The ATA Chronicle - July/August 2022 - 25

Figure 1: Process designed to produce the AAITE Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice
sent to practitioners in the
field who had presented at
conferences and workshops,
as well as to hundreds of
members of the mailing list
of our initial workgroup.
A total of 116 colleagues
from 25 states participated
in the survey over a period of
five months. After analyzing
the data, 553 data elements
on specific situational
experiences were extracted
to document the concerns of
people performing these jobs.
The data collected
provided examples of
situations experienced by
interpreters and translators
in education where a tailored
code of ethics would have
helped solve the dilemmas
presented to them. We
also received input about
the current concerns of
interpreters and translators
regarding the application
of existing codes of ethics
in educational settings.
The committee worked to
deconstruct the situations
documented in the data to
identify the various ethical
dilemmas encountered by
interpreters.
What do I mean when
I say " deconstruct " ?
Some of the situational
experiences communicated
to us through the survey
presented multiple
ethical dilemmas within
themselves. So, we had to
www.ata-chronicle.online
isolate each dilemma as
a separate data item.
For example, our notes
might read:
" An interpreter in a
room with multiple
participants, speaking
fast, not taking turns,
and with a two-year-old
kicking the interpreter
and making noises from
under the table. This
is happening while the
interpreter is trying to
keep up with interpreting
the conversations to the
parent in simultaneous
whispering mode. The
parent is crying due to the
nature of the information
being conveyed in the
meeting. The parent
might also be distraught
because, culturally
speaking, they are dealing
with the stigma associated
with the concept of special
education. "
Following this step, we
attempted to classify each
of the dilemmas involved
in a particular situation
under a specific tenet of
the code of ethics to better
understand how to address
such situations and manage
the encounter properly. So,
for the example presented
above, our deconstruction
might read:
y Is simultaneous
whispering the most
appropriate mode of
interpreting here?
y Does the lack of pauses
and turn-taking require an
interpreter to intervene to
remind participants to take
turns speaking?
y Are the noises coming
from under the table and
the kicking distracting
the interpreter, or is the
interpreter able to manage
that possible source of
distraction?
y Unnecessary interventions
might prove disruptive,
given the critical
information being
discussed and the
emotional component of
this encounter.
y The principles of accuracy,
cultural awareness,
impartiality, and role
boundaries all might come
into play at the same time
during this encounter.
We also noted which
dilemmas did not fall under
any of the pre-selected
tenets so they could be
addressed later.
The data we collected also
yielded another example
of a situation that occurs
frequently in educational
settings that presents an
ethical dilemma-the
number of practitioners who
are hired to serve multiple
roles (e.g., as both a parent
liaison and interpreter). As
a parent liaison, a person
might act as an advocate,
using their knowledge to
help parents better navigate
a new educational system
that's drastically different
from what they knew in
other countries. But when the
same person is needed as an
interpreter, advocacy is out
of the question, even though
the parents and teachers
might expect the person to
continue to fulfill that role.
The dilemma is that the job
of an interpreter is to remain
neutral. Because of this, the
person who previously acted
as a liaison is now unable
to assist in the same way to
facilitate the communication
process during the encounter.
There is no room for this type
of intervention when serving
as an interpreter during
Individual Education Program
(IEP) meetings or disciplinary
hearing, which are legal
encounters by nature.
Part of the work of the
Ethics and Standards
Committee is acknowledging
these common realities in
educational interpreting
encounters and addressing
them with clear standards
of practice that can guide
practitioners in their
decision-making process
when presented with such
American Translators Association 25
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The ATA Chronicle - July/August 2022

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