Ethical Aspects of the Research That Is Being Done in Vulnerable Communitties in Mexico and Bolivia

We articulated the Human Research Ethics approach with the results obtained with a questionnaire of open questions, with a sample of 79 teacher educators from Mexico and Bolivia that, together with their students, perform research practices in vulnerable communities. The questions are: Which are the principal features of a teacher that works with vulnerable groups? Which ethical position do you consider that a researcher has to develop when the research participants belong to groups in vulnerable situations? What responsibility acquires the researcher when he or she works with persons, groups and vulnerable communities? What protective factors do you think that have to be taken into account when researchers work in vulnerable communities? The principal conclusion, in the first three questions, is that the ethical aspects were the more important, specially values of respect, responsibility, honesty, solidarity and transparency and phrases about two of the principles that are central in professional ethics and research ethics: Beneficence and Non-maleficence. In the last question we found than even thought the substantive function of these educators is to prepare young teachers, when we asked them about the protective factors, they were able to express central issues in relation to research ethics.