Ethical Obligations of Special Services Personnel

Abstract

Although there is increased lip-service paid to the need for educators to behave ethically, special services personnel are aware of many situations in which their colleagues or supervisors show little awareness of ethical principles. In this article, we address this issue from a variety of perspectives. First, we discuss the relationship between professional ethics and the broader concept of "professionalism." and discuss some of the reasons why education has not reached the level of commitment to ethics training and enforcement that is found in more mature vrofessions. Second, we present a list of ethical principles that appear to have universal applicability across professions and illustrate some of he ways in which special services personnel sometimes violate these principles. Third. we discuss some of the reasons why ethical violations occur and what might be done to address this problem. Particular explanatory attention is paid to the interdisciplinary and hierarchical/bureaucratic nature of school settings, and the tendency of administrators to emphasize the primacy of perceived organizational needs. Among the suggestions made is the call for educational agencies at all levels to develop their own detailed ethical codes and casebooks and to establish interdisciplinary ethics committees that will provide training, consultation and complaint resolution.