Vivian Phan (25955691)

Assignment One Case study analysis of professional and ethical decision making
EDF3038 Professionalism, ethics and interdisciplinary work in education
Wednesday 9am Workshop
Assignment One Case Study
Introduction
The case study that is going to be analysed in the following paper will be based in an early childhood
centre, with a focus on how an educator should approach a particular situation concerning a childs
safety. The case study will include the involvement of the main educator of the room, the childs
parent and the child himself, and the issue which is being analysed will be based upon child abuse
and what should be done in order to help the child. A discussion will be included which will have a
look at the procedure of how this situation should be handled by the educator professionally, and what
political and ethical guidelines should be followed to help solve the problem. The key factors which
had an influence in determining the solution to the case, will then be further evaluated in regards to
how they had an impact on the educators professionalism and decision-making skills.
Case/Scenario
The setting of the situation is based in an early childhood centre in the pre-kinder room for 3-4 year
old children. The childcare is based in a low-socioeconomic local suburban area with a majority of
Australian family residents and a few other different cultural family residents (Indian, Chinese,
Sudanese). Most of the children in the centre are from this local suburb whilst others are from other
close surrounding areas. The child in this case is from an Australian family of three (mother, father,
and himself) who reside in a small unit in the local area.
The child who is involved is a boy who is only 4 years old and attends the centre three days a week
with his mother who drops him off at approximately 8:30am every morning, and picks him up at
around 5-6pm every night. The child started attending the childcare a year ago, and a few weeks into
the new year, his educator started to notice a few bruises on the childs arms and legs. When
questioned about it by his teacher, the child would either ignore or run from the teacher to avoid
answering the question, or sometimes he would simply answer by saying that he had fallen.
This continued for about two weeks, and during these two weeks the teacher noticed that the bruises
were not healing normally and that new ones were forming on other places of the childs body. The
teacher then decided that it was time to intervene and questioned the mother about what was
happening with her child. The mother had told the teacher that her child was very uncoordinated and
clumsy at home always running around and bumping into things and falling over a lot, however this
did not match up with the childs personality in the centre. In the classroom the child was always
quietly playing in a corner with himself or with others, and was quite well behaved. The teacher was
starting to suspect a few possibilities of what the causes of the problem might be, however she did not

Vivian Phan (25955691)

Assignment One Case study analysis of professional and ethical decision making
EDF3038 Professionalism, ethics and interdisciplinary work in education
Wednesday 9am Workshop
know how to approach the situation with the mother, neither did she know how to properly report or
deal with the situation at hand.
Discussion
Child Abuse in the Early Years
Child abuse has unfortunately become a highly significant public health problem around the world
(Schols, de Ruiter, and ry, 2013). Australian statistics show that during 2013-14, there were 304,097
notifications and reports that were issued by all state and territories. These results also showed that
children under the age of 1, were most likely to be the subject of these cases, followed by children
aged between 1-4 years (Australian Institute of Family Studies, 2015). Results have shown that there
are similar statistics being displayed around the world such as in the United States. The Department of
Health and Human Services (DHHS) reported that the age group of 0-3 years were comprised of the
largest group of verified abuse cases, and also found that more than half of the children who were
abused were under the age of 7 (Schols, de Ruiter, and ry, 2013). This may be because of the fact
that children in these age groups may be more vulnerable to abuse, due to their young age and
inability to speak up or tell someone about it. Moreover, at such an early age, when children
experience something as significant as abuse, it would ultimately be an extremely traumatising impact
upon their life in both the present and the future.
Medical research shows that there are major physical, cognitive, social, emotional, and health
consequences of child abuse and neglect (Walsh and Farrell, 2008, p.585), all of which are dependent
on the type of abuse. In these cases it is often the teachers, who are in frequent contact with these
children through early childhood centres that are the first people to be able to identify and help solve
these problems in a professional and ethical manner. However, many teachers lack in knowledge and
in confidence as to how to correctly identify and respond appropriately (Toros and Tiirik, 2016), as
seen in the case above. It is because of these facts that there has been an increase in the urgency to
find more effective ways than the ways of today, to help support these children as well as their
teachers in reporting and handling these problems.
Mandatory Reporting Laws and Policies for Child Abuse
It has been made a compulsory requirement in Australia that all education institutes are to report any
suspicions about any type of abuse in relation to a child. There are many laws and policies around the
world which have been implemented into centres and schools to ensure that their top priorities are of a
childs safety. As Mathews (2015) states that with these societal and legal obligations to report, it
essentially means that the society is willing to be informed and respond to child abuse taking the

Vivian Phan (25955691)

Assignment One Case study analysis of professional and ethical decision making
EDF3038 Professionalism, ethics and interdisciplinary work in education
Wednesday 9am Workshop
necessary steps to making a change. In Victoria, the policy implemented states that mandatory reports
be written if there is a belief that a child is in need of protection from sexual abuse or physical
injuries. These concerns must be reported to the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS)
Child Protection. It is also essential that the principal or a member of the school leadership team be
notified of these concerns, and an explanation is also provided to reason them (Victorian Department
of Education and Training, 2016). Since the implementation of these policies, there has been a
significant positive impact in relation to the abuse of children.
Implementing a mandatory policy into schools will prove to be effective over time if it was applied in
the right manner. Since the implementation of The Child Protection (Reporting Obligations) Policy,
reports of known and suspected maltreatment has increased, and many of these reports have resulted
in the identification of severely abused children (Mathews, 2015). It has also been shown to have a
positive effect in other parts of the world, such as the United States where statistics have shown that
the annual child deaths in the USA have fallen from 3,000 to 5,000 to about 1,100 (Mathews, 2015,
p.16) after the successful implementation of the mandated reporting law. These positive statistics were
made possible by the teachers, who play a significant role in helping the children in these cases by
reporting them, and dealing with the situation in a professional manner.

Teachers Role in Assisting the Child Professionally

For a teacher to address this case it would require for the them to have the correct knowledge and
professionalism needed to help the child, which is inclusive of the specialist knowledge needed to
fulfil the complex role of safeguarding children (Walsh and Farrell, 2008, p.598). With reliable and
factual information based on child abuse and neglect, teachers can make more informed decisions,
with more potential for effective interventions which would lead to better outcomes for the children
(Walsh and Farrell, 2008). It is also essential that teachers utilise an effective relationship between
research, pedagogy, policy and ethics to help guide them in how leadership is enacted (Rodd, 2013).
In order to help teachers achieve this in a professional manner, they can often refer to a range of
government documents to help guide them such as the, Code of Ethics, the Code of Conduct,
Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (APST), and the National Quality Standards (NQS),
all of which will be explained and related to the case, below.
-

Under the Code of Ethics, it is her responsibility to ensure that she will act to the best
interests of the child and respect their rights, as well as assist them in maintaining a safe

Vivian Phan (25955691)

Assignment One Case study analysis of professional and ethical decision making
EDF3038 Professionalism, ethics and interdisciplinary work in education
Wednesday 9am Workshop
environment to learn in. She must also ensure that she will be sensitive in addressing the topic
to the family and respond in a way that will maintain the dignity of both the children and
families (Early Childhood Australia, 2016).
-

Through the Code of Conduct, she must know how to treat the child with dignity and
courtesy (Principle 1.2). This includes protecting the children from any harm, respecting the
childs privacy matters unless needed to prevent them from further harm, and refraining from
discussing the childs personal issues without confidentiality. Furthermore, their relationships
with families are respectful and courteous and they work in collaborative ways with the
families, children, and communities (Principles, 1.6 and 1.7) (Victorian Institute of Teaching

[VIT], 2015).
The APST will also help in the ways that she will engage professionally with parents/carers
and the community. In regards to standard number 7, the teacher will deal with the situation
meeting professional and ethical guidelines and responsibilities, she will learn to comply with
the legislative requirements of the case, and maintain collaborative and respectful

relationships with parents/carers regarding to the childs learning and wellbeing (VIT, 2015).
The NQS is another government document that the teacher may use to help guide her in
dealing with the situation in a professional manner. From the standards, the teacher needs to
address quality standards 1 and 2. These state that she must develop a good and trusting
relationship with the child, and also ensure that the child is protected at all times, (this
includes the responsibility to act upon a child at risk of abuse). The teacher must also work to
address standard number 6, which is the collaborative partnerships with families (Australian
Childrens Education and Care Quality Authority [ACECQUA, 2016).

By following what these documents have stated, it will help in guiding the teacher into how to
approach the situation in a professional manner. Ensuring that her practices are professional would
also relate to the quality aspect in early childhood, which has the rights and interests of the children as
their highest priority (Rodd, 2013). Through these documents, the teacher will work to ensure that the
child is safe by reporting her suspicions to her manager about the child, as well as know how to
respectfully and cautiously address the situation with the mother of the child, ensuring her that the
child will be safe and looked after in the best way.

Evaluation of the key factors influencing teacher professionalism

Vivian Phan (25955691)

Assignment One Case study analysis of professional and ethical decision making
EDF3038 Professionalism, ethics and interdisciplinary work in education
Wednesday 9am Workshop
The key factors in influencing what the teacher would do in this situation include the mandatory
reporting legislation and policy, the teaching standards, and the code of conduct and ethics. These
factors are all written by different government organisations designed to assist in managing ethical
dilemmas, such as this one, in all educational institutions and implemented by the educators in the
present day, as well as by future educators. From these factors however, it can be seen that the code of
ethics can play the most important part, as it is the one that is used to protect the teachers from making
unsuitable decisions or engaging in unacceptable behaviour in relation to young children and their
families (Rodd, 2013, p.251). It is also the one which can determine whether or not teachers will
comply with the professional values or standards accepted by the profession, because it does not
enforce them to comply with the standards and values (Rodd, 2013).
It is through the utilisation of these factors, as well as their own morals and ethics that help them in
shaping their own models of professionalism, and can also be used to help them solve a range of
ethical dilemmas.
Conclusion
In conclusion, it can be seen that the role of a teacher in a classroom often goes beyond just teaching
the children. Within different classrooms and early childhood centres, problems can often occur and it
is up to the teacher to help solve the issue and keep the children safe. In the scenario above, the issue
was in relation to child abuse and what the correct procedure was in terms of solving the situation. As
seen in the discussion, the teacher must follow the mandatory reporting procedures and the different
government documents, to assist her in keeping the child safe and approaching the parent about the
issue. Teachers must also use these to ensure that they are working as professionals and solving these
issues in an ethical way.

REFERENCES
Australian Childrens Education & Care Quality Authority. (2016). Quality Areas. Retrieved from
http://www.acecqa.gov.au/Quality-Areas
Australian Institute of Family Studies. (2015). Child abuse and neglect statistics. Retrieved from
https://aifs.gov.au/cfca/publications/child-abuse-and-neglect-statistics
Early Childhood Australia. (2016). Code of Ethics. Retrieved from

Vivian Phan (25955691)

Assignment One Case study analysis of professional and ethical decision making
EDF3038 Professionalism, ethics and interdisciplinary work in education
Wednesday 9am Workshop
http://www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au/wpcontent/uploads/2014/07/code_of_ethics_brochure_print_2010.pdf
Mathews, B. (2015). Mandatory reporting laws: Their origin, nature, and development over time. In
B. Mathews, & D.C. Bross (Eds.), Mandatory Reporting Laws and the Identification of
Severe Child Abuse and Neglect (pp. 3-27). Retrieved from
http://link.springer.com/book/10.1007%2F978-94-017-9685-9
Rodd, J. (2013). Leadership in Early Childhood: The pathway to professionalism (4th edition). Crows
Nest, NSW: Allen & Unwin
Schols, W.A.M., de Ruiter, C., & ry, G.F. (2013). How do public healthcare professionals and
primary school teachers identify and handle child abuse cases? A qualitative study. BMC
Public Health, 13(1), 1-18. Doi: 10.1186/1471-2458-13-807
The Victorian Department of Education and Training. (2016). Child Protection Reporting
Obligations. Retrieved from
http://www.education.vic.gov.au/school/principals/spag/safety/Pages/childprotection.aspx
Toros, K., & Tiirik, R. (2016). Preschool teachers perceptions about and experience with child abuse
and neglect. Early Childhood Education Journal, 44(1), 21-30. Doi: 10.1007/s10643-0140675-0
Victorian Institute of Teaching. (2015). Australian Professional Standards for Teachers. Retrieved
from http://www.vit.vic.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0012/12153/APST-2015-copy2.pdf
Victorian Institute of Teaching. (2015). The Victorian Teaching Profession Code of Conduct.
Retrieved from http://www.vit.vic.edu.au/media/documents/imported-files/spl/Code-ofConduct-2015.pdf
Walsh, K., & Farrell, A. (2008). Identifying and evaluating teachers knowledge in relation to child
abuse and neglect: A qualitative study with Australian early childhood teachers. Teaching and
Teacher Education: An International Journal of Research and Studies, 24(3), 585-600. Doi:
10.1016/j.tate.2007.07.003