Professional ethics in teacher preparation is an area that has received minimal attention in the special education literature. In this systematic review, 18 journals affiliated with the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) were examined for their coverage of professional ethics over a 30-year period (1988–2018). Results showed that an average of about two articles were published each year on professional ethics and that the majority of the articles were nonempirical academic papers. Only 14% of the articles referenced the CEC’s Code of Ethics and/or Standards for Professional Practice. More than 40% of the articles addressing professional ethics acknowledged ethical issues related to teacher preparation, yet there were no empirical studies conducted with preservice special education teachers. Future directions for research and practice are discussed.
AbleH.WestT. R.LimC. I. (2017). Ethical issues in early intervention: Voices from the field. Infants and Young Children, 30(3), 104–220. https://doi.org/10.1097/IYC.0000000000000098
2.
BerkeleyT. R.LudlowB. L. (2008). Ethical dilemmas in rural special education: A call for a conversation about the ethics of practice. Rural Special Education Quarterly, 27(1/2), 3–9. https://doi.org/10.1177/8756870508027001-202
3.
BonS. C.BigbeeA. J. (2011). Special education leadership: Integrating professional and personal codes of ethics to serve the best interests of the child. Journal of School Leadership, 21, 324–359. https://doi.org/10.1177/105268461102100302
4.
BullockJ. (2018). CEC needs assessment identified preferences in professional development. TEACHING Exceptional Children, 50(6), 396–398. https://doi.org/10.1177/0040059918776509
5.
CartledgeG.TillmanL. C.Talbert JohnsonC. (2001). Professional ethics within the context of student discipline and diversity. Teacher Education and Special Education, 24(1), 25–37. https://doi.org/10.1177/088840640102400105
6.
CombesB. H.PeakP. W.BarrioB. L.LindoE. J.HoveyK. A.LimO.Peterson-AhmadM.DorelT. G.GoranL. (2016). Revisiting principles of ethical practice using a case study framework. Intervention in School and Clinic, 52(2), 92–101. https://doi.org/10.1177/1053451216636061
7.
CottoneR. R. (2012). Ethical decision making in mental health contexts: Representative models and an organizational framework. In KnappS. J. (Ed.), APA handbook of ethics in psychology: Vol. 1. Moral foundations and common themes (pp. 99–121). American Psychological Association. https://doi.org/10.1037/13271-004
8.
Council for Exceptional Children. (2015). What every special educator must know: Professional ethics and standards (7th ed.).
DailorA. M.JacobS. (2011). Ethically challenging situations reported by school psychologists: Implications for training. Psychology in the Schools, 48, 619–631. https://doi.org/10.1002/pits.20574
11.
EcklesR. E.MeslinE. M.GaffneyM.HelftP. R. (2005). Medical ethics education: Where are we? Where should we be going? A review. Academic Medicine, 80(12), 1143–1152. https://doi.org/10.1097/00001888-200512000-00020
12.
Endrew v. Douglas County School District, 137 S. Ct. 988 (2017).
13.
FiedlerC. R.Van HarenB. (2009). A comparison of special education administrators’ and teachers’ knowledge and application of ethics and professional standards. The Journal of Special Education, 43(3), 160–173. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022466908319395
14.
FrickW. C.FairclothS. C.LittleK. S. (2012). Responding to the collective and individual “best interests of students”: Revisiting the tension between administrative practice and ethical imperatives in special education leadership. Educational Administration Quarterly, 49(2), 207–242. https://doi.org/10.1177/0013161x12463230
15.
GarciaJ. G.WinstonS. M.BorzuchowskaB.McGuire-KuletzM. (2004). Evaluating the integrative model of ethical decision-making. Rehabilitation Education, 18(3), 147–164.
GawthropJ. C.UhlemannM. R. (1992). Effects of the problem-solving approach in ethics training. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 23(1), 38–42. https://doi.org/10.1037/0735-7028.23.1.38
18.
GlanzerP. L.ReamT. C. (2007). Has teacher education missed out on the “ethics boom”? A comparative study of ethics requirements and courses in professional majors of Christian colleges and universities. Christian Higher Education, 6, 271–288. https://doi.org/10.1080/15363750701268277
HeltonG.RayB. (2009). Administrative pressure to practice unethically: Research and suggested strategies. Ethical Human Psychology and Psychiatry, 11(2), 112–119. https://doi.org//10.1891/1559-4343.11.2.112
22.
HeltonG.RayB.BiedermanM. D. (2000). Responses of school psychologists and special education teachers to administrative pressures to practice unethically: A national survey. Special Services in the Schools, 16(1/2), 111–134. https://doi.org/10.1300/j008v16n01_08
23.
HoweK. R.MiramontesO. B. (1991). A framework for ethical deliberation in special education. The Journal of Special Education, 25(1), 7–25. https://doi.org/10.1177/002246699102500102
24.
JacobS.DeckerD. M.LuggE. T. (2016). Ethics and law for school psychologists (7th ed.). John Wiley.
25.
KnappS. J.VandeCreekL. D.FingerhutR. (2017). Practical ethics for psychologists: A positive approach (3rd ed.). American Psychological Association. https://doi.org/10.1037/0000036-000
Krupnick FreemanN.BrownM. H. (1996). Ethics instruction for preservice teachers: How are we doing in ECE? The public’s & our profession’s growing concern with ethics. Journal of Early Childhood Teacher Education, 17(2), 5–18. https://doi.org/10.1080/1090102960170202
28.
LuskM. E.BullockL. M. (2013). Teachers of students with emotional and behavioral disorders’ perceptions of the importance of selected professional standards of practice. The Journal of Special Education Apprenticeship, 2(1), 1–11.
29.
MathurS. R.CorleyK. M. (2014). Bringing ethics into the classroom: Making a case for frameworks, multiple perspectives, and narrative sharing. International Education Studies, 7(9), 136–147. https://doi.org/10.5539/ies.v7n9p136
30.
MurrayF. R. (2005). Effective advocacy for students with emotional/behavioral disorders: How high the cost?Education and Treatment of Children, 28(4), 414–429.
RockS. L.GeigerW. L.HoodG. (1992). CEC’s standards for professional practice in advocacy: Members’ attitudes and activities. Exceptional Children, 58(6), 541–547.
33.
SmithS.Fryer-EdwardsK.DiekemaD. S.BraddockC. H. (2004). Finding effective strategies for teaching ethics: A comparison trial of two interventions. Academic Medicine, 79(3), 265–271. https://doi.org/10.1097/00001888-200403000-00015
34.
StewartS. R.GonzalezL. S. (2006). Instruction in professional issues using a cooperative learning, case study approach. Communication Disorders Quarterly, 27(3), 159–172. https://doi.org/10.1177/15257401060270030401
35.
StockallN.DennisL. R. (2015). Seven basic steps to solving ethical dilemmas in special education: A decision-making framework. Education and Treatment of Children, 38(3), 329–344. https://doi.org/10.1353/etc.2015.0015
36.
ThompsonP. A. (2017). Effective leadership competencies of school-based special education administrators. Journal of Special Education Leadership, 30(1), 31–47.
37.
TryonG. S. (2001). School psychology students’ beliefs about their preparation and concern with ethical issues. Ethics and Behavior, 11(4), 375–394. https://doi.org/10.1207/S15327019EB1104_02
38.
TurnbullH. R.TurnbullA. P.CooperD. H. (2018). The Supreme Court, “Endrew,” and the appropriate education of students with disabilities. Exceptional Children, 84(2), 124–140. https://doi.org/10.1177/0014402917734150
39.
WarnickB. R.SilvermanS. K. (2011). A framework for professional ethics courses in teacher education. Journal of Teacher Education, 62(3), 273–285. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022487110398002
40.
WoolfS. B. (2015). Special education professional standards: How important are they in the context of teacher performance evaluation. Teacher Education and Special Education, 38(4), 276–290. https://doi.org/10.1177/0888406414557284
Supplementary Material
Please find the following supplemental material available below.
For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.
For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.
