Ethical And Reflective Practices Within The Early Childhood Center

For an early childhood teacher it’s important to aim for the continuing development of their teaching practice and to become a professional in their career. Teachers need to continue developing their practice since new ideas and research are being discovered, and early childhood education is continuously changing. This essay will focus on the key characteristics needed for early childhood teachers to become professionals. It will talk about two practices, reflective practices and ethical practices within the early childhood centre. Also, discussing different effective strategies that can be used to implement both ethical and reflective practices within the early childhood setting.

All teachers want to be classed as a good teacher. They want
The first practice which has a strong influence on these standards is ethical practice. Having good ethical behaviour should help early childhood professionals with any decision making within their teaching practice. “Ethical behaviour has to do with examining the ought, should, right, wrong, obligations, and responsibilities of community living and then acting accordingly” (Kosteinik, 2004, pg.34). Many factors influence a teacher’s decision involving children in their care. These factors include the children’s family values, culture, centre policies and the expectations from the surrounding community. According to O’Connor and Diggins (2002), the teacher’s role of being an educator can be helped by first reviewing their own personal beliefs and values. There are many strategies that can be used by teachers to implement ethical practices in the early childhood classroom. Modelling ethical behaviour in the classroom could be an effective strategy. Teachers can use their own actions and words, allowing them to model appropriate behaviours, and expectations for the children. Allowing the children the opportunity to learn how to behave ethically through observation (Kosteinik, 2004). Another strategy for ethical practice is the use of the ethics code. Teachers are able to gain an understanding of the code of ethics provided for the early childhood sector, and learn how to incorporate it into their own teaching practice. The Early Childhood Education Code of Ethics National Working Group (1996) states, “the code of ethics provides a set of shared values for all early childhood educators in Aotearoa/ New Zealand to abide by” (pg.9). As a result the code is able to be used as a guideline for teachers to follow and uphold a high standard of professional