Hello everyone!
Today we wanted to briefly discuss ethics, and how school counselors can incorporate ethics into their role. Legally, school counselors, and the state of California are required to follow all educational laws. Although, school counselors will encounter situations that go beyond what the law entails.
Before we go any further, we want to introduce two definitions of ethics, by two people who are well known in the school counseling world.
Ethics are:
“Agreed upon values governing our conduct” (Stone, 2017).
“Conduct judged as good or right for counselors; professional behavior and interactions” (Remley, 2016).
These definitions can be interpreted in several different ways, but the similarities lie in using values or what we perceive as right to guide our behavior.
To be able to know or determine what is the right or ethical, we as school counselors need a framework to fall back on. That is where resources such as American Counseling Association (ACA) Code of Ethics(2014) and American School Counselor Association (ASCA) Ethical Standards for School Counselors(2016) come in. Both of these ethical codes allow school counselors to be aware of their obligations and duties as school counselors. We look at them as the ‘guiding light’ of the school counselor world; they can never lead you astray.
Both ethical codes touch on advocacy, distance counseling, emphasis on informed consent, appropriate confidentiality, social media, avoiding harm or imposing values, and resolving ethical dilemmas. Also, all of these topics are addressed within the context of counseling.
Most likely, additional support will be required outside of the ethical codes. Plus, the more resources and guidance you have as a school counselor the better! Two great ethical decision-making models are Solutions to Ethical Problems in Schools (STEPS; 2001) and the Intercultural Model of Ethical Decision-Making. Both of these provide steps a school counselor should take when experiencing an ethical problem. Hopefully there is time to use one of these models, but in preparation, the more you study these models and use them when possible, you will begin to be able to do follow these steps more naturally.
STEPS is aimed specifically at school counselors and is a great way to begin practicing ethically when you encounter an ethical issue at your school site. There are eight steps to follow, that at first may seem long or tedious, but are necessary and truly provide you with a sound ethical decision.
Solutions to Ethical Problems in Schools (STEPS; 2001):
1. Define your problem both emotionally and intellectually. This means thinking about or writing down (highly suggested when first using STEPS) what you naturally felt when you first were exposed to the ethical issue. You would then think about or write down the situation in a more logical manner.
2. Next, it is asked that you look at the ASCA Ethical Standards for School Counselors and see if anything relates to your issue. You will also do the same thing with California laws.
3. Following that, you would want to take into consideration the student’s age and developmental level (e.g. if a student is 13 years old it is normal for them to try to fit in with friends).
4. A school counselor would also want to think about the circumstances/setting, what are the parent’s rights and what are the student’s rights.
5. Next, you would apply the ethical principles of beneficence, autonomy, nonmaleficence, loyalty and justice.
6. Then, examining your different options and their outcomes would come next.
7. Consulting with colleges, former professors from your program, or a mentor would also be necessary.
8. Lastly, you would follow through on your chosen course of action.
Of course, throughout all of this you would want to always factor in and prepare yourself for opposing arguments. Furthermore, collaborating and communication with your administration in order to get their support is always great. Just a side note, you might find that in order to act ethically you might have to defend your view against your administration. In that case, laying out these ethical steps would be a perfect way to defend yourself.
Now, you might be wondering what step five is even talking about. That’s okay because we are about to explain it! Step five is talking about Kitchener’s Five Moral Principles:
1.Respect for autonomy (honoring freedom of choice)
2.Nonmaleficence (doing no harm)
3.Beneficence (being helpful)
4.Justice (fairness)
5.Fidelity (being faithful)
6.Veracity (being honest)
These factor in more of the moral side of ethical decision making. Depending on the ethical dilemma, one principle might take precedent over another or they might even conflict with one another. That is why this works so well within STEPS because, it allows you the opportunity to examine the situation as a whole.
Another small thing you can do to apply ethics as a school counselor is to do a ‘self-test’. An example of this is asking yourself the question, “Are you willing to have your actions come to light and be known by others?” Another self-test question is asking yourself “Would I treat others the same in this situation?” This is my favorite self-test because it is using justice and empathy to test ethics.
We want to end this post with reminding everyone the power we have as educators to ensure that our students are receiving the optimal support and are able to feel safe enough to grow academically, social, and emotionally.
P.S. you can find the steps for the Intercultural Model of Ethical Decision-Making on our resources page.
- Counselor's Circle
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