Pedagogical ethical dilemmas in a responsive evaluation of a leadership program for youth

How do responsive evaluators provide input to program planners when competing ethical principles point to different choices of effective feedback? A team of three evaluators used participant observation, individual and focus group interviews, and analysis of documents to provide input on the development and outcome of a summer program for high school youth. The goal of the program was to prepare diverse young people for the democratic promotion of religious liberty in the local communities where they resided in the USA. The program planners all sought to prepare community youth leaders to foster the freedom of religion, but they varied in how they believed this ought to be achieved. Some of their disagreements centered on pedagogy and what curriculum and instructional practices would best accomplish their goals. The ethical dilemmas these disagreements created for the evaluators are explored, using a set of moral theories from the western philosophical tradition.