Essential Moral Sources of Ethical Standards in Child and Youth Care Work

Abstract

It is proposed that an ethical framework for child and youth care practice should take into account the differences between descriptive ethical inquiry on the one hand and normative and analytical ethical inquiry on the other. This will help us avoid the error of deriving our ethical principles from our practices, when in fact what we need is a moral criterion originating outside our practice that is not based on efficiency. Mattingly (1995) suggests this in recommending that we “Develop an ethical vision.” This ethical vision should take into account the domains of morality proposed by Taylor (1989), including respect for human life, issues of what makes a rich, meaningful life, and ideas about dignity. Doing so may provide a moral foundation not just for a code of ethics, but a moral framework for evaluating the entire range of our practice with children and youth.