Applied ethics in adult and continuing education literature

Abstract

This chapter surveys the growing body of literature on ethics and adult education, makes some critical observations about efforts to increase ethical sensitivity among practitioners, and offers guidance in how to deal with ethical dilemmas.To someone who has been intrigued by the role of ethics in adult education for many years, it has been heartening to see how the field has responded to calls to address the ethical dimensions of practice. This response has taken many forms in the last twenty-five years, including explicit discussion of ethics in standard reference works (Lawson, 1996;Sork, 2005) and those dealing with philosophy and adult education (Elias and Merriam, 2005;Lawson, 1979), inclusion of ethics in specialized publications dealing with specific areas of practice such as administration (Galbraith, Sisco, and

The Ethics of Radical and Transformative Education

“…The discussion of ethics in the field of adult education is nothing new. (For an overview of the North American literature, see Sork, 2009; for the German discussion, see Schwendemann, 2018, pp. 89–103.)…”

“…Similarly, in the North American literature, Siegel (2000) recommends 10 principles as the basis of a universal code of ethics for adult education, three of which are particularly relevant here: (#2) Respect the ethno-socio-cultural heritage, special circumstances, and dignity as human beings of all adult learners; (#5) Respect … the need of each learner for honesty, understanding, and fairness; should respect the real or perceived disparity in position between educator and learner; and should respect the right of learners to participate in any solutions designed to meet their needs; (#9) Assist in empowering learners to participate actively and effectively to improve the general welfare of their immediate and global communities and to promote the concepts of a just and equitable society. (summarized by Sork, 2009, pp. 24–25) Educational practices typified in Baptiste's theory of coercive restraint stand opposed to all three of these principles.…”

“…(#9) Assist in empowering learners to participate actively and effectively to improve the general welfare of their immediate and global communities and to promote the concepts of a just and equitable society. (summarized by Sork, 2009, pp. 24–25)…”