Ethics Three Approaches to Ethics the Family

¶ … Ethics

Three Approaches to Ethics

The family life education is a special type of education that is use to strengthen relationship between the family members and encourage positive family development (Duncan and Goddard, 2011). This type of education includes a wide range of topics which can be from married life to parenting skill development. The family life educators face many ethical issues when providing education. The three different ethical approaches mentioned in booklet Tools for Ethical Thinking and Practice in Family Life Education include: The relational ethics approach, the principles approach to ethics and lens of virtues ethics.

In my opinion the most important ethical approach for the child and family life specialists is "virtue ethics." According to this approach of ethics, we should strive to achieve the ideals like excellence and dedication to common good which play a critical role in the development of our humanity (Velasquez et al., 1998).

Virtues can be defined as the traits, dispositions or attitudes that enable us to be what we are and to behave in ways that develop this potential. Therefore this is the most important ethical approach from the three approached mentioned in the booklet. Virtues ethics helps us in following the ideals that we have adopted an. Examples of virtues include self-control, generosity, honesty, courage, fairness, integrity and all other examples of virtues. In simple, as defined in the booklet Virtues are "dispositions to do the right thing for the right reason."

Another reason which makes this approach more necessary than other approach the second level of virtues which are very required for the ethical in giving the family and parent education in the current social context. These include caring, prudence/practical wisdom and hope/optimism. Virtues are actually developed by the individuals through learning and practice, therefore it is very important for the special life educators to keep in the mind the family values and provide the education according. Therefore, life educators should provide education in such a way that it benefits the families and do not create problems for them.

This can be understood by an example of a "son" belonging to a family in which it is not considered good to argue with the parents even if the child is correct. It is the duty of the educator to keep in mind the values of the family and guide the child to not to argue with the parents in any way. The special life educator must not teach to the child to argue to debate with the parents if they say "No" for something. It is the responsibility of the educator to make the child son understand his family ethics and make a closer relationship with his parents instead of arguing. However, in order to do this, the educator himself should be ethically well mannered and then only he can convince the child.