It is estimated that by 2040, no one ethnic or racial group will make up the
majority of the national school-age population (National Association of School Boards of
Education, 2002). The increasingly diverse student populations served by school
counselors requires that they develop a conscious awareness of their morals from a
multicultural perspective and to acquire a worldview that does not center on the values
of mainstream culture. Ethical codes developed by professional organizations, such as
the American School Counselor Association (ASCA), are derived from traditional
Western standards. School counselors who adhere exclusively to professional ethical
codes may not serve all individuals equitably or acknowledge the existence of cultural
differences (Cook & Houser, 2009).
School counselors are entrusted by society with the care of its most vulnerable
members—children and adolescents. Therefore, it is important that school counselors
have honorable motives and adhere to an ethic of care that goes beyond the basic
legal/ethical principles incorporated in professional codes. Virtue ethics encourage the
development of other-regarding perspectives. A virtue perspective leads the school
counselor to care for the best interests of the student, that is, from the student’s
perspective.
Virtue ethics is an integral perspective for achieving ethically appropriate
professional conduct in school counseling given its focus on professionals’ motives.
More specifically, the ability to implement appropriate ethical decisions requires correct
motives or acting out of benevolence. Professionals who follow virtue ethics are
motivated to work on behalf of their clients (or students) by benevolence. Virtue ethics