Ethical Dilemma Scenario in Early Childhood Education

This article discusses an ethical dilemma scenario in early childhood education where a child's need for daytime sleep conflicts with the parent's desire for the child to sleep well at night. The article explores the challenges this poses for parents, teachers, and children, and considers ethical principles and theories that apply to the situation. The article also suggests possible solutions, such as engaging the child in activities that keep them distracted during the day.

Running Head: DILEMMA SCENARIO
DILEMMA SCENARIO
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DILEMMA SCENARIO 2
Post 1 (ETHICAL DILEMMA) requirements from the course coordinator, I am a parent for
dilemma 1. You describe why this is a dilemma for the role you have chosen (either parents,
staff, child, Director, etc.). These are the dimensions of the dilemma. YOU DO NOT
SUGGEST ANY RESOLUTIONS HERE.
Post 1:
A dilemma is a situation where a difficult choice has to be made between two or more
alternatives. Especially a case where both equals are undesirable. For the provided case,
being a parent places one at a hard position where one has to decide if their baby is to sleep
during the day then find it hard to get the her to sleep at night or not letting the baby sleep
during the day but sleep comfortably during the night while in the process let Mayah have a
long tedious afternoon have the teacher ignore all this (Kennedy 2009). Either decision that I
am to make as a parent has its undesirable repercussions that I have to accept. This makes the
case an ethical dilemma since both decisions to be made have an undesirable outcome
(Beckett, Maynard, & Jordan, 2017). The teachers have their responsibilities as the child’s
instructor while the mother has the parenting responsibilities, on the other hand there is the
child whose growth and development are at hand, sleep for the baby is very important for
their physical development but the wrong sleeping patterns may interfere with this (Newman,
2002). This leaves the case at a dilemma where a discussion and an agreement are to be
arrived at. Further analysis of the scenario it is evident that this really is a dilemma! On the
one hand we have a responsibility to Mayah to recognise her right to rest as determined by
article 31 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC, 1989). On
the other hand, article 5 describes how we must support parents/guardians in their role.
References
Beckett, C., Maynard, A., & Jordan, P. (2017). Values and ethics in social work. Sage.

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Kennedy. (2009). Ethics: A Part of everyday practice in child care. Putting Children First the
magazine of the National Childcare Accreditation Council (NCAC), 29 (pp. 9-11).
Newman, L. (2002). Responding ethically when families and professionals disagree. Every
Child, 8(2), p. 17.
United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child(UNCR). (1989) Retrieved from
https://www.ohchr.org/EN/ProfessionalInterest/Pages/CRC.aspx accessed on 12
September 2018
Post 2 (LEGAL ASPECT)
Here you would think about the legal aspects that support your perspective of why this is a
dilemma for your role. DO NOT SUGGEST ANY RESOLUTIONS HERE.
Response
The legal aspect of the case supports why it is deemed aa dilemma. In relation to the ECA
code of ethics, the teacher taking care of the child by allowing them to sleep is part of her
responsibility since the child cannot be ignored while she is feeling sleepy and agitated hence
ignoring the child would be legally wrong. As the responsible adult with the child, an
instructor is expected to take full responsibility of the child without the presence of the
parent. For a qualified teacher, one has passed the test on ability of taking care of the child.
This means the teacher can make the right decision for the baby. In this case the teacher
makes the decision of letting the child sleep. But the parenting factor comes in. the parent is
legally to be respected and their decision are to be respected as well (ECA 2016). So, the
parent demands need to be embraced. As a parent I need to see the clear respect of the legal
requirement but this also complicates the case, since as identified it is as per the law that the
teacher is to be responsible on behalf of the baby while on the other hand respect and
acknowledge me. This leaves the entire case on the shoulders of the baby, what should the

DILEMMA SCENARIO 4
teacher do and do I as the parent approve of it? And what are the repercussions for each
decision with the fact in mind that any decision impact me or the child (Kennedy. 2009).
References
Kennedy. (2009). Ethics: A Part of everyday practice in child care. Putting Children First the
magazine of the National Childcare Accreditation Council (NCAC), 29 (pp. 9-11).
ECA (2016). Code of ethics. Retrieved from http://www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au/wp-
content/uploads/2016/07/ECA-COE-Brochure-2016.pdf accessed September 7, 2018
Post 3 (Professional considerations)
Thinking about your experience and knowledge of EC education you would suggest your
ideas that might shape this dilemma or similar experiences you might have experienced that
relate to this dilemma (here you can all just speak as EC educators).
Response
As an educator, the interest of the child is at heart but the parents’ interest is also to be
considered. It is evident that the child may need to rest in the afternoon but also this has an
external impact on both the child and the parent. This makes it harder to pick the best
approach for the situation at this level. The professional requirements stipulate that the parent
decisions should be respected an acknowledged (Congress, 2017). But on the other hand, the
professional requirement states that the professional s responsible for the comfort of the child
as well. This means that as the instructor, the child’s comfort is at my hands as well as the
child educational progress but also the parents have a major role to play in the whole case
(Krieg, 2011). The school curriculum can help and identify whether a slight change of the
school curriculum can help the case. But despite the decision to be made, one party must be
affected. But for any decision to be made both cases are to be filed up listened to a conclusion

DILEMMA SCENARIO 5
arrive at that has the less impact on the baby and the parent and at the same time
manoeuvrable by the school and the instructor. With the child’s interest as the key point of
consideration (Newman, 2002). Professionally it is important to embrace the fact that children
learning to recognise their own physical cues and develop autonomy in understanding their
physical needs, I’m not sure if forcing them to ignore their need for rest helps them to
develop autonomy in this area. The ‘Practice’ section of the EYLF (DEEWR, p. 12) also
describes a holistic approach, supporting a child’s physical needs, such as their need for sleep
or rest is definitely part of a holistic approach.
References
DEEWR. (2009). Belonging, Being and Becoming: The Early Years learning Framework for
Australia. Retrieved from
https://docs.education.gov.au/system/files/doc/other/belonging_being_and_becoming
_the_early_years_learning_framework_for_australia.pdf accessed on 12 September
2018
Krieg, S. (2011). The Australian early years learning framework (EYLF): Learning
what?. Contemporary Issues in Early Childhood, 12(1), 46-55.
Newman, L. (2002). Responding ethically when families and professionals disagree. Every
Child, 8(2), p. 17.
Congress, E. P. (2017). What social workers should know about ethics: Understanding and
resolving practice dilemmas. Social Work Ethics, 1909.
Post 4 (Ethical Principles)
Here you consider any ethical principles (see the Newman reading) would be most suitable to
adopt for this dilemma. DO NOT SUGGEST ANY RESOLUTIONS HERE.

DILEMMA SCENARIO 6
Response
The case involves a number of ethical principles which make it more difficult to come up
with a perfect response towards the dilemma. First, the case interferes with the ethical
principle of responsibility, the teacher by allowing the child to sleep is being responsible
since they see the child is really sleepy, the act of them not allowing the child to sleep and
letting them struggle the whole afternoon ethically would be irresponsible (Newman, &
Pollnitz , 2005). It would be irresponsible for the teachers to look at the kids struggle to keep
up with the afternoon exhaustion and do nothing about it. With me as a parent I clearly
concur with the actions of the teacher deciding to let the child rest but this contradicts my
main motive which is the child resting at night. This implies that the teacher is to goa against
the principles of ethics on responsibility. On the other hand, it goes on and challenges the
principle of respect of other people’s rights and dignity, the teacher fails to respect the
parent’s decision of not letting the child sleep and allows them to sleep (Howe & Boele,
2018). Ethically it is wrong to do against what is ethically expected of you. It feels bad as a
parent to see the teacher disrespecting my decisions and letting the child sleep. But then the
challenge comes in where the teacher does not disrespect you for any personal gain but for
the benefit of you child. As a parent this contradicts and makes the case a much-complicated
dilemma scenario. The situation challenges these ethical principles making the case much
harder to resolve.
References
Howe, K. R., & Boele, A. E. (2018). The ethics of special education. Teachers College Press.
Newman, L., & Pollnitz ,L. (2005). Understanding Ethics. In Working with children and
families: Professional, legal and ethical issues. Frenchs Forest: Pearson Education.
Post 5 Ethical Theories

DILEMMA SCENARIO 7
Here you consider any ethical theories (see the Newman reading) would be most suitable to
adopt for this dilemma. DO NOT SUGGEST ANY RESOLUTIONS HERE.
Response
The case also challenges the ethical theories namely the utilitarian theory in respect to the
parents understanding, as a parent I would agree that by denying the baby daytime sleep to
have them rest enough at night is more of an utilitarian approach to the case. Despite the fact
that the child wants to sleep during the day and have a comfortable day, I am willing to
sacrifices this so that the baby- Mayah may sleep at light. Th good that will come out of the
sacrifices will impact not only her but also us the parents and the teacher indirectly. It is more
of a sacrifice but for a better course which will be letting the baby sleep comfortably at night.
The baby will also be able to comfortably wake up in the morning since they will have got
enough rest out of the good night rest they had (Newman, & Pollnitz, 2005). During the day
the child can the comfortably get used to the habit. But this contradicts the teacher since they
apply the deontological theory by acting and behaving in a certain way which is purely
directed by reason. The teacher cannot ignore the fact that the child is exhausted and needs to
rest, reason state that the child is supposed to rest since his is good for their health and
development. The child for this case is expected to contradict their theoretical take on the
matter and embrace the parent take on the case or this is to go the other way around (Shapiro,
& Stefkovich, 2016). In return this leaves an ethical dilemma case that any step to attempt
and address the matter brings in another variable to put under consideration.
References
Newman, L., & Pollnitz ,L. (2005). Understanding Ethics. In Working with children and
families: Professional, legal and ethical issues. Frenchs Forest: Pearson Education.

DILEMMA SCENARIO 8
Shapiro, J. P., & Stefkovich, J. A. (2016). Ethical leadership and decision making in
education: Applying theoretical perspectives to complex dilemmas. Routledge.
Post 6 and 7informed inclination, Negotiation
Here you start to negotiate with each other the types of things that might happen to help with
the dilemma. Make sure you are still discussing with each other in your roles (unless you are
the child – you can still discuss things as an adult walking in the shoes of a child). Once you
all post your ideas then you would come up with a final resolution/possible action. Everyone
can post an idea of agree/ disagree with an idea here.
Response
As the parent, I understand how it is to spend time with the child all day and see her
emotional change from one to the next throughout but there is one thing that remains
constant, the child needs to abide to the parent rules, since the parent always has the child’s
greater good at heart. A teacher on the other hand, should see to it that this is the same case
since the minute the child is left to your care then you are more like a parent to this child.
Also, the child needs to identify the authority in the room and respect that as well as the other
children do. But it is also important to view the matter in a different perspective, it becomes
hard sometimes to control sleep even when you are all grown up (Shapiro, & Stefkovich,
2016). This makes it impossible to control the child's sleeping pattern but it is evident one can
engage the child in different activities that keep them distracted and avid sleep, the child can
have free afternoons where they play around with toys or other children (Löfström, &
Pyhältö,2017). This keeps the distracted all the way through and by evening time, they are
exhausted and they get to sleep early.
The teachers are to come up with a school afternoon program or instance that engages the
children and helps them not think of sleeping (Hurst, 2015). This is because back at home

DILEMMA SCENARIO 9
when they have slept all afternoon, getting them to sleep at night becomes next to impossible.
This means that they end up sleeping late and waking up in the morning becomes another
major challenge. This introduces another problem in the equation. It becomes hard to wake
the child up since they slept late. This also affects me as the parent since I have to have
sleepless night and affects my performance at work during the day (LaRossa & Bennett,
2018). This is where the application of the utilitarian theory applies, despite the fact that it is
bad to restrain the baby from sleeping in the afternoon, it is for a greater god.
References
Hurst, B. (2015). (ACECQA) Not always fun: older children's play worlds in Australian
outside school hours care. Journal of Playwork Practice, 2(1), 7-22.
LaRossa, R., & Bennett, L. A. (2018). Ethical dilemmas in qualitative family research. In The
psychosocial interior of the family (pp. 139-156). Routledge.
Löfström, E., & Pyhältö, K. (2017). Ethics in the supervisory relationship: supervisors' and
doctoral students' dilemmas in the natural and behavioural sciences. Studies in Higher
Education, 42(2), 232-247.
Shapiro, J. P., & Stefkovich, J. A. (2016). Ethical leadership and decision making in
education: Applying theoretical perspectives to complex dilemmas. Routledge.
Post 8 Possible solution or action
Here one person from your group posts a combined possible resolution/action that comes
from the negotiation stage.
Response

DILEMMA SCENARIO 10
From the negotiations the best approach has been the idea of engaging the children in
physical activities in the afternoon, where they get to play with the other children or with
their toys (Bowe, Ball, & Gold, 2017). This get Mayah’s mind distracted and she does not
focus on the fact that she is sleepy. In return she ends up sleeping early when she gets home
and wakes up early. The approach is to be tried by the teachers while the parents try and
monitor to see whether the process works. It will be the application of the utilitarian approach
where the better good is at heart of the parents and the teacher (Parrott, 2014). The child will
enjoy an afternoon full of activities and end up giving a peaceful evening. This becomes both
productive for the parent and the teacher’s contributions to this makes it completely possible.
It also requires the application of some ethical principles such as the respect of the other
persons rights which are the parents right as well as focuses on the child’s well-being as per
the EC instructions (Harcourt, & Hägglund, 2013). The success of the approach though is
determined by the teacher’s dedication to the program but without this it will become
impossible and can be termed as the disrespect of the parent’s decision as the teacher.
References
Bowe, R., Ball, S. J., & Gold, A. (2017). Reforming education and changing schools: Case
studies in policy sociology. Routledge.
Harcourt, D., & Hägglund, S. (2013). Turning the UNCRC upside down: A bottom-up
perspective on children's rights. International Journal of Early Years
Education, 21(4), 286-299.
Parrott, L. (2014). Values and ethics in social work practice. Learning Matters.