Critical Analysis: Behaving in an Ethical Manner with Respect in a Preschool

Picture a teacher faced with a situation where a child is not receiving the same opportunities as the rest of her classmates due to a disability. Their superior in the classroom feels that it is not important, but they know that it is their responsibility to provide equal opportunities for all children. They have a decision to make. Do they find a way to meet this child’s needs and follow the values that the program had instilled, or do nothing? In every profession people are faced with ethical dilemmas, and early childhood care and education is certainly no exception. We need to decide what it means to behave ethically in these, and every other situation in the work environment. Behaving in an ethical manner means making decisions and responding to the program, staff, families, and children with respect.

Behaving ethically first begins with how personnel respond and interact with the “program”, as it is called in early childhood care and education. One must learn and follow the program’s policies, procedures, and regulations. Without understanding what the program expects of them, one cannot accurately and diligently be a productive member of the program. Moreover, knowing the policies, procedures, and regulations will help guide personnel to behave acceptably, meet expectations, and create an appropriate and quality learning environment. Additionally, they need to be on time and productive while at work to give the program maximum effort. For example, if an employee is showing up for work but is not doing what is expected of them, or being deceitful about their time spent at work, then they are not giving their employer respect. An equally important way to be respectful of the program in early childhood care and education is to maintain accurate records, according to their policies and procedures. If personnel were to produce fraudulent documentation, such as children’s milestone achievements, then program managers would be misinformed on the abilities of their teaching staff or students. The program and its staff cannot accurately

Picture a teacher faced with a situation where a child is not receiving the same opportunities as the rest of her classmates due to a disability. Their superior in the classroom feels that it is not important, but they know that it is their responsibility to provide equal opportunities for all children. They have a decision to make. Do they find a way to meet this child’s needs and follow the values that the program had instilled, or do nothing? In every profession people are faced with ethical dilemmas, and early childhood care and education is certainly no exception. We need to decide what it means to behave ethically in these, and every other situation in the work environment. Behaving in an ethical manner means making decisions and responding to the program, staff, families, and children with respect.

Behaving ethically first begins with how personnel respond and interact with the “program”, as it is called in early childhood care and education. One must learn and follow the program’s policies, procedures, and regulations. Without understanding what the program expects of them, one cannot accurately and diligently be a productive member of the program. Moreover, knowing the policies, procedures, and regulations will help guide personnel to behave acceptably, meet expectations, and create an appropriate and quality learning environment. Additionally, they need to be on time and productive while at work to give the program maximum effort. For example, if an employee is showing up for work but is not doing what is expected of them, or being deceitful about their time spent at work, then they are not giving their employer respect. An equally important way to be respectful of the program in early childhood care and education is to maintain accurate records, according to their policies and procedures. If personnel were to produce fraudulent documentation, such as children’s milestone achievements, then program managers would be misinformed on the abilities of their teaching staff or students. The program and its staff cannot accurately respond to the needs of the children, community, or teachers if they are not receiving accurate records.

Not only must staff safeguard the reputation of the program, but also the moral of all other staff members, by practicing respectful and ethical behaviors. Personnel need to communicate and work together to achieve the same goal in the classroom. To do this, all staff must acknowledge and respect the knowledge and expertise of others. To explain, if one team member is expressing their opinions, ideas, or experiences, their team members should not disregard them. Instead, they should discuss it and implement the suggestions if possible. Collaborating and having a willingness to learn from each other’s ideas will boost morale and help all staff feel they are valued. This kind of behavior tends to lead to accepting criticism with an open-mind and willingness to self-reflect and grow. Rather than becoming defensive when someone critiques their work, behavior, or how a situation was handled, they use the opportunity to look internally to find ways to improve themselves. As an illustration, a staff member tells a teacher that her expectations of the children are unrealistic because she expects them to sit for long periods of time and not converse during the lesson. The teacher should take the opportunity to think about her actions and behaviors, why her expectations were unrealistic, and how she can change them to promote a more appropriate environment. Just as important when behaving in an ethical manner, is being respectful when there is a difference in opinions, values, and beliefs. Supporting and acknowledging these differences is a vital part of respecting staff. Staff can make each other feel welcome, even if it is just offering a smile, be understanding when they have a difference of opinion and try to see it from their perspective; find common ground. Respect and support between staff members will help elevate morale within the program, staff, and families they serve.

In addition to being respectful with staff members, personnel must also build relationships with the families the program serves in a respectful way. First and foremost, the family’s privacy needs to be respected by keeping their information confidential. Any family information given should remain with the teaching team and director of the program if necessary. Talking to another teacher, volunteer, family, or child about any personal information of another family would tarnish the trust the family and program had placed in them. Furthermore, respecting families requires staff to keep a professional relationship and not exploit them for personal gain, such as trading grades for goods and services. Keeping a professional relationship means not having a relationship outside of class, especially romantic relationships, and treating every family with the same courtesy and kindness. In the event that a teacher has a personal relationship with a family member of a student, that child or family may receive extra services, attention, or privileges. Consequently, other children or families may feel that they are less important or receive less than adequate support.

Equally important to the relationships built with families, the children the program serves needs to be treated and supported with the utmost respect. The number one rule is: to never harm a child. This is the foundation of caring for and respecting children and includes being aware of physical, emotional, and verbal harm, while providing opportunities to create a developmentally appropriate environment. One way to follow this important rule is to provide every child with equal opportunities, as well as individualized learning, which is curriculum based on each child’s own ability and needs. An example of this can be described with the earlier scenario of a child with disabilities not getting the same chances as the rest of her classmates. If the teacher is providing every child with equal opportunities and basing their learning on individual needs, then the child should be given the support needed to be an active participant in the classroom. This can be as simple as allowing another child to walk with her one-on-one to promote acceptance and friendship, rearranging the classroom for easier accessibility, or finding activities that she would be able to participate in with the rest of the children. As a result, the child will feel included, equal, and valued. Just as important, the teacher needs to advocate for children, act on their behalf and protect their rights. This involves speaking up when suspicions or knowledge arise of any harm that the child may be experiencing, bringing quality members of the community into the classroom, or supporting children’s skills that are lacking with tools such as individualized educational or behavior plans.

As we have seen, making decisions and interacting with all people involved in the program with respect, is the basis of behaving in an ethical manner. Every situation in early childhood care and education requires all staff members to think objectively and make decisions in how they will react, speak, work, and teach in an ethical way. Behaving in ways that demonstrates kindness, understanding, and courtesy will help build positive and respectful relationships between staff members, families, and children. When everyone involved is being treated with acceptance and support, the program will earn a reputation known for its values, ethics, and respectful staff.