Ethics in Practice

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These pages hold topics, threads, people or concepts that weave through many of the resources on this site. I developed the topics pages mostly for trainings as a resource. I hope they can be useful in your explorations. Many of these topics have other meanings in different settings or traditions. I offer these interpretations based on my experience only.

Ethics in Practice

Ethics in early childhood is not just about following rules or professional codes—it’s about the values that live in our daily choices. Every moment in an early childhood setting carries ethical weight: how we respond to conflict, how we use our voice, whose stories are told, and whose needs are prioritized.

In traditional contexts, ethics may be framed through codes of conduct, such as confidentiality, professionalism, or duty of care. But in relational, child-centered settings, ethics also includes emotional and pedagogical questions: Do I really see this child? Am I listening, or am I controlling? What assumptions are shaping my actions right now?

Ethics lives in tone and timing, in silence and response. It requires attention not only to what we do, but to how and why. It asks educators to be reflective, humble, and open to complexity.

How It’s Understood (and Used)

In early childhood education, ethical practice is often addressed through licensing standards, educator codes of ethics, or child protection frameworks. These are essential—but limited. They tend to focus on avoiding harm rather than cultivating justice, dignity, and mutual respect.

Philosophers of education like Nel Noddings and Maxine Greene invite us to see ethics not as a checklist, but as a way of being. Noddings speaks of an “ethic of care”—where relationships are central, and moral decisions are grounded in attentiveness and response. In Reggio Emilia, ethics is embedded in pedagogy: the way we speak to children, document their learning, and co-construct knowledge reflects our image of the child and the world we believe in.

Ethical practice also means naming power: Who makes decisions? Who gets interrupted? Whose behavior is framed as a problem? In recent years, anti-racist, decolonial, and queer theorists have expanded the conversation—reminding us that ethics is never neutral, and silence is not benign.

How It Relates to My Approach

Ethics is not an afterthought in my work—it’s the foundation. I don’t separate ethics from curriculum, or professionalism from presence. I ask: What kind of world does this moment create?

Whether in documentation, dialogue, or design, I try to hold relational ethics at the center. I’ve learned to pause before reacting, to reflect on how power moves through the room, and to value children’s perspectives even when they challenge mine. I’m also learning to stay with discomfort—because ethical practice often involves tension, uncertainty, and repair.

Ethics is not about being perfect. It’s about returning, again and again, to relationship—with children, with colleagues, with self, and with the values that guide us.

References

Noddings, N. (2013). Caring: A Relational Approach to Ethics and Moral Education
Greene, M. (1995). Releasing the Imagination
Rinaldi, C. (2006). In Dialogue with Reggio Emilia
Pacini-Ketchabaw, V., Nxumalo, F., et al. (2015). Journeys: Reconceptualizing Early Childhood Practices through Pedagogical Narration
Cannella, G. S. (1997). Deconstructing Early Childhood Education

Glossary

Ethic of Care – A framework that sees morality as grounded in relationships, responsiveness, and attentiveness to others' needs.
Pedagogical Presence – A way of being in the classroom that is attentive, responsive, and rooted in ethical awareness.
Power and Positioning – Terms used to examine how social and institutional power shape relationships and behaviors in classrooms.
Reflective Practice – A continual process of thinking critically about one’s actions, assumptions, and decisions, especially in relation to ethical dilemmas.
Pedagogical Documentation – When done ethically, this process honors children’s thinking without simplifying or misrepresenting their intentions.