EDF3038

ASSIGNMENT 1:

A Case Study Analysis: Educators with

Disabilities in Primary School Setting.

Asha Lloyd
Student I.D. 23245059

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INTRODUCTION
Being considered a professional means to be trusted, validated, and important, whilst the
notion of being ethical is to consider areas such as rights, fairness, and equality (Duhn, 2011;
Rodd, 2013). When professionalism and ethical considerations are put together, it leads to a
conscientious educator who is trusted and valued for their opinions, decisions and actions.
Therefore, is it important for professional educators to be aware of authorised documents such as
policy documents, code of ethics, and educational frameworks to add weight and credibility to
their decisions. In this case study analysis, I will be discussing a case that I have experienced
whilst in a primary school setting that I viewed as an important ethical decision for the educator,
Jennifer. I will then be exploring the ethical considerations of all people involved, including the
children and educators, to determine an appropriate outcome for the decision to be made. Lastly, I
will be suggesting an outcome for the situation and any further actions that could be performed to
ensure the decision is professional and ethical.
CASE STUDY
It was a sunny afternoon at Eden Park Rise Primary as Jennifer, the outside school hours
care (OSHC) coordinator was setting up for a busy afternoon with around 35 children booked in to
the service on that day. The program at Eden Park Rise Primary OSHC has been carefully
developed and maintained by Jennifer in alliance with the interests and needs of the children, the
families, the school and the community. The children at this service had all come from rural
backgrounds in which they spent majority of their childhoods outdoors exploring and
experimenting with whatever they could get their hands on. The school very much fostered
independence and encouraged children to be their own person and pursue their own interests
whenever they desired. Similarly, the community and the families we all close knit and shared
similar values and beliefs on education and bringing up children.
Jennifer was very weary of any assistants who turned up to work in the service across the
afternoon as they had to fit in to the program, with the children, and share similar interests and
intentions as Jennifer for the afternoon to run smoothly. On this particular day, an assistant had
been organised to cover the afternoon shift called Michael, whom was in a wheelchair and
experienced mild cerebral palsy. Jennifer didnt know much about Michael, only that he was
working towards completing a Certificate 3 in Childrens Services. The afternoon came and the
children ran into after school excited to be at OSHC as they do everyday, only to be greeted by
Michael who was sitting by the door telling them to be quiet and harshly demanding they sat down
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in silence. The children immediately felt uncomfortable and rattled as this was not usually the case
when they arrived at OSHC, thus a few of the children started expressing negative behaviour
patterns. Michael was particularly inappropriate towards Barry, who has been diagnosed with
trauma and therefore had behavioural problems and did not conduct himself well in the educational
setting when he felt under stress. Throughout the afternoon, Michael continued to stir Barry with
inappropriate comments and actions that made Barry feel out of control of his feelings and run
away from the OSHC room. Jennifer faced an ethical dilemma as she knew it was beneficial for
the children to have Michael around considering he was in a wheel chair and offered new
perspectives, however she was concerned about the welfare of Barry being around Michael when
they did not get along.
ETHICAL CONSIDERATION OF MICHAEL
There are certain ethical considerations that can be addressed regarding Michael and his
future participation and employment at the Eden Park Rise Primary OSHC. In particular, the idea
of Michael being in a wheel chair and the idea of focussing on the code of conduct areas and
teaching standards that Michael has breached. It could be said that people with disabilities in the
workplace can be discriminated against as there is an unemployment rate for 15-64 year olds of
46% (Australian Bureau of Statistics [ABS], 2012). Unemployment of people with disabilities can
be explained by having difficulty securing a job or lacking the skills and knowledge necessary
(ABS, 2012). In Australia, it is against the law to be discriminative towards people with
disabilities, however there are some exemptions to this; including if one could not adequately
perform a job even if an employer had made reasonable adjustments to the workplace or work
situation and if there is a real risk to [peoples] health, safety, or property and discriminatory
measures are needed to protect [them] (Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights
Commission [VEOHRC], 2014, p. 1). Michael could be exempt from the discrimination against
disability law if he continues to mistreat Barry after Jennifer provides strategies for him to improve
their relationship, or continues to speak harshly to the other children and frighten them, all of
which relate to teaching standards and codes of conduct that have been breached. Teaching
standard 4.3 states that to be at a proficient level one must manage challenging behaviour by
establishing and negotiating clear expectations with students and address discipline issues
promptly, fairly and respectfully (Australian Institute of Teaching and School Leadership [AISL],
2011). Michael has breached this standard through applying ineffective methods to deal with
Barrys behaviour and outbursts, as well as talking to the children harshly instead of politely
requesting they follow certain actions. This could cause Michael to be excused from being
discriminated against as he is risking the childrens mental wellbeing and safety, as well as not
performing his job adequately. Jennifer could use these policy documents and laws to guide her
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through the ethical decision of whether she should prevent Michael from participating and working
at the service in future, as it confirms that she is not being discriminative and provides her with
authorised information that can support her decision. Another ethical consideration that Jennifer
has to take into account further is the health and wellbeing of the children, which will also
determine the outcome of the ethical decision she has to make regarding Michaels future
employment.
ETHICAL CONSIDERATION OF BARRY
Jennifer has a professional responsibility to ensure her staff are providing a safe and
nurturing environment for the children at the service, especially Barry. The National Quality
Framework (NQF) states that educators, coordinators, and staff members are required respectful
and ethical which involves creating a calm and positive atmosphere (Australian Childrens
Education and Care Quality Authority [ACECQA], 2013). Jennifer not only has to ensure that she
follows these guidelines, but also has to emphasise them amongst her staff. Unfortunately, Michael
was not fulfilling his duties to create a calm and respectful atmosphere for the children and
therefore was not providing professional and quality educational care. Furthermore, the United
Nations International Childrens Emergency Fund (UNICEF) have developed a set of rights for
children which state that children have the right to an education that is respectful to their dignity
and the right to a standard of living that is good enough to ensure mental and physical wellbeing
(2014). Jennifer also has the obligation as a leader to guarantee that these childrens rights are
being met in which Michaels presence at the service was preventing this from happening. Jennifer
needs to determine if it is ethically right for him to remain as an employee, whilst also keeping in
mind she has to create an inclusive and adapted environment for children with special needs. To do
so, Jennifer and her staff need to be trained and prepared for providing an inclusive program which
has been individualised for particular children. Stayton (2015) discusses the importance of having
prepared educators for children with special needs, and recognises that one of the critical factors
in the provision of evidence based practices for children with special needs and their families is a
well-prepared workforce, as well as stating that educators need to be well qualified. Michaels
highest qualification is a Certificate 3 in Childrens Services and has minimal experience with
children, thus it could be said that he possesses neither a well-prepared set of skills or a high
qualification. This could explain why Michael lacked the skills to appropriately deal with Barrys
behavioural issues and respectfully ask the children to quietly play and eat their snack. All of these
aspects of providing a professional, high quality educational care for children have been hindered
by Michaels participation in the service, thus provides further scope for Jennifer to base her
ethical decision on.

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ETHICAL DECISION MAKING & PROFESSIONALISM

After deciphering ethical considerations of the children and Michael, it is now up to
Jennifer to make a professional and informed decision on whether it would be right for Michael to
remain participating at the service. Ethically aware leaders in educational settings have
responsibilities for the protection of children and their families in four main areas; the promotion
and protection of childrens rights, ensuring quality services that affirm childrens rights,
administration of services in accordance with ethical values and obligations, and using the
professions code of ethics to guide the resolution of ethical dilemmas (Rodd, 2013). Jennifer can
make an ethical decision based on ensuring she has met these responsibilities in alliance with her
fellow educators. Ethical decisions can be justified with reference to codes of ethics and other
relevant professional documents the provide weight and credibility, thus after going through
documents that relate to the children and Michael in this situation Jennifer can easily come to a
conclusion. As a professional educational leader, there is an expectation that Jennifer will take risk
and pose difficult questions, such as addressing the difficult question of whether Michael should
stay (Duhn, 2011). This is a difficult decision for Jennifer to make as she doesnt want to come
across as been discriminative towards people with disabilities, especially considering the high
unemployment rate, but at the same time she has to determine what is ethically right for the service
and the children. Considering Michael has breached codes of conduct, teaching standards, and
lacks the ability to provide quality and inclusive educational care, Jennifer has strong evidence to
support her decision to let Michael go. However, discrimination is only dismissed when these
issues are present if support has been put into place to help improve the issues, therefore Jennifer
could avoid being accused of discriminating against Michael if she provides strategies for him to
work with the children appropriately and reassess the situation at a later date. Once these support
strategies have been put in place for some time, Jennifer can assess whether the issues are still
standing and then make a decision based on if it has gotten worse or if it has improved.

CONSLUSION
As a pre-service educator, it is utterly important to understand the meaning of
professionalism and ethical practice and how the two intertwine, especially for my future as an
educator where I may come across situations similar to the case study discussed. The case I
experienced was very enlightening to the types of difficult situations I could be faced with in the
future, but after completing the research for this assignment I now feel more equipped to deal with
and make professional and ethical decisions. I believe the decision Jennifer made in the end was
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beneficial to both the service and Michael and made sure that quality care was still being delivered
and Michael wasnt being discriminated against. I also believe that basing the decision on
documents such as the code of ethics and teaching standards gave decision more depth and scope.
This assignment has informed me of what it means to be a professional who bases their decisions
and actions on ethical guidelines, and I am looking forward to implementing this newfound
knowledge on upcoming placements this semester.

WORD COUNT: 1,971

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REFERENCING
Australian Bureau of Statistics [ABS] (2012). Disability and Work [Webpage]. Retrieved
th

8 April, 2016 from

http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/Lookup/4102.0Main+Features40March+Quarter+20
12#emp.
Australian Institute of Teaching and School Leadership [AITSL] (2011). Australian
Professional Standards for Teachers. Retrieved 8th April, 2016 from
http://www.aitsl.edu.au/docs/default-source/apstresources/australian_professional_standard_for_teachers_final.pdf.
Australian Childrens Education and Care Quality Authority [ACECQA] (2013). Guide to
National Quality Framework [Fact Sheet]. Retrieved 9th April, 2016 from
http://files.acecqa.gov.au/files/National-Quality-Framework-Resources-Kit/NQF03-Guide-toNQS-130902.pdf.

Duhn, I. (2011). Towards professionalism/s. In L. Miller & C. Cable (Eds.),

Professionalization, Leadership and Management in the Early Years, pp. 133-146.
London: SAGE Publications.
Rodd, J. (2013). Leadership in Early Childhood: the Pathway to Professionalism.
Grows Nest, NSW: Allen & Unwin.
Stayton, V.D. (2015). Preparation of early childhood special educators for inclusive and
interdisciplinary services. Journal of Infants and Young Children, 28 (2), pp. 113-122. Doi:

10.1097/IYC.0000000000000030.
United Nations International Childrens Emergency Fund [UNICEF] (2014). Protecting
Childrens Rights [Fact Sheet]. Retrieved 9th April, 2016 from
http://www.unicef.org/crc/index_protecting.html.

Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission [VEOHRC] (2014).

Disability Discrimination [Webpage]. Retrieved 8th April, 2016 from
http://www.humanrightscommission.vic.gov.au/index.php/types-of-discrimination/disability.

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