An investigation into Educational Psychologists' views of and experiences in ethical decision making

Educational psychologists (EPs) face professional dilemmas, many of which have an ethical dimension. This work provides a background literature review of ethics in the realm of the psychological professionas and analyses 120 questionnaire responses of currently practising EPs. Research questions addressed by the questionnaire investigated EPs' ethical beliefs, the nature and frequency of perceived ethical dilemmas, degrees of consensus in ethical decision making and strategies used to addres ethical issues. Quantitive and qualitative data were collected by means of the questionnaire survay which was widely distributed to educational psychology services in England and Wales. Open ended questionnaire responses were analyses using a grounded theory approach and frequency data of responses calculated as appropriate. Results are reported and discussed in the context of major Western philosophical frameworks and linked in part with cognitive dissonance theory. The realtive merits of Virtue theory, an approach which focuses on the character of the moral agent, rather than the rightness of an action, are argued in the context of the professional practice of educational psychology.