Ethical Dilemmas in Childcare - Essay Example

 Ethical dilemma and reflection essay 2b Part 1 Ethics is in the core of every practice in the field of childcare. When childcare workersdeal with an ethical dilemma, they must be guided by the essential values which underpin ethical framework, honesty and trust. When dealing with dilemma, it is important to follow the Ethical Response circle (ERC) to resolve the dilemma. If one educator or director handles the issue without supporting evidence, the dilemma won’t be resolved completely. When a dilemma arises it is important that the staff follow the ERC using supporting documents to support them. Our group (13) chose Ethical dilemma 3. The dilemma centered around a preschool boy who was wearing a female clothing when his dad arrived to pick him up. The father got really angry seeing his son in female clothing. The childcare educator tried to explain the situation, but the boy’s father was really frustrated. So we started the Ethical Response Circle, where I had the role of the child. Each of the group members posted a reactiionary response according to the stages provided by the tutor. At the end we reached a resolution. The child’s best interests were the main focus of the discussion between the parents and the childcare centre staff. We agreed toprovide the boy's parents with information about our program, their son's interests and choices of activities by using the daily communication book. The parents also promised to inform the centre about their son's development and interests at home. The parents would contact the staff about any concerns with regards to their son’s progress and interests. To reach to an agreement, we followed Ethical Response circle. Therefore, ethics was foremost in our minds. As highlighted in our subject module 3 Ethics are: Grounded in values Concerned with what is right rather than expedient  Concerned with what is ‘right, fair, good or just’ Involve inquiry and investigation As Newman L. (2002) stated, we didn’t make assumptions, based upon what we thought we knew. In this case the educators and the parent had different opinions about what was best for the child. We started by looking at Legal aspects of the resolution. ACECQA standards 6.2 clearly stated that “Families are supported in their parenting role and their values and beliefs about child-rearing are respected”. But sometimes there is usually a difference between the parents knowledge and the career professional's knowledge. These are noted as factors inhibiting parent-career partnerships. In this dilemma there is a big gap between the partnership of the centre and the parents. That is why we looked at NQS Element 1.1.6. Each child’s agency is promoted, enabling them to make choices and decisions and to influence events and their world. Early childhood professionals have an important role in advocating for children (Smith, A. B. (2007). But advocating for children is not about undermining the role of parents. That was why we moved to the next level of the ERC; Professional Consideration. At this level, we believed that it was important to support our practice and policies by addressing the Code of Ethics as the key factor of our professionalism. The Code of Ethics acknowledged that in relation to children we must “Acknowledge his uniqueness and potential to ensure he enjoys his childhood”. Besides this we incorporated The Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF) and the National Quality Standard (NQS) into daily life at our centre. Our professional staff plan daily activities based on their observations, extend them when children show interest in particular themes and we also use intentional teaching as part of our program. We encouraged the boy's parents to borrow the copies of EYLF and NQS to get a better idea about the principles that our professional team follows to enhance children’s learning and development. After that the boy's parents showed more interest in listening to us. This is when we moved to next circle in ERC. The next circle was ethical principles. According to Newman, L., & Pollintz, L. (2005) the principles selected as most useful for early childhood educators (ECE) are: autonomy, beneficence, non-maleficence, justice and fidelity. We followed these principles and the director (Lauren Kapper) added the following in her post “Justice principle guides us to provide fairness to all parties involved, we are through this ethical resolution cycle striving to get best outcome for all and one that is fair for all. Using Beneficence principle to guide us means we are striving for best outcome for all parties involved”. In our group we all agreed that it was important that trusting relationships were built between the boy's parents and ECE. From here the parents started to cooperate with ECE andshowed more trust towards our professional knowledge. This took us to the next level of ERC, informed inclination. When Newman & Pollintz talk about informed inclination they stated that Informed inclination is cumulative. It is based on professional disposition, depth of knowledge, level of expertise, extended experience and the process of ethical analysis just undertaken. Our professional disposition and the centre’s philosophy were the guidelines during our work. At this stage we agreed that we needed to form a strong partnership with the boy's family, communicate on regular basis, trust each other and bring any issues that arise to the attention of each other. As we didn’t have any disagreement at this stage of ERC we moved to the next level of ERC; negotiation. Negotiation may be used to find out what others think and to confirm ideas (Newman & Pollintz). We found out that the boy's father had changed some of his core beliefs about childrearing and their knowledge of child development and interests. The parents also realised that the ECE was not trying to downgrade their parenting skills. the boy’s father understood that the ECE emphasized that EYLF considers adult to adult partnerships, recognising that “learning outcomes are most likely to be achieved when early childhood educators work in partnership with families” ((DEEWR, 2009, p. 12). At this stage we came to a resolution about the dilemma. We all agreed that the childcare centre will communicate with the boy's family, and the family in return will contact the centre whenever they have any concerns about their child. We all came to agree to let the boy freely explore his environment, and enjoy different activities. Based on element 5.1.3. (NQS) it is important that every child be supported to ensure they feel secure, confident and included in the learning environment. Part 2 We used the Ethical Response Circle (ERC) to resolve a dilemma. We posted our answer after giving discussing amongst ourselves. For me this was the first time I participated in group work on a forum resolving an ethical dilemma. I felt obliged to think carefully upon the answers that I was sending to the forum. It was very interesting to read other participants answers. It was very importantfor me to learn to deal ethically with a dilemma if one arises. For me the starting point to resolve the dilemma was the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), particularly article 6 of “Children have the right to live a full life. Governments should ensure that children survive and develop healthily”. The other important document that we addressed very often to support our answers was the Code of Ethics. I was familiar with the Code before this, but this time I started to understand how important it is for us to have the code of ethics as a key document to work ethically. Unfortunately not all educators in the workplace use the code to solve dilemmas. While working with my group members on the dilemma, I understood the importance of the circle. Without the supporting documents we could not resolve the problem. I learned a lot about my fellow group members approach to ethical issues. I found that the director and educator had very significant roles to play in reaching a resolution. All their answers were based upon outstanding professional knowledge, and their familiarity with the central documents in the field of childcare. Their arguments were based on the relevant articles of UNCRC, Children services regulation and NQS. We as educators need to honour our responsibilities to the families. The Code of Ethics guides these relationships in Ideal 2.4 which reminds us to "... support [families] in their task of nurturing children" and, Ideal 2.6 which states early childhood educators are "to acknowledge families' childrearing values and their right to make decisions for their children." I gained a lot of insight as to how to approach various ethical issues within the workplace, from my fellow group members. I understood that when thinking about how to respond to issues in an ethical manner, it is important to start by identifying the values and beliefs held by everyone involved. Identifying different value Positions is important in demonstrating respect for everyone involved: The director and the educator approached the issue showing great respect towards the boy's father in reaching a resolution. Their professional knowledge and their familiarity with all the central documents in the childcare field helped them a lot to convince the father to change his view about his son interests and development. As a group member I had the role of the child. Throughout the ERC I tried to show how much I was emotionally shattered and how much I wanted to please my father. In reality I could not imagine how a child would feel about such a situation. I think there are many factors contributing to how a child would feel about this. The child’s rearing style, family situation, temperament, cultural values, have an impact on the child’s emotional state. At the stage when we reached to resolution, everyone was happy with the outcome. It was an ideal agreement for all the participants. But in real life things might be different because we all know that sometimes there are difficult parents, parents who don’t trust the educator much, parents who have diverse cultural believes. In my practice I noticed that very often the director is the one who deals with the difficult parents. I’ve never had a chance to witness ERC happening in my workplace. I learned a lot from this group process. As an educator I feel that I have the responsibility to help my director approach an ethical dilemma resolution. Ethical dilemma requires us to weigh our responsibilities. Responsibilities to parents, children, our colleagues. The professional knowledge has a vital role in resolving an ethical dilemma. It is very important that we, as educators understand that the Code of Ethics is only useful if it is part of our every practice. Smith, A. B. (2007). Children’s rights and early childhood education links to theory and advocacy. Australian Journal of Early Childhood, 32(3), 1-8. Retrieved from http://ezproxy.csu.edu.au/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=26879153&site=ehost-live Lauren Kapper 29-Sep-13retrieved from http://interact.csu.edu.au/portal/site/EEP417_201360_B_D/page/a136dc66-8190-4ec8-0010-934e6d5b1e24 Module 3: Understanding Ethics, retrieved from http://interact.csu.edu.au/portal/site/EEP417_201360_B_D/page/945de00c-5929-49c4-00a3-2568375cd841 Barblett, L., Hydon, C. & Kennedy, A. (2008). The Code of Ethics: A guide for everyday practice. ACT: Early Childhood Australia. Retrieved fromhttp://www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au/pdf/code_of_ethics/code_of_ethics_%20brochure_screenweb_2010.pdf Newman, L. (2002). Responding ethically when families and professionals disagree. Everychild, 8(2), 17. Retrieved fromhttp://www.csu.edu.au/division/library/ereserve/pdf/newman-l3.pdf  Newman, L., & Pollintz, L. (2005). Understanding Ethics. In Working with children and families: Professional, legal and ethical issues. Frenchs Forest: Pearson Education. Retrieved from http://www.csu.edu.au/division/library/ereserve/pdf/newman-l.pdf  McNaughton, G., Smith, K., & Lawrence, H. (2003). Hearing Young Children’s Voices. Childrens Services Branch, ACT Department of Education, Youth and Family Services. Retrieved from  http://www.children.act.gov.au/documents/PDF/under5report.pdf Guide to the National Quality Standard October 2011Retrieved from http://ccccnsw.org.au/wp-content/uploads/guide-to-the-national-quality-standard.pdf Read More