LA Parenting Education Network Pre-Conference Summit for Parenting Educators March 4, 2009 Betty Cooke, Ph.D. Family Education, Department of Curriculum & Instruction, College of Education & Human Development, University of Minnesota

 Participants will: 1. Understand the history & different approaches to moral discourse and ethical dialogue underlying the “Ethical Thinking and Practice for Parent and Family Educators” document 2. Become familiar with the “Ethical Guidelines for Parent and Family Educators” & a process for applying them to ethical dilemmas 3. Practice applying the guidelines & process to ethical dilemmas through case studies

 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?

 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.

 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.

 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.

 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.

 The Parent Education Ethics Committee of the Minnesota Council on Family Education (MCFR) was formed & began work in  Parenting educators were surveyed, & the committee consulted with ethics experts & reviewed literature on ethics in related fields.  The guidelines & virtues were inductively developed through a1 st round of workshops.  The case study process was developed and a 2 nd round of workshops was conducted to refine the guidelines & process.

 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.

 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.

 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.

 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

 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

 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

 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.

 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

 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.

 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

 The parenting educator’s 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.

 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.

1. Relationships with Parents and Families 2. Relationships with Children and Youth 3. Relationships with Colleagues and the Professions 4. Relationship with Community/Society

 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.?

 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.)

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

 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.

 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.

 At parenting education program staff meetings to discuss specific ethical dilemmas  As part of an orientation to a parenting education program/agency  As part of building awareness throughout an organization of the importance of ethical thinking underlying practice in parenting education  Others?

 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 ). Minneapolis, MN: National Council on Family Relations.  Doherty, W. J. (1992). Virtues ethics: The person of the therapist. AFTA Newsletter,  Feeney, S. & Kipnis, K. (1985). Public policy report: Professional ethics in early childhood education. Young Children, 40(3),  Kipnis, K. (1987). How to discuss professional ethics. Young Children, 42(4),  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),  Palm, G. (1994, Winter). Developing ethical guidelines for family educators. Views,  Palm, G. (2009). Professional ethics and practice. In D. J. Bredehoft & M. J. Walcheski (Eds.), Family Life education: Integrating theory and practice (pp ). Minneapolis, MN : National Council on Family Relations.