Explain the relationship of ethics and education.

 

Q. 1 Explain the relationship between ethics and education. What are the responsibilities of a teacher in this regard?

 

Course:  Professionalism in Teaching

Course Code 8612

Topics 

Relationship between Ethics and Education

• What are the responsibilities of a teacher in this regard?
• Is Ethics Necessary For Education?
• Does Education Lead To Ethical Behavior?

Answer:

 

The increasing cross-national mobility of people and the transnational communication of ideas that took place cause educators around the world to be faced with new challenges of balancing local, national, and global norms and moral as well as ethical values in the process of educating children (Gluchmanova, 2014). However, educators are always unwilling to devote time and effort to ethics education which is viewed as a soft course at the expense of what they view as more important courses (Power, 1991).

 

 Many scandals related to business and professional fields took place all over the world such as Enron and WorldCom which result to a widespread call to implement corporate code of ethics (Schwartz, 2013). So there is a need to discuss on the relationship between education and ethics. Ethics, also known as moral philosophy is defined as “…generally used interchangeably with morality” and “…the moral principles of a particular tradition, group or individual” (Audi, 1999, p. 284).

 

 Different fields of profession have given different definitions of ethics. Business ethics, it is defined as “an area that requires reasoning and judgment based on individuals’ principles and beliefs in making choices that balance self-interest against social welfare or claims and responsibilities” (Weiss, 1994, p.7). However, three recurring themes appear in the definition  -  principles, decision-making process, and conduct. Different people who have different principles will make different decisions and the decisions made may result in an ethical and unethical conduct.

 

Education is focused on teaching humans ethics and morality besides development in knowledge and physical acquisition. In the philosophy of Imam Ghazali, education is a process of teaching and is used to shape an individual character (Nofal, 1993). He states that religion education enables an individual to distinguish between the true and   false, the good and bad, the right conduct and the evil doing. Education is related to rational.

 

 A variety of education approach and programs are aimed to improve individual thinking skills in order to produce good thinkers (Moshman, 1990). This shows a relationship between education and ethics.  Chambliss (1987) believes that there are relationship among ethics, education and the formation of a just community and have been central of the Western philosophical tradition classic statement development. He argues that educational theory is a theory of conduct rather than an applied science. It is theory of conduct, not about conduct (Giarelli, 1987).

Is Ethics Necessary For Education?

 

There are some positive and negative arguments about the necessary of ethics education in different professional and area. Milton Friedman (1970) explains that the ethical duty of businessman is to maximize profits not to study ethics. The argument is supported by David Hume who argues that the way to encourage ethical behavior is by installing financial and legal incentives but not ethics lectures. However, Francis Hutcheson held that human actions are best explained as motivated by sympathy, not self-interest. There is also an argument explains that ethics education is meaningless, since it is a feeling, not thinking (Hooker, 2004).

 

In addition, Green (1971) indicates that “professional ethics” is an excess brought  forth by the inability to take the purpose of professional practice which developed in   response to some foundation of human need whose advancement is already a moral aim(Giarelli, 1987). It shows unnecessary of ethics education in the professional study.  However, Volnei Garrafa agrees that ethics can be a vehicle for teaching and learning processes in undergraduate and postgraduate programs within different academic fields. He believes that ethics should be educated in school and universities; and the real concrete problem should be experienced by students and family themselves (Garrafa, 2015).

 

Does Education Lead To Ethical Behavior?

 

In other words to say this issue is more focus on the way that educator teach ethics may lead to ethical behavior of an individual most effectively? Since there are some researchers found that ethics education improves ethical behavior and some do not. In fact, university education is not the only factors in influencing behavior but also family education and friends’ behavior. Hill, Udayasankar and Wee (2014) argued that Confucianism and Confucian ethics influence behavior and shape culture in parts of Asia.

 

 It is a kind of thinking which is educated in family. Religious, intellectual, aesthetic, physical and cultural educations are responsible for the formation of moral behavirn students (Manea, 2014).Education is an important factor in the ethical decision-making process which will impact society. The more education individuals have, the better they are at making ethical decisions.

 

However, the type of education has little effect or no effect on ethics. An educated individual is in a position of power, trust, respectability, and responsibility commits an illegal act in relation to the employment, and abuses the trust and authority normally associated with the position for personal or organizational gains (Ferrell, Fraedrich & Ferrell, 2015). It shows that the influence of education lead to ethical behavior is remained unclear.

For an example,

 

Those such as Joseph Goebbels, Wilhelm Frick, Hans Frank and others who are highly educated were helping While Hitler who did not have a high education to implement the Third Reich’s regime. They were no more moral for it. While the uneducated soldiers were more often objecting to the horrific orders handed down to them (Glenn, 2010). A research showed that there are no different in behaviour after 10 weeks of ethical courses being lectured (Ponemon, 1993).