Ethical Thinking and Practice for Parenting Educators and Other Family Professionals

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Ethical Thinking and Practice for Parenting
Educators and Other Family Professionals

• 23rd Annual Prevent Child Abuse Louisiana
  Conference Kids are Worth It!
• March 5, 2009
• Elizabeth Pearce, M.Ed., Commonwealth Parenting,
  Richmond, VA, lpearce_at_commonwealthparenting.org
• Dana McDermott, Ph.D., DePaul University, IL,
  DMCDERM2_at_depaul.edu
• Betty Cooke , Ph.D., University of Minnesota,
  cooke047_at_umn.edu

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Participant Goals

• Participants will
• Understand the history different approaches to
  moral discourse and ethical dialogue underlying
  the Ethical Thinking and Practice for Parent and
  Family Educators document
• Become familiar with the Ethical Guidelines for
  Parent and Family Educators a process for
  applying them to ethical dilemmas
• Practice applying the guidelines process to
  ethical dilemmas through case studies
• Learn how the guidelines process have been used
  in parenting education programs university
  teaching

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Your own ethical dilemma . . .

• On your card, briefly describe a recent incident
  that you think had ethical implications
  required a judgment of right and wrong
  professional behavior.
• What concerns you about it?

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Why Ethics Work is Important

• Parenting educators are working with complex
  family systems, diverse belief and value systems,
  and a variety of institutions and agencies.
• Many face ethical issues in relative isolation
  and with limited guidance from an emerging field.
• Parenting educators have different degrees of
  professional preparation and bring different
  meanings and understandings to ethics.

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Why Ethics Work is Important (continued)

• Our interventions are complex and can be
  intrusive, and there are more opportunities to do
  harm.
• Ethical guidelines are needed to protect the
  profession and professionals as well as the
  public.

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Why did the Minnesota Council on Family Relations
(MCFR) become involved in this work?

• Developing ethical guidelines for practice in
  parenting and family life education is part of
  the evolution of parenting and family educators
  as professionals.
• Professional identity demands that we clarify our
  boundaries, especially as we work collaboratively
  with other professionals who may not understand
  the scope and limits of our work.
• Developing guidelines brings parents/families/
  educators/professionals into ongoing dialogue.

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MCFR Ethical Thinking and Practice for Parent
and Family Educators Booklet

• The document you have was developed to offer a
  thoughtful and balanced approach to understanding
  ethical principles and a concrete process for
  using them to address difficult ethical issues
  and dilemmas in parenting and family education.

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History of MCFR Development of Ethical
Guidelines for Practice in Parenting Family
Education

• The Parent Education Ethics Committee of the
  Minnesota Council on Family Education (MCFR) was
  formed began work in 1992.
• Parenting educators were surveyed, the
  committee consulted with ethics experts
  reviewed literature on ethics in related fields.
• The guidelines virtues were inductively
  developed through a1st round of workshops.
• The case study process was developed and a 2nd
  round of workshops was conducted to refine the
  guidelines process.

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History of MCFR Development of Ethical Guidelines
for Practice in Parenting Family Education
(cont.)

• The booklet was published and further rounds of
  workshops were held.
• MCFR Ethics Committee members presented at state
  national conferences.
• The document became part of NCFR publications.
• The guidelines and process are currently being
  adapted for use in the NCFR CFLE certification
  process.

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What do we mean by an ethical dilemma?

• An ethical dilemma characteristically involves
  conflict between two or more core values within
  the guiding principles.
• It involves more than just a matter of skillful
  practice or issues around limited skills.
• It involves hard choices that force us to give up
  something important.

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Integration of Three Approaches to Ethics

• Relational Ethics Approach
• Principles Approach to Ethics
• Virtues Ethics
• The MCFR process blends a traditional ethical
  principles approach with virtues relational
  ethics.
• The three approaches together provide different
  but compatible lenses for understanding ethical
  practice in parenting education.

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Relational Ethics Approach

• Provides a starting place for understanding
  relationships as the context for making ethical
  decisions
• Allows for careful examination of the multiple
  relationships that parent and family educators
  encounter as a step towards applying principles
• Provides for a clear understanding of the
  immediate state of a relationship as well as
  goals for establishing a caring relationship

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Relational Ethics Approach (continued)

• Provides both process and content for ethical
  behavior
• Provides a guide for action
• Goal of relational ethics striving for caring
  relationships in all professional interactions

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Principles Approach to Ethics

• Linked to the relational ethics approach by
  organizing principles around the concept of
  relationships
• Allows parenting educators as a group to
  articulate important principles that can guide
  interactions with different populations
• Intended to guide parenting educators in everyday
  decisions and actions

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Virtues Ethics

• Provides a more individual lens on ethics
• Attempts to fill in a gap in our current way of
  defining professional behavior that tends to
  focus more on technical competence than on moral
  character
• Good practice in parenting education should be
  tied to internal standards of excellence as well
  as external behavior.
• Virtues are dispositions to do the right thing.

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Virtues Ethics (continued)

• Defined at two different levels
• Core virtues necessary for every profession such
  as justice, truthfulness, and courage
• Virtues essential for ethical practice in the
  current social context for parenting education

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Virtues Ethics (continued)

• Three essential virtues have emerged from MCFR
  discussions with practitioners
• Caring A disposition to enhance the welfare of
  family members as agents in their own lives
• Prudence/Practical Wisdom The ability to
  understand competing needs and decisions based on
  reflection and consultation
• Hope/Optimism A disposition to look at the
  strengths of family members and other individuals
  and to see positive potential in all situations
  related to family life.

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Strengths of Multi-Perspective Approach

• A balance between the dynamic nature of
  relationships and the more static nature of
  principles
• A balance between the individual in the context
  of a relationship and the group in thoughtful
  reflection of important principles
• A balance between wisdom of the past, learnings
  of the present, and striving to be good in the
  future

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Principles of Relational Ethics

• The parenting educators relationship with
  individual family members, peers, the community
  is both the context the point of contact for
  our ethical thinking actions.
• Parenting educators bear the primary
  responsibility to initiate a relationship built
  on trust, caring, understanding.
• All relationships have predictable stages of
  development.

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Principles of Relational Ethics (continued)

• Parenting educators will bring a knowledge base
  of general principles about children youth,
  parenting, family community systems to share
  with family members.
• Parenting educators will set boundaries on their
  relationships with family members be
  responsible for potential negative influences of
  caretaking beyond these limits.

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Ethical Principles for Parenting Educators

• Relationships with Parents Families
• Relationships with Children Youth
• Relationships with Colleagues the Profession
• Relationship with Community/Society

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Examination of Ethical Dilemmas through Case
Studies Step 1.

• Step 1. Identification of Relationships
• Identify important relationships in the situation
  using the educator role as the primary focal
  point.
• a. What is the relational field what are all
  potential relationships in the case?
• b. What is the primary caring relationship the
  educator needs to address in this case?
  (Examples educator to family member, educator to
  group, educator to another staff person)
• c. What do we know about this relationship
  quality, stage of development, etc.?

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Examination of Ethical Dilemmas through Case
Studies Step 2.

• Step 2. Application of Principles
• Look over the list of principles to identify
  those that apply to the important relationship(s)
  in this situation.
• Decide which principles may be relevant to
  guiding ethical behavior.
• Are there any additional principles that might
  apply?
• Which are the 3-4 most relevant principles? Why?
  
• (Spend some time alone to select principles
  before discussing in small group.)

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Examination of Ethical Dilemmas through Case
Studies Step 3.

• Step 3. Identification of Contradictions/Tensions
  
• What are some potential/actual contradictions or
  tensions among or between relevant principles?

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Examination of Ethical Dilemmas through Case
Studies Step 4.

• Step 4. Identification of Possible Solutions
• Brainstorm possible actions by the parenting
  educator keeping in mind the relationship(s),
  the relevant principles, and the virtues.

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Examination of Ethical Dilemmas through Case
Studies Step 5.

• Step 5. Selection of Actions
• Select one action or combination of actions to
  use that reflects adherence to the ethical
  principles. All of the principles are important
  and should be addressed in a thoughtful and
  respectful manner.

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Application How to use this approach . . .

• As part of parenting educator preparation in
  institutions of higher education and through
  other preparation systems
• As part of an orientation to a parenting
  education program/agency
• At parenting education program staff meetings to
  discuss specific ethical dilemmas
• As part of building awareness throughout an
  organization of the importance of ethical
  thinking underlying practice in parenting
  education
• Others?

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Return to your our own ethical dilemma . . .

• Is it a true ethical dilemma or just an issue
  related to skillful practice?
• If it is an ethical dilemma, can you see how you
  can apply the guidelines and process to selection
  of an action or actions to use that will help
  resolve the situation?

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References

• Alden, A., Cooke, B., Palm, G. (2009). Ethical
  thinking and practice for parent and family life
  educators. In D. J. Bredehoft M. J. Walcheski
  (Eds.), Family Life education Integrating theory
  and practice (pp. 233-239). Minneapolis, MN
  National Council on Family Relations.
• Doherty, W. J. (1992). Virtues ethics The person
  of the therapist. AFTA Newsletter, 19-21.
• Feeney, S. Kipnis, K. (1985). Public policy
  report Professional ethics in early childhood
  education. Young Children, 40(3), 54-58.
• Kipnis, K. (1987). How to discuss professional
  ethics. Young Children, 42(4), 26-30.
• Minnesota Council on Family Relations (2000).
  Ethical thinking and practice for parent and
  family educators. Minneapolis Minnesota Council
  on Family Relations.
• Radomski, M. A. (1986). Professionalization of
  early childhood education. Young Children, 41(5),
  20-23.
• Palm, G. (1994, Winter). Developing ethical
  guidelines for family educators. Views, 12-13.
• Palm, G. (2009). Professional ethics and
  practice. In D. J. Bredehoft M. J. Walcheski
  (Eds.), Family Life education Integrating theory
  and practice (pp. 191-197). Minneapolis, MN
  National Council on Family Relations.