Just How Important Is Ethics Within Early Childhood Research and Professionalism

In our centre, which specialises in early childhood care in a UK Higher Education Institute, we have developed an approach to student research that ensures that it is purposeful, caring, sensitive and, above all, ethical. Recently a colleague challenged this by suggesting that ‘ethical practice’ was not, necessarily, synonymous with ‘good practice’ as it was something that was not even considered by Ofsted, the Government body which assesses the quality of educational provision in the UK. In this discussion piece, I explore the role that ethics plays in both Early Childhood research and professionalism and argue that the absence of a term from a Government policy is no indication of its value. I also raise the question of how we might prove a causal link between ethical approaches and quality practice.