Running Head: DECISIONS
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Personal Ethical Decision – Making
Amanda Baird
Virginia Commonwealth University
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Personal Ethical Decision – Making
Ethical decision – making plays a key role in personal and professional settings on a daily
basis. Individuals encounter these situations and make decisions, but probably rarely reflect on
why they make a specific choice. For the Spring 2013 semester, Educational Leadership
Doctoral candidates at Virginia Commonwealth University were taught several ethical theories
and perspectives. This not only expanded their knowledge of what theories exist and provided a
better understanding of why people make the decisions they do, but it also stressed the frequency
and importance of ethical decision – making in our lives. The following information is my own
reflection and ethical decision – making approach.
Preferred Philosophical Framework
A person who prefers the Altruistic philosophical framework works from a place of love.
Johnson (2012) describes Altruism as a love you neighbor ethical standard that includes the
characteristics of empathy, generosity and a concern for others (p. 170). An Altruist is more
likely to put the needs of other people before their own, often considering the physical and
emotional well-being of others a top priority.
My philosophical framework preference is Altruism. From a professional perspective, I
have always cared deeply for my students, treating them as if they were my own children when
they are in my classroom and their parents are not present to care for them.
There are several strengths and weaknesses that result from having an Altruistic
preference. The first strength is the ability to build solid relationships with other people. Due to
the fact that Altruists come from a place of love and concern for others, a lot of effort is put into
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building those relationships. This often results in establishing trust of those in need of help. For
example, I have always emphasized relationship building with my students. There have been
several rather challenging students who have had people, specifically other teachers, give up on
them in the past. I, however, refuse to stop caring, and have been successful in getting students
to work for me, take academics more seriously, and improve decision making skills. Another
strength of an Altruistic person is their concern for others. Because an Altruist is concerned for
the individual they are trying to help, they are more willing to put forth extra effort to make
something happen. Once they have made the commitment, an Altruist will help another person
until the goal is accomplished.
A major weakness of a person whose philosophical preference is Altruism is that they
tend to get too emotionally involved. It is easy for an Altruistic person to develop an attachment
to the person or cause they are trying to help. This can sometimes cloud the judgment of the
person trying to help, especially when that person envisions a specific outcome and a different
result takes place. If an individual gets too emotionally involved, specifically in a professional
setting, negative consequences can take place and have the potential to hurt the Altruistic person
who had the intention of helping.
Expected Ethical Issues
Currently, an ethical issue faced in the high school setting at Manassas City Public
Schools (MCPS) is that special education teachers don’t have to teach their roster students. At
the beginning of each school year, special education teachers are provided a roster of
approximately fifteen students that they are responsible for writing, and implementing their
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Individualized Education Plans (IEP). In most cases, the roster teacher does not have daily
interaction with the student, yet, they are responsible for making sure the IEP is followed. It is
common practice for roster teachers to only check-in on their students one to two times per
quarter. Without the daily interaction, it is very difficult to get to know the students and ensure
the students are receiving the appropriate services as described by their IEP.
Justice
From the ethic of justice perspective, the way the high school teachers work with their
roster students is wrong. Shapiro & Grossman (2008) describe the ethic of justice as a focus on
laws, policies and rights (p. 21). An IEP is a legally binding document, intended to help special
education students. It is the responsibility of the special education teacher to implement the IEP
and make sure everything written in the IEP is being done. However, if the roster teacher only
checks-in with the student a few times a year, it is difficult to determine if the needs of the
student are being met. This is different from the roster teacher who teaches a student for at least
one period per day. This is a rare situation at the high school, but in these cases, the roster
teacher can constantly monitor the student and make sure the IEP is being implemented.
Critique
The ethic of critique is centered on analyzing inequalities in social classes (Shapiro &
Grossman, 2008, p. 23). In the ethical issue described above, inequalities between roster
teachers, students and their parents are apparent. In most cases, the parent views the teacher as
the expert. They are trusting the school to take care of their child and take the necessary steps to
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meet their needs. If this issue is evaluated from a social class perspective where the roster
teacher represents a higher class as an expert and the parent represents a lower social class
because they do not share the same educational background for working with students with
special education needs, the parents are being deceived in IEP meetings when roster teachers
share information about a student that they have had limited contact with during the year.
Care
The ethic of care deals with the care of other people, and is associated with the concepts
of loyalty, trust and empowerment (Shapiro & Grossman, 2008, p. 26). Using the ethical issue
stated above, it appears the ethic of care is difficult to maintain between a roster teacher and an
IEP student if there is such limited contact throughout the school year. As students advance
from one grade to the next, they are supposed to gain more independence before they graduate.
It is part of the responsibility of the roster teacher to help empower the student with the skills
necessary to exit high school and learn to cope without the support of a special education
teacher. Empowering a student also presents as a difficult task if the teacher only meets with the
student for a few minutes at a time once per quarter.
Profession
In the ethic of the profession, the student becomes the center of the decision making
process, takes the standards of the profession into account, and considers the personal and
educational codes of leaders and educational organizations (Shapiro & Grossman, 2008, p. 7).
Ideally, at the high school level, the student should be involved in the IEP writing process. This,
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however, is not a common practice in the scenario mentioned above. Roster teachers typically
write the entire IEP with minimal input from other teachers or the student. In addition, IEP
meetings are often rushed, especially if the parent does not attend, emphasizing the importance
of getting through the meeting quickly instead of allowing the student to assist in making
decisions about their own IEP. This contradicts the ethics of profession if the intention is to
place the student at the center of decision making. Also, the standards of professionalism are
lowered when a primary concern of a meeting is to complete it as quickly as possible.
Decision-Making Model
Johnson (2012) presented four decision-making formats to assist individuals or groups in
the ethical decision-making processes (p. 246). Laura Nash’s 12 questions will be applied to the
ethical issue. Nash argued that these twelve questions could be useful to a discussion even if a
decision cannot be made (Johnson, 2012, p. 256). Using the twelve questions the special
education department, school administration and the Director of Special Education should meet
to discuss the issue of having limited access to teaching and working with roster students on a
regular basis. The group would attempt to answer each question in an effort to find an
alternative service option between special education teachers and roster teachers at the high
school. A disadvantage of this method is that it can be extremely time consuming (Johnson,
2012, p. 258). However, when weighed against the potential lawsuit that could result from
improperly servicing a student, the time spent on using Nash’s 12 questions could be beneficial
in the long run.
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Quality of Decisions
The lack of contact with roster students has bothered me since the beginning of the year.
I have tried to think of possible solutions and believe I have a decent solution that should be
offered to the group. This solution includes the placement of students with a roster teacher
according to their primary disability or diagnostic deficit. For example, students would first be
grouped by disability, like Learning Disability, Other Health Impairment, etc. Then, testing
results would be analyzed. A student with a deficit in mathematics would be assigned to the
math teacher as a roster teacher. The process would continue until all students were assigned a
roster teacher who would be responsible for teaching them at least one subject during the school
year.
This is only one possible solution to solve the ethical issue presented. It is possible that
an even better solution exists. If the special education department meets to discuss different
possibilities using Nash’s 12 questions, the discussion will not only maintain focus, but a
resolution to the issue can be made.
Reflection
I have confirmed how much I care for my students. In most cases, I can be very black
and white about a situation. Decisions are either right or wrong. However, when students
become part of that equation, I find my passion to protect them and make sure they are being
treated correctly increases. Students often lack the ability or knowledge to fight for their rights.
In these situations, I believe I act as their voice when witnessing an injustice.
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This semester has also reminded me of the daily ethical issues we encounter. My
awareness of ethical issues was enhanced because of the focus of the class. Reflecting, I believe
it is important to always consider ethics in my personal and professional life. When ethics
begins to be pushed aside or ignored, it becomes easier to act unethically. I do not believe I
would ever become this type of person, but I feel that it is important to maintain consciousness of
how ethical decision making plays a role in daily life to avoid going down the wrong path and to
serve as a model towards others.
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References
Johnson, C. E. (2012). Meeting the ethical challenges of leadership: Casting light or shadow (4th
ed.). Los Angeles, CA: SAGE.
Shapiro, J. P., & Gross, S. J. (2008). Ethical educational leadership in turbulent times:
(Re)solving moral dilemmas. New York, NY: Lawrence Erlbaum.