Two first-grade teachers were interested in boys' aggressive behavior that seemed to happen during recess

Question

One teacher believed that the aggressive behavior was more likely to happen when the boys and girls got to play together during recess while the other teacher believed that the boys' aggressive behavior was worse when they played among themselves. To settle their debate, for one week they had the boys play alone (without the girls) during recess. The following week they had the boys play with the girls during recess. The teachers monitored boys' aggressive behavior each week. What potential ethical problems do these teachers have? How could this problem be corrected and avoided?

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

A good answer will be similar to the following:
The teachers made changes to recess structure without getting informed consent from the children's parents or guardians. The teachers must describe the research to the parents, so the parents can determine if they want their children to participate. The legal guardians of all the children must provide written consent before the study is done. In addition, prior to doing this, the teachers must also make sure they have minimized the potential risks for the students. They must closely monitor each recess period to be sure to avoid any unforeseen stress or harm. This must be conveyed to parents when describing the study.