Christine Alves Exemplar 1 Exemplar 1: Ethics and Law Presentation ASCA Ethics and Law: Introduction to Legal and

Ethical Issues CSP 740 Law and Ethics in Schools, Spring 2013 Standard Addressed: 18 Introduction: I chose a presentation on Legal and Ethical Issues, that was presented to first year students in a Masters of Science School Counseling program to showcase my attitude and knowledge around practicing as an ethical school counselor. Fortunately, school counselors are in a very unique situation, with the privilege of seeing their clients on a daily basis. Unfortunately, this creates a significant amount of room for error or malpractice, especially when Californias school counselor to student ratio is 1:1016 (ASCA, 2010). I found it vital to cover information regarding complications, ethical codes, moral principles, and ethical decision making with counseling students currently working in elementary schools. As a current trainee and a future school counselor, I believe that it is important for counselors, at all stages of their career, revisit our legal mandates and ethical standards. With complacency and burnout rates being prevalent in schools, mistakes can be made. As a counselor, mistakes can lead to malpractice, access inequality for students, lack of support, mistakes in transcripts, and many more errors that could be detrimental to the success of students. It is important that counselors remind themselves, and their team, of the standards we must up hold for the benefit of our students. Standard 18: Professionalism, Ethics & Legal Mandates This particular exemplar captures my understanding and knowledge of legal and ethic standards for school counselors, as well as the importance of professional associations, such as the American School Counselor Association (ASCA). A comprehensive school counseling program should promote professionalism, which includes practicing in an ethical manner. The content of the presentation was retrieved from ASCAs Ethics and Law book. Information used was sited via American Psychology Association (APA) standards. I demonstrate my understanding of the benefit of professional associations through the use of Carol Stones ASCA Ethics and Law book (2013) when

Christine Alves Exemplar 1 developing the presentation. Knowledge of legal mandates and ethical standards can be seen through the content of the presentation. The presentation, itself, is focused on legal and ethical standards set forth by the national professional association. Conclusion: I will take every aspect if this exemplar with me into the profession. Specifically, I will continue to practice with the standards and ethics set by ASCA. I will collaborate and consult with colleagues when issues of concern present themselves. I will stay up to date with current laws regarding school counseling, keep my colleagues informed and help them practice the same standards. Not only are the steps in this presentation important for school counselors, they are important steps for problem solving. The ideas and principles in the presentation can also be taught to students who are struggling with ethical dilemmas in their own lives. This exemplar also demonstrates my technological and presentation skills. This presentation could be done differently or altered in a way that makes it relatable to other professionals at a school site, and then given as a staff in-service. If I were to do this, I would collaborate with teachers and administrators to create a presentation that speaks to all professionals, not just school counselors. Also, for the purpose of the original presentation, it was very academic. If it were to be presented as a staff in-service, it would make it more hands on with case studies and possible scenarios. I would hope most school personnel would already know how to make ethical decisions, so the multiple step-by-step models might not serve the purpose it did for the graduate students. This presentation has served as a great reference for myself and for the students who attended the presentation. It can quickly be referred to when new ethical issues or dilemmas surface at a school site. The ASCA book used for the content of the presentation has also acted as a resource when training to become a school counselor.

References

Christine Alves Exemplar 1 American School Counselor Association (2010). http://www.schoolcounselor.org/asca/media/asca/home/ratios10-11.pdf Carolyn Stone, Ed.D, Ethics and Law, American School Counselor Association, ISBN 978-1-929289-17-2