The first purpose of this research was to explore the prevalence, methods of instruction, and perceived value of professional ethics, ethical decision-making, and interdisciplinary collaboration in teacher preparation programs throughout the U.S. These factors were addressed using the Ethics Training and Curriculum Survey (ETCS). Participants for the ETCS included teacher educators (n = 977) from CAEP accredited preparation programs. Survey results suggest that professional ethics is widely addressed throughout CAEP accredited programs, but that instruction in ethical decision-making varies considerably. To connect these findings with practice, a second purpose of this study was to explore how educators make ethical decisions, using the Inventory of Ethical Decision-Making and Collaboration (IEDMC), and, following this investigation, to identify meaningful clusters of educators. Participants for the IEDMC survey were certified teachers (n = 482), Pre-Kindergarten through 12th grade. Participants reported feeling unprepared to make ethical decisions, despite training and access to codes of ethics. Two meaningful clusters were found, based on differences between training, use of ethical decision-making models, years of experience, presence of a school psychologist, and accreditation status of preparation programs. The culmination of results illustrates a continued gap between preparation and practice. Discussion and implications follow.
","abstract_html":"<p>The first purpose of this research was to explore the prevalence, methods of instruction, and perceived value of professional ethics, ethical decision-making, and interdisciplinary collaboration in teacher preparation programs throughout the U.S. These factors were addressed using the Ethics Training and Curriculum Survey (ETCS). Participants for the ETCS included teacher educators (<em>n</em> = 977) from CAEP accredited preparation programs. Survey results suggest that professional ethics is widely addressed throughout CAEP accredited programs, but that instruction in ethical decision-making varies considerably. To connect these findings with practice, a second purpose of this study was to explore how educators make ethical decisions, using the Inventory of Ethical Decision-Making and Collaboration (IEDMC), and, following this investigation, to identify meaningful clusters of educators. Participants for the IEDMC survey were certified teachers (<em>n </em>= 482), Pre-Kindergarten through 12<sup>th</sup> grade. Participants reported feeling unprepared to make ethical decisions, despite training and access to codes of ethics. Two meaningful clusters were found, based on differences between training, use of ethical decision-making models, years of experience, presence of a school psychologist, and accreditation status of preparation programs. The culmination of results illustrates a continued gap between preparation and practice. Discussion and implications follow.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["McCreary, Brittany"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Doctor of Philosophy - School Psychology","degree_level":"Dissertation","degree_discipline":"Human Services","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Dr. Jillian Dawes & Dr. Luis Aguerrevere","Dr. Paula Griffin","Dr. Frankie Clark"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2019,"date_issued":"2019-07-02T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2019-07-02T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T04:30:22Z","subjects":["ethics","teacher preparation","ethical decision-making","consultation","ethical dilemmas","education","Educational Psychology","School Psychology","Teacher Education and Professional Development"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://scholarworks.sfasu.edu/etds/254","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Dr. Jillian Dawes & Dr. Luis Aguerrevere","Dr. Paula Griffin","Dr. Frankie Clark"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["McCreary, Brittany"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2019-08-06T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Human Services"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Dissertation"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Doctor of Philosophy - School Psychology"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["ethics","teacher preparation","ethical decision-making","consultation","ethical dilemmas","education","Educational Psychology","School Psychology","Teacher Education and Professional Development"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://scholarworks.sfasu.edu/etds/254"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["The first purpose of this research was to explore the prevalence, methods of instruction, and perceived value of professional ethics, ethical decision-making, and interdisciplinary collaboration in teacher preparation programs throughout the U.S. These factors were addressed using the Ethics Training and Curriculum Survey (ETCS). Participants for the ETCS included teacher educators (n = 977) from CAEP accredited preparation programs. Survey results suggest that professional ethics is widely addressed throughout CAEP accredited programs, but that instruction in ethical decision-making varies considerably. To connect these findings with practice, a second purpose of this study was to explore how educators make ethical decisions, using the Inventory of Ethical Decision-Making and Collaboration (IEDMC), and, following this investigation, to identify meaningful clusters of educators. Participants for the IEDMC survey were certified teachers (n = 482), Pre-Kindergarten through 12th grade. Participants reported feeling unprepared to make ethical decisions, despite training and access to codes of ethics. Two meaningful clusters were found, based on differences between training, use of ethical decision-making models, years of experience, presence of a school psychologist, and accreditation status of preparation programs. The culmination of results illustrates a continued gap between preparation and practice. Discussion and implications follow.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Professional Ethics, Decision-Making, and Interdisciplinary Collaboration: An Exploration of Teacher Preparation Programs and Practice"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Dr. Jillian Dawes & Dr. Luis Aguerrevere","Dr. Paula Griffin","Dr. Frankie Clark"],"dc:creator":["McCreary, Brittany"],"dc:date.available":["2019-08-06T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["The first purpose of this research was to explore the prevalence, methods of instruction, and perceived value of professional ethics, ethical decision-making, and interdisciplinary collaboration in teacher preparation programs throughout the U.S. These factors were addressed using the Ethics Training and Curriculum Survey (ETCS). Participants for the ETCS included teacher educators (n = 977) from CAEP accredited preparation programs. Survey results suggest that professional ethics is widely addressed throughout CAEP accredited programs, but that instruction in ethical decision-making varies considerably. To connect these findings with practice, a second purpose of this study was to explore how educators make ethical decisions, using the Inventory of Ethical Decision-Making and Collaboration (IEDMC), and, following this investigation, to identify meaningful clusters of educators. Participants for the IEDMC survey were certified teachers (n = 482), Pre-Kindergarten through 12th grade. Participants reported feeling unprepared to make ethical decisions, despite training and access to codes of ethics. Two meaningful clusters were found, based on differences between training, use of ethical decision-making models, years of experience, presence of a school psychologist, and accreditation status of preparation programs. The culmination of results illustrates a continued gap between preparation and practice. Discussion and implications follow.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://scholarworks.sfasu.edu/etds/254"],"dc:subject":["ethics","teacher preparation","ethical decision-making","consultation","ethical dilemmas","education","Educational Psychology","School Psychology","Teacher Education and Professional Development"],"dc:title":["Professional Ethics, Decision-Making, and Interdisciplinary Collaboration: An Exploration of Teacher Preparation Programs and Practice"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Human Services"],"thesis:degree_level":["Dissertation"],"thesis:degree_name":["Doctor of Philosophy - School Psychology"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T04:30:22Z"}