An Archival Review of the National Code of Ethics for Medical Doctors, Lawyers and Mental Health Professionals as a Model for the Need and
Implementation of a National Code of Ethics for PreK-12 Educators and for the development of a Continuum of Responsibility across the Pre-Credential,
Credential and In-service Spectrum
Tonya Saheli, JD, MS
July 21, 2017
Objective
• To use four professional codes of ethics that as a model for a National Code of Ethics for K-12 Educators
• To use the four professional codes reviewed as a model develop a Continuum of Responsibility across the Pre-Credential, Credential and In-service Spectrum
Which Professor Codes Were Reviewed?
• National Professional Codes of Ethics for:
Lawyers (ABA)
Doctors (AMA)
Psychologists (APA)
Mental Health Professionals (ACA)
Why Were These Professions Chosen
• These Professions were chosen because there is an imbalance of power between the professionals in these professions and the populations served.
• This same power imbalance exists in the field of Pre-K-12 Education, where the educator is the one in power and the student is the weaker person in the relationship.
How Does Each Code Define Ethics
Each Code describes Ethics as a code of
conduct governing proper professional
behavior, which establishes the nature of
obligations owed to individuals and to society.
Format of the Codes
ABA-Code of
Ethics for
Lawyers
AMA-Code of
Ethics For
Medical
Doctors
APA-Code of
Ethics for
Psychologists
ACA-Code
of Ethics
for
Counselors
Divided into
8 sections
Divided into
10 sections
Divided into
10 sections
Divided into
9 Sections
Similar Trends in Each Code
• There are 4 Fundamental Ethical Principles in the discipline of Ethics:
• Principle of respect for autonomy
• Principle of nonmaleficence
• Principle of beneficence
• Principle of justice
• Each of the Professional Codes of Ethics Reviewed contained the 4 fundamental Ethical Principles above
The Need
In 2014 alone, there were 781 reported cases of teachers and other school employees accused or convicted of sexual relationships with students. Every week of 2014 has brought news of 15 young people, on average, who were sexually victimized by the educators entrusted with protecting them. That’s an abhorrent rate and a trend that deserves far more attention from school leaders and policy makers.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything
The Need
• On 6/19/15, NASDTEC published the MCEE (Model Code for Educator Ethics) and it has 5 categories but does only includes ¼ of the major ethical principles that are included in the 4 Professional Codes of Ethics reviewed in this study.
• The Code of Ethics for Lawyers, Medical Doctors, Psychologists and Counselors have been around for many years and this study found that because of this coupled with the fact that they all contain the 4 major ethical principles, the number of ethical claims brought annually are minimal when compared to that of ethical claims against educators.
• Thus, the 4 major ethical principles likely needs to be incorporated into the MCEE
The Need
Development of A Continuum of Responsibility
ABA-Code of
Ethics for
Lawyers
AMA-Code of
Ethics For
Medical Doctors
APA-Code of
Ethics for
Psychologists
ACA-Code of
Ethics for
Counselors
Professional
Responsibility Bar
Exam
Medical Ethics
Course
Completion
Requirement
Formal Ethics
Courses are
Required to be
Completed to
Renew License
Continual Legal
Education
Requiring certain
number of hours
of Ethics
Annually
Continual Legal
Education
Requiring certain
number of hours
of Ethics
Annually
Continual Legal
Education
Requiring certain
number of hours
of Ethics
Annually
Continual Legal
Education
Requiring certain
number of hours
of Ethics
Annually
Recommendations
• Develop the MCEE further to incorporate the
4 major principles of ethics as are included
in the 4 professional codes reviewed in this
study.
• Make an Ethics course or exam a requirement
for credentialing and connect it to the pre-
credentialing, credentialing and in-service
processes in Education.