Teacher and Student Ethical Case Study
The ethical case issue I chose deals with consensual relationships between students and instructors or educators. In my opinion, consensual relationships between the two have been going on for decades. Although colleges and universities have created policies aimed at discouraging or preventing these kinds of relationship, ethical misconduct will probably continue. I can remember my junior college days where consensual relationships, though not excepted, were very common. The question I have is who is victim and who is the villain because, honestly, both student and the instructor initiate consensual relationships. Therefore, it’s fair to explore the pros and cons of this issue. There will always be varied opinions to consensual relationships policies of academic institutions. Some are opposed to consensual relationship policies of any kind. There are those who favor policies that discourage but do not altogether prohibit these relationships. Others favor prohibiting consensual relationships but only in supervisory capacity but may or may not support discouraging consensual relationships in nonsupervisory situations. Finally, there are those who favor policies that prohibit consensual sexual relationships between professors and students under any and all circumstances. As a matter of practicality, those with opinions against any policy response on the part of institutions are probably in the minority. This includes those in favor of prohibiting consensual relationships under any circumstance. A more moderate and popular view proposing that consensual relationships between instructors and students are more or less appropriate depending on the circumstances of the relationship. Those who oppose consensual relationships policies of any kind typically argue that such policies violate individual and constitutional rights to privacy and freedom of association (Alston 1998; Hoffman 1986; Tittle 1997). Therefore, when adult professors and students
References: Alston, Kal. 1998. "Hands Off Consensual Sex. 'Academe 84:32-33. Blevins-Knahe, Belinda. 1992. T h e Ethics of Dual Relationships in Higher Education. ' Ethics & Behavior 2:151-163. Bowman, Vicki, Lesa Hatley, and Robert Bowman. 1995. "Faculty-Student Relationships: The Dual Role Controversy." Counselor Education and Supervision Dank, Barry and Joseph Fulda. 1997. "Forbidden Love: Student-Professor Romances." Sexuality & Culture 1:107-130. Hoffman, Frances L. 1986. "Sexual Harassment in Academia: Feminist Theory and Institutional Practice."Harvard Educational Review 56:105-121. Quatrella, Lucy A. and Diane Keyser Wentworth, 1995, "Students ' Perceptions of Unequal Status Dating Relationships in Academia." Ethics and Behavior 5:249— Tittle, Peg. 1997. "On Prohibiting Relationships Between Professors and Students." Sexuality & Culture 1:131- 149. Zalk, Sue Rosenberg, Judy Dederich, and Michele Paludi. 1991. "Women Students ' Assessment of Consensual Relationships with Their Professors: Ivory Power Nicholas. 1996. "The Morality of Intimate Faculty-Student Relationships." The Monist 79:519-535.