Position Statement: Ethical Practice Field Review Survey

In the fall of 2020, the DEC Personnel Preparation Committee was charged with deciding what to do with the current DEC Member Code of Ethics - do we (1) stamp it with a new date, (2) provide minor updates, or (3) provide substantive updates requiring a full workgroup as well as stakeholder and field reviews, etc. The small group of Personnel Preparation Committee members identified to tackle this discussion determined that a major rewrite and update was crucial – so, we chose option #3.

The draft Position Statement on Ethical Practice that you are about to review and provide feedback on is the product of many months of work from an amazing workgroup of DEC members who are practitioners, program and state administrators, and higher education faculty involved in research and personnel preparation. Additionally, a stakeholder group has reviewed and provided feedback leading to the current draft of the Position Statement.

You will note as you review the Position Statement on Ethical Practice that the document has been divided into sections addressing the professional roles for those who are involved with personnel preparation, professional development, practice in the field of early intervention/early childhood special education, and research. Additionally, the following themes are addressed for each professional role: (1) advancing equity and inclusion; (2) using best available evidence to make decisions; (3) collaborating with families and other professionals; (4) following relevant policies; and (5) engaging in ongoing learning and reflection. The reader will find some intentional repetition throughout to ensure each theme is fully addressed with each professional role.

This field review will continue to improve this paper and we, the Position Statement Workgroup, thank you in advance for your review and feedback!

Hailey Love and Megan Purcell, Co-Chairs

Download the draft position statement here.

I primarily think of myself as a (mark all that apply):

Please rate how well the revised Ethics Position Statement accomplished the following goals. We would appreciate written comments as well.

You may skip any question you do not wish to answer.

1. How well does the position statement provide information about engaging in ethical practice?

	1	2	3	4	5

1 is Not Well, 5 is Very Well

If you have additional thoughts or suggestions about how well the position statement provides information about engaging in ethical practice, please provide them here. We would particularly appreciate written comments if you scored this item a 1, 2 or 3.

2. Can you apply what you read here, irrespective of your role?

	1	2	3	4	5

1 is Not Well, 5 is Very Well

If you have additional thoughts or suggestions about applying what is in this position statement, please provide them here. We would particularly appreciate written comments if you scored this item a 1, 2, or 3.

3. How well does this position statement provide information about ethical practice that is applicable across child age ranges (infancy, toddlerhood, preschool, AND early elementary)?

	1	2	3	4	5

1 is Not Well, 5 is Very Well

If you have additional thoughts or suggestions about how well ethical practice is addressed across age ranges, please provide them here. We would particularly appreciate written comments if you scored this item a 1, 2 or 3.

4. How well does this position statement provide information about ethical practice that is applicable across professional roles and service settings?

	1	2	3	4	5

1 is Not Well, 5 is Very Well

If you have additional thoughts or suggestions about how well ethical practice is addressed across professional roles and service settings, please provide them here. We would particularly appreciate written comments if you scored this item a 1, 2, or 3.

5. How realistic (given time, policy, or resource constraints) would it be for you to implement the guidelines provided in this position statement in your classroom, program, and/or institution?

	1	2	3	4	5

1 is Not Well, 5 is Very Well

If you have additional thoughts or suggestions about how realistic it would be for you to implement the guidelines provided in this position statement, please provide them here. We would particularly appreciate written comments if you scored this item a 1, 2, or 3.

6. How well do you feel the guidelines for ethical practice provided in this position statement adhere to recommended practices for working with young children who have or are at-risk for developmental delays and disabilities and their families?

	1	2	3	4	5

1 is Not Well, 5 is Very Well

If you have additional thoughts or suggestions about how well the guidelines for ethical practice provided in this position statement adhere to recommended practices, please provide them here. We would particularly appreciate written comments if you scored this item a 1, 2, or 3.

7. How well do you feel the guidelines for ethical practice for PRACTITIONERS reflect current field expectations?

	1	2	3	4	5

1 is Not Well, 5 is Very Well

If you have additional thoughts or suggestions about the guidelines for ethical practice for PRACTITIONERS, please provide them here. We would particularly appreciate written comments if you scored this item a 1, 2, or 3.

8. How well do you feel the guidelines for ethical practice for PROFESSIONALS WHO PROVIDE PRE-SERVICE PREPARATION reflect current field expectations?

	1	2	3	4	5

1 is Not Well, 5 is Very Well

If you have additional thoughts or suggestions about the guidelines for ethical practice for professionals who provide pre-service preparation, please provide them here. We would particularly appreciate written comments if you scored this item a 1, 2, or 3.

9. How well do you feel the guidelines for ethical practice for PROFESSIONALS WHO PROVIDE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT reflect current field expectations?

	1	2	3	4	5

1 is Not Well, 5 is Very Well

If you have additional thoughts or suggestions about the guidelines for ethical practice for professionals who provide professional development, please provide them here. We would particularly appreciate written comments if you scored this item a 1, 2, or 3.

10. How well do you feel the guidelines for ethical practice for RESEARCHERS reflect current field expectations?

	1	2	3	4	5

1 is Not Well, 5 is Very Well

If you have additional thoughts or suggestions about the guidelines for ethical practice for researchers, please provide them here. We would particularly appreciate written comments if you scored this item a 1, 2, or 3.

The position statement is organized around the themes of equity and inclusion, collaboration, use of best available evidence, following relevant policies, and engaging in ongoing learning and reflection.

11. How well do you feel the themes are reflected across the statement?

	1	2	3	4	5

1 is Not Well, 5 is Very Well

Please provide comments on any themes you feel are not adequately represented.

Are there any themes missing that need to be infused?

If you have additional thoughts or suggestions about the themes presented in this position statement, please provide them here. We would particularly appreciate written comments if you scored this item a 1, 2, or 3.

12. How well do you feel the position statement is organized?

	1	2	3	4	5

1 is Not Well - the position statement is hard to follow, 5 is Very Well - the position statement is well organized and easy to follow

If you have additional thoughts or suggestions about the organization of this position statement, please provide them here. We would particularly appreciate written comments if you scored this item a 1, 2, or 3.

Please provide any additional feedback on the position statement that has not been addressed in this survey.

We greatly appreciate the time you have taken reviewing the Position Statement on Ethical Practice and completing this feedback survey. If you have additional thoughts, questions, suggestions, etc., please feel free to communicate with the co-chairs of the workgroup; Hailey Love at hailey.love@wisc.edu and Megan Purcell at meganpurcell@purdue.edu

Again, we thank you for your time and responses!