1. The NAEYC Code of Ethical Conduct: A Position Statement of
The National Association for the Education of Young Children
Guidelines for Responsible Behavior in Early Childhood Education
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2. The Code of Ethical Conduct
Offers guidelines for responsible behavior
Sets forth a common basis for resolving the principal ethical dilemmas encountered in early education & care
From the Preamble to the Code
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3. The Code of Ethical Conduct
Primary focus: daily practice with children & their families
Revised periodically—current version approved April 2005
Recent Additions: Supplement for EC Adult Educators (Joint statement developed with NAECTE & ACCESS) and Supplement for EC Program Admini-strators
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4. So,What Are Ethics Anyway?
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5. To answer that question, we have to begin by looking at:
Values
Morality
Professional Core Values
Ethics
Professional Ethics
Ethical Responsi-bilities & Dilemmas
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6. VALUES
What Do You Value?

7. VALUES
Values are things that an individual believes to be intrinsically worthwhile or desirable, that are prized for themselves (e.g., truth, beauty, honesty justice, respect for people and for the environment).
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8. MORALITY
Morality involves peoples' views of what is good, right, or proper; their beliefs about their obligations; and their ideas about how they should behave.
Morality concerns duties and obligations to one another and is characterized by words such as right, ought, just and fair.
Morality Peoples’ views of what is good, right, & proper; their beliefs about their obligations; and their ideas about how they should behave
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9. ETHICS Ethics is the study of right and wrong, duties and obligations.
Ethics involves critical reflection on morality, including the ability to make choices between values and the examination of the moral dimensions of relationships.
Ethics The study of right and wrong, or duty and obligation, that involves critical reflection on morality and the ability to make choices between values and the examination of the moral dimensions of relationships.
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10. PROFESSIONAL ETHICS The moral commitments of a profession that:
involve moral reflection that extends and enhances the personal morality practitioners bring to their work,
concern actions of right and wrong in the workplace, and
help individuals resolve moral dilemmas they encounter in their work.
 Professional Ethics The moral commitments of a profession that involve moral reflection that extends and enhances the personal morality practitioners bring to their work, that concern actions of right and wrong in the workplace, and that help individuals resolve moral dilemmas they encounter in their work.
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11. Ethical Responsibilities & Ethical Dilemmas
--clear-cut, spelled out
Ethical Dilemma
--conflicting professional values & responsibilities
Ethical Responsibilities Behaviors that one must or must not enact. Ethical responsibilities are clear-cut and are spelled out in the Code of Ethical Conduct (e.g., never share confidential info about a child or family…).
 Ethical Dilemma A moral conflict that involves determining appropriate conduct when an individual faces conflicting professional values & responsibilities.
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12. What Does a Code of Ethics Do?
Creates a profession’s sense of identity
Identifies the issues the profession cares about and wants new members to care about
Communicates with those outside the profession what they can expect from its members
Code of Ethics Defines the core values of the field & gives guidance for what prof’als should do in situations in which they encounter conflicting obligations or responsibilities in their work.
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13. HISTORY OF THE CODE
Initially prepared under the auspices of the Ethics Commission of NAEYC, which became the Ethics Panel
Its development was a 5-year process, involving NAEYC membership
Draft Code approved by NAEYC Governing Board July 1989
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14. HISTORY OF THE CODE (cont.)
1st set of revisions adopted 1992
2nd set of revisions approved by Board November 1997
Code is reviewed for revision periodically (every 5 years)
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15. The Code…
The goal of NAEYC’s Code of Ethical Conduct is to inform, not prescribe, answers in tough decisions that teachers and other early childhood professionals must make as they work with children and families.
The strategy inherent in the code is to promote the application of core values, ideals, and principles to guide decisionmaking about ethical issues.
S. Feeney & N. Freeman, Ethics and The Early Childhood Educator: Using the NAEYC Code.
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16. THE CODE of ETHICAL CONDUCT
Core values
Conceptual framework
Ideals—reflect the aspirations of practitioners
Principles—intended to guide conduct and assist practitioners in resolving ethical dilemmas
Values Qualities or principles that individuals believe to be desirable or worthwhile & that they prize for themselves, for others, & for the world in which they live.
Core Values Commitments held by a prof’ion that are consciously & knowingly embraced by its practitioners because they make a contribution to society. Is a difference btwn personal values & core values of a profession.
Ideals = exemplary practice
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17. Features of the Code
Ideals & principles direct practitioners to those questions that, when answered, provide basis for conscientious decisionmaking
Many situations with ethical dimensions will require practitioner to combine guidance of the Code with sound professional judgment
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18. Sections of the Code Section I: Ethical responsibilities to children
Section II: Ethical responsibilities to families
Section III: Ethical responsibilities to colleagues (coworkers, employers, employees)
Section IV: Ethical responsibilities to community and society
Statement of Commitment
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19. What do we do? ID Problem ↓ No: Seek solution Involves ethics?
Yes (issues of right, wrong…)
Responsibility: Do what is right
Dilemma or responsibility? ↓
Dilemma: You have a choice…
Yes: Solve it!
Can it be solved with ethical finesse? ↓
No…
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20. What do we do? Look for guidance in Code, get more info… ↓
Yes: Seek legal advice!
Legal dimension?
No…
Decide on a course of action ↓
Issue resolved!
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21. So, How Can the Code Be Used in Real-Life Situations
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22. Why Is the Existence of the Code Important to ECE?
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