgrounds of the children served in early childhood programs and the communities where they work.

• To appreciate the critical role of a knowledgeable, competent, and diverse workforce of caregivers and educators who support the development and learning of young children • To base our practice on broad-based, current, and accurate knowledge of the fields of early childhood education and child development

Ethical Responsibilities to Children and Families We acknowledge that our primary responsibility as early childhood teacher educators is to children served in early childhood programs and to their families.

Principles

This document sets forth a conception of our professional responsibilities in six sections, each addressing an arena of professional relationships: (1) children and families, (2) adult students, (3) programs that host our practicum students and the programs’ staffs and clientele, (4) colleagues, (5) our employing agencies and institutions, and (6) the field of early care and education. (community/society)

• We shall base our teaching on our best current understanding of practices that provide for the optimal development of children and support for their families. • We shall not allow a student to complete a program if we have direct evidence that he/she may endanger children’s physical or psychological well-being. • When we have made every possible effort to work with a student and the student still does not demonstrate the intellectual, physical, or social-emotional capacity to work effectively with children, we shall make every effort to counsel the student out of the field. • We shall not place students or allow students to continue in placements that, in our best professional judgment, are harmful or potentially harmful to children.

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Conceptual Framework

Proposed Addendum (cont’d)

students can apply what they have learned in courses and can reflect upon and reconstruct their personal understanding of teaching and learning.

Ethical Responsibilities to Adult Students In prioritizing our responsibilities as early childhood teacher educators, after the welfare of children, our most important responsibility is to the learning and professional development of our adult students.

Ideals • To provide students with positive learning experiences based on principles of adult development and consistent with the core values of early education and care, current knowledge, and best practices in the field. • To place students in practicum settings that, to the greatest extent possible, model the core values of early education and care, current knowledge, and best practices in the field. • To fairly present controversial material, acknowledging the validity of contrasting perspectives and, when appropriate, identifying our own biases. • To have high but reasonable expectations for students. • To assess fairly and equitably what students know and are able to do. • To work diligently to assure that our programs serve a diverse student body (including diversity in culture, ethnicity, and social class).

Principles • We shall make every effort to provide learning experiences that match the characteristics of students. • We shall give every student a fair chance to succeed and demonstrate competence. • We shall make a concerted effort to provide additional support (in the form of coursework, additional time, tutoring, etc.) for students who have the potential to work effectively with young children but have difficulty meeting academic standards. • We shall honor confidentiality, sharing information about students on a need-to-know basis and through appropriate professional channels. • When it becomes apparent that a student’s practicum placement is not supporting his/her professional development or is not beneficial to the student or children, we shall remove the student and put her/him in another more appropriate placement.

Ethical Responsibilities to Sites Providing Practicum Experiences Some knowledge and skills needed by early childhood educators are best acquired in the context of the workplace; therefore, early childhood teacher educators rely heavily on placements in early childhood programs where

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Ideals • To foster collegial and collaborative working relationships with educators in practicum settings. • To be respectful of the expertise and perspective of practitioners who work with students in practicum settings. • To recognize the importance and contributions of fieldbased staff as educators of developing professionals. • To design and coordinate practicum experiences that will positively support the professional development of adult students.

Principles • We shall place students in settings where staff are appropriately qualified and experienced in working with young children. • We shall clearly state roles and responsibilities and prepare students for practicum experiences. • We shall ensure that regular supervision of practicum experiences will be conducted by qualified personnel who monitor both the welfare of the children and the professional development of adult learners. • We shall teach our adult students that they have a professional obligation to honor confidentiality and shall make every effort to ensure that they guard the privacy of the program, its teachers, and its clientele.

Ethical Obligation to Training Agencies and Institutions of Higher Learning Ideal • We will assist the programs in which we work in providing the highest quality educational programs for teachers.

Principles • We shall respect the integrity of courses by teaching what is published in the course proposal or catalogue and following approved course descriptions. • We shall evaluate fairly, resisting the temptation to give high grades to ensure favorable teaching and course evaluations. • We shall offer training and instruction only in areas where we have appropriate experience and expertise.

Ethical Responsibilities to Colleagues Ideal • To be collegial and supportive to colleagues, particularly to junior faculty and novice teacher educators. 5

Proposed Addendum (cont’d)

Principles • To honor confidentiality, sharing information about colleagues on a need-to-know basis only. • To express our opinions about the competence of colleagues only through official channels of performance evaluation.

• We acknowledge a collective ethical responsibility to educate other professionals in our institutions, agencies, and the public regarding the critical role knowledgeable and competent early childhood professionals make in the lives of young children. • We support research to strengthen and expand the knowledge base of early childhood education and, where possible, initiate, contribute to, and facilitate such research.

Principles

Ethical Responsibilities to the Field of Early Childhood Education Ideals • We acknowledge a shared ethical obligation to the communities in which we work to train caring and competent teachers who will provide safe and nurturing care and education for young children and be supportive of their families. • We accept a shared ethical obligation to prepare students to work successfully in and to respect the culture of the communities where they are placed. • We make a personal commitment to continue to grow and learn, and to base our practice on best current knowledge.

• We shall be accurate and truthful when we provide recommendations and serve as references for individuals seeking admission to programs, applying for certification, or seeking employment. • We shall refrain from endorsing commercial products if we stand to gain financially from such an endorsement. • We shall refrain from promoting commercial products related to early childhood education and care if our endorsement is not based on a comprehensive review of the validity of a program’s or product’s claims. • In our teaching and in making recommendations, we shall distinguish between our personal feelings about a product, theory, or program and its professional value.

Early Childhood Teacher Educators, We Need Your Input Please help us to move this process forward by supplying your thoughts on the addendum. Photocopy this form, fill it out, and send it to Dr. Nancy Freeman, University of South Carolina, College of Education— Early Childhood, 107 Wardlaw, Columbia, SC 29208 or e-mail to [email protected] 1. Your affiliation: q two-year college

q four-year college or university q other training program (please

describe) _____________________________________________________________________________ 2. Would an addendum to the NAEYC Code for teacher educators be helpful in your work?

q Yes q No

3. Does the draft address the ethical issues you encounter in your work?

4. Is anything important missing from the draft? 5. Suggestions for editing or changes:

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