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The Principle of Assumed Consent: The Ethics of Gatekeeping
Author(s) -
Homan Roger
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
journal of philosophy of education
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.501
H-Index - 41
eISSN - 1467-9752
pISSN - 0309-8249
DOI - 10.1111/1467-9752.00230
Subject(s) - gatekeeping , obligation , informed consent , class (philosophy) , psychology , engineering ethics , law , political science , epistemology , medicine , alternative medicine , philosophy , pathology , engineering
The obligation to inform and obtain the consent of human subjects is axiomatic in social and medical research. Yet educational researchers are often reluctant to inform their subjects: class teachers and headteachers, for example, are often used as gatekeepers, and investigators sometimes do not so much seek consent as assume it. This chapter discusses the principle of informed consent, in particular that of children. It proposes guidelines for gatekeepers who may be called upon to authorise research and to grant to investigators access to children in their care.