A Survey of Teacher Ethics and Behaviour in Special Education

Authors

  • Kevin Callahan
  • Frankie Norris
  • Deanna Bridges

Keywords:

Ethics, Special Education, Teacher Training, Professional Standards, S.E.T., Special Education Teachers, Training Institutions, Professional Ethics

Abstract

This survey pilot study investigated the extent to which ethics may be a problem in the field of special education, the extent to which special educators believe ethics is important as a topic of teacher training, and the extent to which violations of ethics and professional standards occur in classrooms for students with exceptional needs. Results indicate that special education teachers believe ethics may be a serious problem in the profession and that ethics is an important topic for training. Ethical violations may be occurring at problematic levels in several key areas of special education service delivery. A renewed commitment by special educators and training institutions to high levels of personal and professional ethics is needed. 

References

Bateman, B. (1982). Legal and ethical dilemmas of special education. Exceptional Education Quarterly, 2 (4), 57-67.

Birch, J.W., & Reynolds, M.C. (1982). Special education as a profession. Exceptional Education Quarterly, 2 (1), 1-13. Borg, W.R., & Gall, M.D. (1989). Educational research: An introduction (5th ed.).

White Plains, NY: Longman. Cobb, H.B., & Horn, C.J. (1989). Implementation of professional standards in special education: A national study. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 344 379).

Conner, F.P. (1997). Setting and meeting standards in special education. Teaching Exceptional Children, 29 (5), 27-33. Council for Exceptional Children (1983). Code of ethics and standards for professional practice. Exceptional Children, 50, 205-209.

Council for Exceptional Children (1996). What every special educator must know: The international standards for the preparation and certification of special education teachers (2nd ed.). Reston, VA: Author.

Gable, R.A., Arllen, N.L., & Cook, L. (1993). But let's not overlook the ethics of collaboration. Preventing School Failure, 37 (4), 32-36.

Heller, H., & Ridenhour, N. (1983). Professional standards: Foundation for the future. Exceptional Children, 49, 294-298.

Howe, K.R., & Miramontes, O.B. (1991). A framework for ethical deliberation in special education. The Journal of Special Education, 25, 7-25. Howe, K.R., & Miramontes, O.B. (1992). The ethics of special education. New York: Teachers College Press.

Kauffman, J.M. (1999). Today's special education and its messages for tomorrow. The Journal of Special Education, 32, 244-254.

Scheuermann, B., & Evans, W. (1997). Hippocrates was right: Do no harm. Ethics in the selection of interventions. Beyond Behavior, 8 (3), 18-22.

Stephens, T.M. (1985). Personal behavior and professional ethics: Implications for special educators. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 18, 187-192.

Swan, W.W., & Sirvis, B. (1992). The CEC common core of knowledge and skills essential for all beginning special education teachers. Teaching Exceptional Children, 25 (1), 16-20.

Downloads

Published

1999-11-11

How to Cite

Callahan, K., Norris, F., & Bridges, D. (1999). A Survey of Teacher Ethics and Behaviour in Special Education . REACH: Journal of Inclusive Education in Ireland, 13(1), 47–58. Retrieved from https://reachjournal.ie/index.php/reach/article/view/344

Issue

Vol. 13 No. 1 (1999)

Section

Articles

License

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Copyright Notice

Authors contributing to REACH: Journal of Inclusive Education in Ireland retain the copyright of their article and at the same time agree to publish their articles under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution- NonCommercial- NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0) License allowing third parties to share, copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format under the following terms:  

  • Attribution (BY): You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use.
  • NonCommercial (NC): You may not use the material for commercial purposes.
  • NoDerivatives (ND): If you remix, transform, or build upon the material, you may not distribute the modified material.

Learn more about Creative Commons  licensing.

Most read articles by the same author(s)