Applied Ethics as a Foundation in Early Childhood Teacher Education: Exploring the Connections and Possibilities

Abstract

This project explores how one early childhood preparation program integrated applied ethics in introductory coursework. Recognizing that students enter teacher education with well-formed values and beliefs regarding children and teaching, carefully planned learning experience and encounters in real life learning contexts expand their understanding of the complexity of ethical decisionmaking in early care and education programs. This project documents students' perspectives toward their role as meaning-makers through the analysis of assignments intended to promote reflection on values. As students engage with course content and gain practical experience, their knowledge and beliefs regarding teaching evolve together demonstrating the power of ethical thinking in enhancing early childhood teacher education. The findings indicate that students draw on their image of children, social justice, and self-awareness in their development of a professional ethical identity.

Self-values of pre-school teachers working in Turkish public schools

“…To support children in attaining a healthy personality development and in order for pre-school teachers to become aware of such fundamental values as affection, respect, tolerance, peace, cooperation, sharing, solidarity, creativity, justice, equality, responsibility and aesthetics, and in order to instil those values in those children through activities, the teachers should be offered theoretical and applied education in the form of preservice and in-service training in values education jointly by the Ministry of Education and by universities (Dunn, 2003;Giovacco-Johnson, 2011;Suh and Traiger, 1999). Thus, their interaction and professional development may be assured.…”

Discovering Pedagogical Influences: the Impact of Ethnicity and Gender Representation in Early Childhood Education

“…In the end, early children educators can prepare future teachers with enlightened and critical discussions about race and gender issues in the classroom. By doing so, teachers can begin to understand how power and privilege, media and social influence of equal representations can infiltrate early childhood classrooms thus enabling them to promote positive images in society (Doucet & Keys Adair, 2013;Giovacco-Johnson, 2011;Husband, 2012;Maher, Herbst, Childs, & Finn, 2008). We answered this call for critical interactions and preparation with a course project that increased awareness and offered opportunity to transcend previous ideas of race and gender equity.…”

Juicio profesional docente ante dilemas éticos escolares

“…Luego, se genera una preocupación en el ámbito de la formación docente al advertir que dicho auge de la ética no parece haber llegado a esos programas y la inquietud se agrava al considerar que la calidad de la docencia se encuentra íntimamente relacionada con las creencias, los valores y la ética profesional de quienes la ejercen (Boon, 2011;Boon & Maxwell, 2016). En años recientes, varios estudios sostienen la necesidad de incluir la educación ética en la preparación de los docentes a partir de la detección de su ausencia o poca presencia en los programas de formación y capacitación (Back, Clarke, & Phelan, 2018;Giovacco-Johnson, 2011;Orchard, Heilbronn, & Winstanley, 2016;Sanger & Osguthorpe, 2013).…”