Early Education Codes of Ethics
This week’s assignment from class is
to pick three items described in the code of ethics of two professional
organizations, the NAEYC and DEC. It is difficult to pick only three since each
of the ideals and principle outlined are thoughts that any reputable
participant in early childhood education would heartily agree with. One of the
principles of the NAEYC code of ethics reads “Above all, we shall not harm children. We shall not participate
in practices that are emotionally damaging, physically harmful, disrespectful,
degrading, dangerous, exploitative, or intimidating to children. This principle has precedence over all others in this Code.” This particular principle reminded me
of the Hypocratic oath that doctors take. As I have educated children over the
past 30+ years, I believe that I have followed this principle in my classroom.
Although I have never been one to jump on a new bandwagon right away, I have
also chosen not to participate in practices that I believe would be detrimental
to the children in my class.
The second principle that I
chose also came from NAEYC, but is in reference to families rather than
children. This principle states “We shall inform families about the nature and purpose of the
program’s child assessments and how data about their child will be used.” This is
an important principle for two reasons; first of all, this communication is
necessary in order to alleviate fears that parents may have regarding
assessments. Parents are frequently worried about how their child is developing
– are they normal, are they behind, etc. When they discover that assessments
are being done, it can exascerbate these anxieties. By communicating with the
parents, we can make sure they understand the scope of the assessments as well
as their purpose.
The third principle I chose comes from DEC;
it states “We
shall empower families with information and resources so that they are informed
consumers of services for their children.” This principle goes hand in hand
with the previous principle from NAEYC. It is important not only for us to
communicate with the parents about their child’s assessments and how they will
be used, but we also need to be able to connect them with necessary resources.
These resources could be needed for financial assistance, housing, health care
issues, or intervention services. If we do not have the answers they are
seeking, we need to know where to direct them to find those answers.
