Online research in philosophy

This article discusses ethical dilemmas in early childhood education as identified by kindergarten and elementary school teachers (N = 26). Ethical dilemmas are investigated in the theoretical framework of moral relevance and moral conflict (Wallace 1988). Professional ethics challenges teachers to collaborate with colleagues and parents. The empirical findings present conflicts between teachers and parents, collegial conflicts between teachers, and cultural conflicts in the community. The method used in the study is a relational reading of teachers' narratives. Interpretative accounts are (...) created to give room to different voices in teachers' written reports. The analysis of the data reveals that the ethical dilemmas in early childhood education are relational and deal with competing interpretations of "the best interest of the child". Relevance and conflict problems arise when people have to co-ordinate their actions with others. Most of the time, discussions have not produced the desired results. Ethical conflicts in teaching invite teachers to consider the moral relevance of each dilemma by taking the perspective of each party involved. (shrink)

This article discusses the importance of professional morality in teachers' everyday work at school. Different aspects of morality are explored in the framework of the ethos model identified by Fritz Oser. The empirical findings of the moral dilemmas identified by teachers and their solving strategies are explored using both qualitative and quantitative data-gathering methods. Special interest is shown in the principles in teachers' arguments justifying their actions. Teachers' reasoning in solving moral dilemmas is investigated with the help of field-invariant and (...) field-dependent arguments. The best interest of a child is found to be the field-invariant argument behind teachers' thinking in all the categories of moral dilemmas. In general, teachers prefer single-handed decision-making in solving professional dilemmas. The solving strategies are shown be very case specific. In the cases of harassment, teaching criticism and gender issues the teachers are shown to adopt discursive strategies more than in the other situations presented. (shrink)