Ethics and Decision-Making

Professionals continue to exit early from their student affairs roles, and this trend has continued to be a concern, as demonstrated by much recent research in the field. Perhaps an increased focus on understanding of self, meaning-making, and ethical decision-making can help foster growth for both ourselves as professionals as well as the students. A positionality statement both describes individuals’ world views and defines the position they have chosen to adopt in relation to a specific research task. “The positionality that researchers bring to their work, and the personal experiences through which positionality is shaped, may influence what researchers may bring to research encounters, their choice of processes, and their interpretation of outcomes”. In order to inform the decision-making steps, it is important to consider Kitchener&s;s five ethical principles for counseling psychology; autonomy, do no harm (non-maleficence), do good for others (beneficence), justice and faithfulness.