Ethical accountability and routine moral stress in SEN professionals

This small-scale interview study considers experiences, difficulties and dilemmas of local SEN (Special Educational Needs) professionals such as SEN Caseworkers, and examines the neglected ethical dimensions of their role. It argues that fostering ‘ethical knowledge’ (Campbell, 2003), rather than an increase in prescriptive guidance, will enable more productive partnerships between professionals, and between parents and professionals respectively. The study demonstrates a SEN professionalism that is able to respond to moral complexity and that is willing to carry significant personal and moral burdens in order to meet the needs of children and young people with SEN. It also highlights experiences of routine moral stress (Cribb, 2011) which are not adequately addressed by either individuals or their organisations.

Ball, S (2004) Education reform as social Barbarism: economism and the end of authenticity. Scottish Educational Review 37(1): 4-16.

Bauman, Z (2008) Does ethics have a chance in a world of consumers? Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press.

British Educational Research Association (2011) Ethical Guidelines for Educational Research. London: BERA.

Campbell, E (2003) The Ethical Teacher. Maidenhead: Open University Press.

Campbell, E (2008) The Ethics of Teaching as a Moral Profession. Curriculum Inquiry, 38(4): 357-385.

Carr, D (2000) Professionalism and Ethics in Teaching. London: Routledge.

Charmaz, K (2014) Constructing Grounded Theory. 2nd edn. London: Sage.

Cribb, A (2011) Integrity at work: managing routine moral stress in professional roles. Nursing Philosophy, 12: 119-127.

Cronquvist, A, Lutzen, K, Nystrom, M (2006) Nurses’ lived experiences of moral stress support in the intensive care context. Journal of Nursing Management, 14: 405-413.

Dawson, AJ (1994) Professional Codes of Practice and Ethical Conduct. Journal of Applied Philosophy, 11(2):145-154.

Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) (2014) Single Data List [Online]. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/single-data-list. Last accessed on: 19.1.2015.

Department for Education (2011) Support and Aspiration [Online]. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data... Last accessed on: 28.5.2014.

Department for Education (2014) SEND Code of Practice [Online]. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/send-code-of-practice-0-t... Last accessed on: 24.6.2014.

Ehrich, LC, Klenowski, V, Harris, J, Smeed, J, Carrington, S & Ainscow, M (2013) Ethical leadership in a time of increasing accountability. BERA Conference Paper, Sept 3-5, 2013.

Evetts, J (2006) The sociology of professional groups. Current Sociology 54(1): 133-143.

Fiedler, CR and Van Haren, B (2009) A comparison of Special Education Administrators’ and Teachers’ Knowledge and Application of Ethics and Professional Standards. The Journal of Special Education 43(3):160-173.
Great Britain. Education Act 1981: Elizabeth II. Chapter 60 (1981) [Online]. Available at: http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1981/60/enacted. Last accessed on: 11 July 2014.

Helton, GG, Ray, BA, Biderman, MD (2000) Responses of School Psychologists and Special Education Teachers to Administrative Pressures to Practice Unethically: A National Survey. Special Services in the Schools 16(1): 111-134.

Kälvemark, S (2004) Living with conflicts – ethical dilemmas and moral distress in the health care system. Social Science & Medicine 58:1075-1084.

Lamb, B (2009) Lamb Inquiry Report: Special Educational Needs and Parental Confidence [Online]. Available at: https://www.education.gov.uk/publications/standard/publicationDetail... Last accessed: 30 May, 2014.

Lamb, B (2011) Support and aspiration: cultural revolution or pragmatic evolution? Journal of Research in Special Educational Needs 12:107-121.

O’Leary, Z (2014) Doing your research project. London: Sage.

Rapley, T (2004) Interviews. In: Seal, C, Gobo, G, Guburium, JF and Silverman, D (Eds.) Qualitative Research Practice. London: Sage, pp.15-33.

Sculli, D (2005) Continental Sociology of Professions Today: Conceptual Contributions. Current Sociology 53(6): 915-941.

Stronach, I, Corbin, B, McNamara, O, Stark, S & Warne, T (2002) Towards an uncertain politics of professionalism: teacher and nurse identities in flux. Journal of Education Policy 17(1): 109-138.