Special Education Lecture Notes
Ensuring Ethical Practices in the Delivery of Positive Behavior Introduction Ethics refers to questions of right and wrong. Ethical professional conduct within the field of education ultimately relates to the potential to cause harm (or benefit) to the student. Ethical conduct requires that the practitioner stay within the bounds of the ethical procedures developed for the discipline that the individual is practicing.
Ethical conduct standards are based in common sense (in regards to potential harm to individuals/student) as well as cumulative knowledge, formalized as codes and standards developed by professional groups within the field that is not always obvious as a potential cause/source of harm. This information describes the ethical standards of conduct, elaborated as general themes, as they relate to behavior interventions. The Nine Organizing Themes for Understanding Ethical Practices Several professional fields have codes of ethics related to conduct with children who have behavioral needs.
In addition, there is still debate regarding how to influence the behavior of children, but Figure 3-1 of textbook (Wheeler & Rickey, 2009), summarizes the key elements that underpin ethical practice in the field of behavior management. The nine themes in Figure 3-1 are probably more powerful than reading codes of ethics because they strike at the essential core of what is really required to prevent harm and to foster positive outcome for students.
It is important to internalize these themes because the understanding of these themes provides an excellent guide toward the right action in most situations involving maladaptive behavior as well as in the design of behavior plans. Behavior Interventions and Ethical Standards of Conduct Positive Behavior Supports (PBS) is very consistent with the ethical themes described in Figure 3-1 in the textbook (Wheeler & Rickey, 2009). Note the consistencies of PBS in relationship to several of the nine themes of ethics. The Functional Behavior Assessment (FBA) is a tool for determining the functional need of a behavior.
PBS is proactive in the thoughtful design of behavioral environments and specifically considers the uniqueness of the individual. This includes planning with child and family involvement, including family cultural values. PBS strives to maintain student success in the most inclusive (and natural) setting possible, where the school maintains the responsibility for creating the environment for success. PBS is concerned about future independence for the student, with efforts to maintain natural consequences, as they are more relevant than artificial reward systems.
PBS is concerned with using positive interventions realizing that punishment does little to teach adaptive or pro-social behavior. Finally, PBS is concerned about quality of life for the student. To this end, there is also an attempt to develop student skills and attitudes that will enhance their future adaptability to life. In other words, ideally behavior change should be durable and lasting as well as socially significant. It should have relevance across the natural settings students will encounter. Professional Organizations’ Standards for Ethical Practice
Professional groups develop ethical codes to guide the practitioners in their discipline/ field but also to reflect the group’s values and mission. As such, each organization has some distinct values that they emphasize. The National Education Association (NEA) is committed to the advancing the cause of public education. This theme is reflected in an emphasis on the magnitude of responsibility inherent in the profession of teaching, particularly the obligation teachers have toward their students. Much of the NEA ethical code specifies proper teacher-student conduct.
The Learning First Alliance (LFA) has the mission of improving learning for students, particularly in relationship to academic achievement. The desired outcomes are broad-based and as such, there is an emphasis on fostering school environments that are safe and supportive of learning, including a systematic approach to supporting positive behavior. The Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) is the organization charged with improving the educational outcome for individuals with exceptionalities/disabilities. The CEC code of ethics is specific to special education professionals.
The Council for Children With Behavior Disorders (CCBD) is the largest division of the CEC and focuses on children/youth with behavioral and emotional problems. All the above organizations support, in some general fashion, systematic approaches to maintaining positive behavior and fostering quality of life potential for students. Conclusion Educational professional organizations have their own ethical codes and standards specific to their targeted aims, but an analysis of each organization reveals that all of them hold core values described within the nine themes discussed above.
As can be seen from the codes, standards, and principles of the various educational organizations, behavior and discipline are a significant focus of ethical concern, from the level of the individual student to the level of school-wide discipline. As ethics fundamentally relates to whether professional intervention causes harm or benefit to the student, there is also the critical need to evaluate treatment methods for efficacy (effectiveness).
Evidence-based treatment should be the goal of behavior therapy whenever possible. It is an ethical obligation of educators to be cognizant of the optimum methods for intervention as well as to maintain a level of training to implement the intervention with fidelity (ensuring strategies are implemented as intended). References Wheeler, J. , & Rickey, D. (2009). Behavior management: Principles and Practices of Positive Behavior Supports (2nd ed. ). Columbus, OH. © 2010. Grand Canyon University. All Rights Reserved.
