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Although virtue ethics has emerged as an influential ethical theory within the academy, universities have not generally taken up the practical task of virtue cultivation. Some academics even resist the effort altogether. In response, this article presents an early-stage evaluation of one effort to cultivate virtue in postgraduate students, a theoretically derived and empirically measured character development programme at the University of Oxford. The study uses a pre- and post-test experimental design to assess whether participation results in measurable growth of four character virtues. Quantitative data offer evidence for modest improvement with respect to two of the four focal virtues measured, while qualitative data suggest that future iterations should ensure that participants are given both reflective, conceptual tools and practical, everyday tasks to cultivate virtue. The article provides both empirical support and future directions for ongoing research and programme development for cultivating virtue in the university. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examines correlation between moral education and the practice of sport. Association of virtues with harmonious human living; Standards applied to the practice of sport; Characteristics of sport practice.

This study aims to discuss the approach to the implementation of character education management in the era of industrial revolution 4.0 (IR 4.0) and its impact on student learning transformation. The research method in the process of data collection is done through literature studies and interviews of character-building teachers and high school students. The results of this study showed that the teacher's lack of understanding of IR 4.0 had an impact on the use of the character education approach used by teachers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We conducted on a questionnaire survey for the current college students' civic awareness from four aspects of equality consciousness, national consciousness, freedom consciousness and public consciousness. Survey data was analyzed with the SAS® statistical software, the results shown that some of our country's College Students with a strong national consciousness, and their patriotic feeling is deep at present. They identity the consciousness of equality, but their awareness of fighting for rights is not strong. They have a sense of freedom, but some students are not clear about the relationship between freedom and law. Their enthusiasm to participate in public affairs is not high. Their awareness of social morality is not comprehensive. The reason is that the influence of traditional culture and the political development can't keep up with the development of economy and the systematic citizenship education is lacked. Finally, we put forward a method of improve the civic awareness of Contemporary College Students in this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the "Student Appropriation of Catholic Social Teachings and Tradition" rubircs developed by the Catholic Social Teaching Learning and Research Initiative in a move to enhance the role of Catholic Social Teachings and Tradition (CST) in colleges and universities.

The article discusses the Catholic Social Tradition which offers modeling ethical behavior and moral decisions in the field of higher education, wherein Bernard Prusak has touches the topics on the development of moral education.

This study is to discover the current situation of the professional ethics education of engineers in Taiwan's construction industry and also to discover which types of ethical education experiences can really shape suitable ethical attitudes and behaviours for construction practitioners. These engineers can be categorized into three types according to their ethical education experiences. This study included 526 civil engineers, and it showed that only 13% of the engineers studied ethics at school. Factor analysis and reliability analysis were employed in this study to explore the factors of ethical beliefs, perceptions and behaviour of construction industry engineers. According to the three t-tests on the three types of engineers with different ethical education experiences and those without any ethical education experiences, it was found that ethical education experiences from on-the-job training and the strict regulations of organizations have a significantly more positive effect on ethical attitude development. It was also found that civil engineers' ethical behaviour is subject to the influences of their ethical beliefs and ethical perceptions, particularly their ethical perceptions of interpersonal relationships. Therefore, it is suggested that construction organizations and employers should emphasize teamwork and respect between employees so as to achieve more effective results in boosting engineers' ethical behaviour. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authors conducted a cross-sectional short-term study using Lind’s Moral Judgment Test (MJT) to compare moral judgment competence (C-score) among students from a medical school in the Northeast region of Brazil and a medical school in the Northern region of Portugal. This study compares the C-scores of groups in the first and eighth semesters of study within each medical school and groups from corresponding semesters between the two medical schools. This study also evaluates the influence of such factors as age and gender on moral competence. A regression of moral judgment competence among the students in their eighth semester versus the students in the first semester of Brazilian medical school ( p < 0.001) and a stagnation of moral competence among students in their eighth semester versus the first semester students in the Portuguese medical school ( p = 0.06) were observed. For both the first semester and eighth semester groups, the students in the Portuguese medical school had higher C-scores than the students in the Brazilian medical school. In the analysis of the students’ performances in terms of MJT dilemmas, the phenomenon of “moral segmentation” was observed in all of the groups, and the students performed better on the worker’s dilemma than on the doctor’s dilemma. Among students in the same semester of study, older students had lower C-scores. There was generally no significant difference between men’s and women’s C-scores. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of GIST: Education & Learning Research Journal is the property of Institucion Universitaria Colombo Americana (UNICA) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

In the USA, civic involvement in adolescence includes political and nonpolitical activities. Given that identities can motivate behavior, how do political and moral identities relate to civic activity choices? In this study, high school students (N= 1578) were surveyed about their political and nonpolitical civic actions and their moral and political identities. Overall, students were more involved in service than they were in political activities. Hierarchical regression analyses were used to investigate the relation between identity and involvement, controlling for known correlates of involvement: sex, ethnicity, parent education, peer civic engagement, parent civic engagement and school civic opportunities. Moral and political identity were positively related to overall involvement. Political identity was positively related to political involvement, but was not related to nonpolitical service. Moral identity was positively related to service and expressive-political involvement, but negatively related to traditional-political involvement. Findings are discussed in light of civic and moral education initiatives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the relation between the Catholic University in Beijing (Furen University) and the missionary society Society of the Divine Word (Societas Verbi Divini, SVD). It is said that the SVD experienced a conflict with Chinese faculty, as well as university president Chen Yuan, due to both moral and intellectual issues. Topics include the influence of anthropologist Wilhelm Schmidt's educational philosophy on the university, the relation between moral and political aspects of Christian college education in China, and the influence of nationalism on the disputes.

Now that there is greater consensus on the merit of teaching ethics and continuing the moral education of youth at the university level, it is necessary to determine what constitute core values and the pedagogical conditions necessary for teaching them. This article presents the results of research that attempts to establish the function effectively assigned to the teaching of ethics and moral education in the context of higher education. Based on documentary research, followed by a comparative study with theoretical sampling, we found that while 52% of the programs reviewed had at least one course related to the teaching of ethics, there were no contents geared specifically to the teaching of moral action. In law and medicine the trend toward professional ethics prevails, while engineering programs veer towards issues of social responsibility. Judging by our analysis of 120 course subjects, moral training of the individual is absent from university curricula. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Looking back upon the development courses of China's moral education and aesthetic education meta-research, aesthetic education thinking is an essential impetus to moral education. This paper, based on the relationship theories of moral education and aesthetic education in the context of modern Chinese history, aims to elaborate the internal aesthetic consistency of moral education and aesthetic education, the practical values of aesthetic education thinking in university moral education, and the significance of moral education and aesthetic education in cultural inheritance. Aesthetic education thinking, from the viewpoint of university moral education, has feasibility in theory on one side and applicability in practice on the other side. Moreover, the internal aesthetic consistency and the cultural returning between them are bound to promise a comprehensive and multilateral implementation of university moral education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

What effect, if any, can we expect undergraduate ethics courses to have on students' ethical beliefs, serf-concept, and behavior? After a brief discussion of apparent theoretical and practical obstacles to moral education in ethics courses, we explain and discuss our effort to provide preliminary answers to that question via an empirical study of students enrolled in several sections of our university's Introductory Ethics course. We found modest but statistically significant effects in many areas, which seem to indicate that those who would like to see their ethics courses have a positive impact on students' moral lives have reason for optimism. We conclude with a discussion of pedagogical implications of our study, along with its limitations and directions for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The central question addressed in this article is how (moral) values discussions in university courses can be integrated in a systematic way. Discussion of (moral) values is fundamental to the Dublin descriptor about judgement formation in use in European universities. To integrate this descriptor and its (moral) values aspects in university courses, we developed a tool for evaluating academic judgement learning: the Dilemma-Oriented Learning Model. We introduce this model and discuss the way it has been implemented and evaluated in some university courses. We aim for students to develop critical, balanced and responsible judgements. The learning outcomes are used as the basis for the improvement of teaching. We found that our approach can be helpful in integrating the descriptor. However, the (moral) values dimension requires more attention. We intend to go on developing and implementing our approach as a means of integrating reflection on moral values into disciplinary courses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this era of increased accountability, it is important to consider how student affairs researches and assesses the outcomes of our efforts to increase moral competence. This chapter examines both qualitative and quantitative inquiry methods for measuring moral development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How can we help students and mentees aspire to be their best? Doing so does not require perfection, but it does call on us to help students engage with their imperfections while owning our own. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This chapter operationalizes 'sustainability' using the triple bottom line of environmental, social, and economic sustainability as well as ways moral action is inherently present in a variety of sustainability practices [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This chapter describes the history of conduct and moral learning in higher education and offers suggestions for future conduct practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article begins by acknowledging the general worry that scholarship in the humanities lacks the rigor and objectivity of other scholarly fields. In considering the validity of that criticism, I distinguish two models of learning: the covering law model exemplified by the natural sciences, and the model of rooted particularity that characterizes the humanities. With those two models set forth, I defend the humanities against the general challenge of lack of rigor by showing how objective standards of evaluation are to be understood within the particularity model. I then discuss the distinct benefits offered by that model of learning and conclude by showing how the skills and temperament associated with that model can be usefully deployed to illuminate Conrad’s Heart of Darkness. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Encouraging graduate students to think about the values that guide criminal justice policy and practice and their implications for justice is essential for a full understanding of the field. In fact, several prominent scholars have recently called for an approach that integrates empirical with normative analysis. Based on an examination of empirical evidence on pedagogical practices, literature on normative theories, and personal teaching experience, this article attempts to bridge this “normative gap.” It is structured around three core questions: (1) Why teach about justice in a criminal justice program? (2) What might be the course goals? and (3) What challenges are likely to arise and how might they be overcome? Ultimately its purpose is to make a compelling case for the teaching of a course on justice and offer some practical guidance on how such a course might be taught. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Higher education in the United States is in crisis. Though powerful, the financial maelstrom that has consumed many institutions may not be the vortex of most significance. We argue that colleges and universities have forsaken their fundamental mission and purposes, and particularly the role of religion in those purposes. We first examine three primary arguments about the relationship between religion and higher education: what may be loosely characterized as explicit separation; the inculcation of ‘academic virtues’; and authentic integration founded upon principles of piety, robust pluralism, and the Reformed tradition. The article concludes by advancing what the last of these relationships might look like, identifying ways teacher—scholars in the arts and humanities might invoke a more authentic integration and collaboratively engage in the necessary conversations about our mission and purposes. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article presents the results of a research work about the implications of Kohlberg´s moral development level in higher education. Objective. To identify the state of moral development among higher education teachers, departing from the orientation they give to their lives and to those of their students, and from what they think and say they do for their students´ moral education. With the results, an analysis is done in order to establish the implications for the education of teachers. Materials and methods. A discussion about the moral dilemmas proposed by Kohlbergis made. The teachers answer a series of questions about each dilemma, justifying his/her point of view and finishing with an interview to clarify the contents of the answers. Results.11 (64,70%) teachers in the conventional level. 5 (29,40%) at stage 3 -- expectations, interpersonal relationships and accomplishment and 6 (35,30%) at stage 4 -- preservation of the social system and the consciousness; and 6 (35,30%) at a post-conventional level, all at the stage 5 -- the social contract or the usefulness of individual rights. Discussion. The results confirm Kohlberg´s research works, in which it is said that most of people locate themselves in a conventional level of moral development. This leads to a reflection concerning the fact that higher education teachers are at that moral development level and how, then, can teachers be formed to educate children and young people for achieving higher stages. Conclusion. There can not be a consciousness about social and educative transformation if the members of a society (or a significant number of its leaders), and especially its teachers, do not reach a post-conventional level under moral development terms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the level of moral education in the U.S. by reviewing the works of various authors such as Stanley Fish, Anthony Kronman and Samuel Schuman. It observes that prominent academic publishers have dealt with the concern over the moral dimension of higher education but colleges and universities view the subject of moral education separate from the other aspects of education. It concludes that religious colleges and universities can integrate ethical, academic and religious concerns by working towards new methods and understanding.

Copyright of Canadian Journal of Higher Education is the property of Canadian Society for the Study of Higher Education and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This paper considers some empirical research into the modelling of moral values in schools, which highlights the hidden impact of working environments on classroom relationships. After an initial survey and pilot study, a range of primary, secondary and student teachers, selected for their empathy, were interviewed and observed in order to understand the nature of empathy in different contexts. The findings revealed four particular types of empathy used in learning relationships: fundamental, functional, profound and feigned. Of these, functional, used in large classes, was the most common, but revealed considerable negative implications for the moral model offered by state education. Profound empathy, more rarely seen, developed through close and frequent interaction and held the most beneficial consequences for moral modelling, learning relationships and achievement. However, the economic values embedded in the structures and systems of the state education sector, typified by large classes, restrict the flourishing of profound empathy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research presents findings from a study comparing groups of students enrolled in three U.S. graduate social work programs. Each program represents a differing approach to teaching ethics: (a) infusion of ethics content, (b) a required discrete course emphasizing what the authors term a mixed-model approach, and (c) a required discrete ethics course emphasizing a common morality model. It was hypothesized that students taking a discrete course in ethics would demonstrate greater gains in the areas of moral judgment and ethical sensitivity. It was also hypothesized that students taking a discrete course emphasizing the common morality model would demonstrate even greater gains. Findings and implications for social work education are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many postsecondary institutions now require an ethics course for graduation, typically one in applied ethics. This paper considers the justification for such a requirement from the institution's perspective, on the one hand, and what might be a justification from a philosophical perspective, on the other; it then argues that teaching applied ethics courses in accordance with the philosophical justification satisfies the institutional justification as well. Moreover, the philosophical perspective, which aims to introduce compulsory ethics students to an understanding, appreciation and even love of philosophy as a holistic discipline, contributes to the purpose of perpetuating the profession. In illustration, the paper describes an actual required course in business ethics put in broader philosophical context, one that has shown some success in fostering philosophical interest beyond the final exam. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article suggests four types of moral values that can be taught in law school. The law school should ensure fair treatment among all, with each person entitled to be treated honestly, to be free from injury and to be given what is promised and to respect to which everyone is entitled. Law students must be taught that the law must be told the truth, and that witnesses must swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Students should know that the authority of law in people's lives depends in the law's promotion of fair hearings and the public good. Students must be taught that the law must be just in its procedure and that every lawyer should promote justice.

This article explores the possibilities of reinforcing ethics education at the university level within the context of new internationalisation processes. The situation in Spain is used as a case study. The article begins with a review of the rationale behind this issue and goes on to analyse the place of the ethical dimension in education in the proposals for adapting Spanish university degree programmes to the European Higher Education Area. Fieldwork carried out at three higher education institutions reveals that, while professors accept the institutional function of the university in ethics education, their hazy conception of the matter weakens the likelihood of a pedagogical approach in-keeping with the level of importance given to such a function. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

College instructors use a variety of approaches to teach students to reason more effectively about issues with a moral dimension and achieve mixed results. This pre-post study of 423 undergraduate students examined the effects of morally explicit and implicit curricular content and of selected pedagogical strategies on moral reasoning development. Using causal modelling to control for a range of student background variables as well as Time 1 scores, 52% of the variance in moral reasoning scores was explained; we found that these scores were affected by type of curricular content and by three pedagogical strategies (active learning, reflection and faculty-student interaction). Students who experienced more negative interactions with diverse peers were the least likely to show positive change in moral reasoning as a result of participating in any course. Implications for the design of intervention studies are discussed, including the need to attend to selection and attenuation effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The idea that ethics is a matter of personal feeling is a dogma widespread among medical students. Because emotivism is firmly rooted in contemporary culture, the authors think that focusing on personal feeling can be an important point of departure for moral education. In this contribution, they clarify how personal feelings can be a solid basis for moral education by focusing on the analysis of compassion by the French phenomenologist Emmanuel Housset. This leads to three important issues regarding ethics education: (1) the necessity of a continuous attention for and interpretation of the meaning of language, (2) the importance of examining what aspect of "the other" touches one and what it is that evokes the urge to act morally and (3) the need to relate oneself to the community, both to the medical community and to collectively formulated rules and laws. These issues can have a place in medical education by means of an ethical portfolio that supports students in their moral development. First, keeping a portfolio will improve their expression of the moral dimension of medical practice. Second, the effects of self-knowledge and language mastery will limit the pitfalls of emotivism and ethical subjectivism and will stimulate the inclination to really encounter the other. Third, it will show medical students from the start that their moral responsibility is more than following rules and that they are involved personally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper offers a theoretical comparison of the concept of the individual presumed in modern Islamic educational theory and western moral educational theory, revealing a distinct Islamic point of view on the western educational premise that a moral universe is derived dialectically between individual and society. From an Islamic perspective, socially derived moral truths cannot supersede the moral ideal of nurturing and awakening a spiritual self into a unity of being. Muslim scholars fear that two inter-related things are lost in western approaches: inwardly fostered personal discovery and timeless sacred principles. The modern Muslim educational approach presents possible talking points regarding how moral education is valued and understood differently and raises questions regarding the universal applicability of western moral education models. Western and Islamic perspectives are considered and areas of contention and commonality are explored. Scholars under consideration include Durkheim, Dewey, Kohlberg, Iqbal, Nasr, al-Attas and Wan Daud. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper deals with the current proposals about ethical education in psychology undergraduate programs within Mercosur regional context, particularly in Argentina. The organisation processes carried out by the psychology professional community of Mercosur is analyzed. As a consequence of it, the Psychologists' Committee of Mercosur and Associated Countries was founded with the main objective of establishing common standards for psychology undergraduate education and the ethical framework for the regulation of the profession. With respect to Argentina, the processes generated by the psychology academic community are analyzed. With the creation of the Association of Psychology Academic Units and the cooperation of the Federation of Argentinean Psychologists (Fe-PRA), the psychological community has put forward a threefold proposal: i) Activities related to the Professional Degree, ii) the Direct Risk involved in an unethical practice, and iii) the Curricular Contents that should be taught at university. Ethical and deontological contents are included in all the mentioned activities. Finally, it is worth noting the importance of the developments related to professional ethics and deontology taking place in Mercosur context as well as in Argentina. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A number of factors influence student behavior including the moral development of students, student-faculty interactions, and academic codes of conduct. Previous investigations on classroom misconduct have focused on student characteristics and perceptions. Relatively few studies have focused on faculty members' views of student misconduct and faculty responses to suspicions of wrongdoing. The current study examines the types of academic misbehavior faculty members suspect occur in their classrooms, methods they use to deter such misconduct, and the factors that influence instructors' decisions to act on suspected inappropriate behavior. Data was collected using surveys from faculty members. Findings suggest that academic dishonesty is a concern to many educators in university classrooms. Faculty members indicate that they use a variety of measures to improve student behavior. However, some teachers did not act on suspected academic dishonesty due in part to their anxiety about the process. Drawing from these findings, suggestions are given toward positively influencing student behavior in higher education contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses the role of educators in assisting in the transition of students from youth to adulthood. There are many rituals that guide children to adulthood. In American culture, the initiation tends to occur primarily within the peer culture. Educators, as adult mentors, must help students find genuine connection, compassion and character. In "The Soul of Education," Rachael Kessler posits that a soulful education embraces diverse ways to satisfy the spiritual hunger of today's youth. Character education has the potential to enhance success in entering adulthood.

Examines the teaching of ethics in Christian higher education in the United States. Analysis of general education requirements; Marginalization of moral or civic education from the curriculum; Survey of courses related to moral education in Christian colleges.

The Professional Practice Program, also known as the co-operative education (co-op) program, at the University of Cincinnati (UC) is designed to provide eligible students with the most comprehensive and professional preparation available. Beginning with the Class of 2006, students in UC's Centennial Co-op Class will be following a new co-op curriculum centered around a set of learning outcomes Regardless of their particular discipline, students will pursue common learning outcomes by participating in the Professional Practice Program, which will cover issues of organizational culture, technology, professional ethics, and the integration of theory and practice. During their third co-op work term, students will complete a learning module on Professional Ethics. To complete the learning module students must familiarize themselves with the code of ethics for their profession, create a hypothetical scenario portraying an ethical dilemma that involves issues covered by the code, resolve the dilemma, and explain why their resolution is the best course of action based upon the code of ethics. A three-party assessment process including students, employers and faculty complete the module. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the methods used at Penn State to teach engineering students about ethics is a one-credit First-Year Seminar entitled "How Good Engineers Solve Tough Problems." Students meet in class once a week to understand ethical frameworks, develop ethical problem-solving skills, and to better understand the professional responsibilities of engineers. Emphasis is on the ubiquity of ethical problems in professional engineering. A learning objective is the development of moral imagination, similar to the development of technical imagination in engineering design courses. Making sound arguments is also addressed in the process of reasoning through cases, and critiquing other's arguments. Over the course of the semester, students solve five engineering ethics cases. Each week, a student team of four people is responsible for reading the assigned section of the text, developing a summary, and leading the class discussion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This is an examination of three main strategies used by engineering educators to integrate ethics into the engineering curriculum. They are: (1) the stand-alone course, (2) the ethics imperative mandating ethics content for all engineering courses, and (3) outsourcing ethics instruction to an external expert. The expectations from each approach are discussed and their main limitations described. These limitations include the insular status of the stand-alone course, the diffuse and uneven integration with the ethics imperative, and the orphaned status of ethics using the outside expert. A fourth option is proposed -- a special modular option. This strategy avoids the limitations of earlier approaches and harmonizes well with curricular objectives and professional values. While some help is provided by a professional ethicist, the headliner for the series of seminars is a high-profile engineer who shares an ethics dilemma encountered in professional practice. Students discuss the case and propose solutions. The goal is to make ethics applicable to real-life problems facing working engineers and to help change behaviors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The design and economic realities associated with Personal Computers (PCs) was used as a model for implementing ethical issues into the core-engineering curriculum. Historically, products have not been designed to be recycled easily. By incorporating environmental ethics into our classrooms and industries, valuable materials can be recovered and harmful materials can be eliminated from our waste stream. Future engineers must consider the economic cost-benefit analysis of designing a product for easy material recovery and recycling versus the true cost of the disposal and continued use of virgin materials. A three hour unit on the economic and environmental impacts of product design is proposed for inclusion in the ABET accredited engineering program. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper details a three-credit-hour undergraduate ethics course that was delivered using traditional, distance, and compressed formats. OLS 263: Ethical Decisions in Leadership is a 200-level course offered by the Department of Organizational Leadership and Supervision in the Purdue School of Engineering and Technology at Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI). Students in engineering, technology, business, nursing, and other majors take the course. In an effort to determine student perceptions of course and instructor effectiveness, end-of-course student survey data were compared using data from traditional, distance, and compressed sections of the course. In addition, learning outcomes from the final course project were evaluated using a standardized assessment rubric and scores on the course project. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ethics and professional conduct are vital to civil engineering undergraduate curricula. Many programs struggle to ensure that students are given an adequate exposure to and appreciation of ethical and professional conduct issues. This paper describes a two-part ethics/professionalism project used in a senior-level course taught at the University of Arkansas. Initially, students scrutinize ethical canons and standards of professional conduct published by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) and the National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE), and prepare an essay concerning the applicability of these standards. The second part of the project builds on the first: based on the opinion(s) generated in Part 1, students are asked to develop a set of canons or standards targeted specifically to the undergraduate student, and suggest processes for implementing those standards within the department. Project objectives include: (1) exposure to nationally-recognized ethical canons and standards of professional conduct; (2) personal formulation of ethical and professional standards; (3) skill enhancement for non-technical written communications. Feedback by students prior to and after the project indicates success in meeting all objectives. The feedback also indicates that for some students, definitions and applications of ethics and professionalism are being broadened to include more than academic honesty issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ethical decision-making is essential to professionalism in engineering. For that reason, ethics is a required topic in an ABET approved engineering curriculum and it must be a foundational strand that runs throughout the entire curriculum. In this paper the curriculum approach that is under development at the Padnos School of Engineering (PSE) at Grand Valley State University will be described. The design of this program draws heavily from the successful approach used at the service academies -- in particular West Point and the United States Naval Academy. As is the case for the service academies, all students are introduced to the "Honor Concept" (which includes an Honor Code) as freshmen. As an element of professionalism the PSE program requires 1500 hours of co-op experience which is normally divided into three semesters of full-time work alternated with academic semesters during the last two years of the program. This offers the faculty an opportunity to teach ethics as a natural aspect of professionalism through the academic requirements for co-op. In addition to required elements throughout the program, the students are offered opportunities to participate in service projects which highlight responsible citizenship. These elements and other parts of the approach will be described. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a result of in-house discussions stimulated by previous Gonzaga engineering ethics conferences, Coffman Engineers began the implementation of what is to be a company-wide ethics training program. While preparing a curriculum aimed at consulting engineers, we found very little guidance as to how to proceed with most available literature being oriented towards the academic environment. We consulted a number of resources that address the teaching of engineering ethics in higher education, but questioned their applicability for the Consulting Engineering environment. This lack of guidance led us to informal research into the ethical knowledge and attitudes of both consulting engineers and engineering students. Some of our findings were unexpected, and suggest that a simpler approach to teaching ethics to working professionals might be preferred to that typically promoted in higher education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper briefly summarizes current thinking in engineering ethics education, argues that much of that ethical instruction runs the risk of being only superficially effective, and explores some of the underlying systemic barriers within academia that contribute to this result. This is not to criticize or discourage efforts to improve ethics instruction. Rather it is to point to some more fundamental problems that still must be addressed in order to realize the full potential of enhanced ethics instruction. Issues discussed will include: intellectual engagement versus emotional engagement; the gravitational pull of curricular structures; the nature of engineering faculty; and the "engineer-ization" of ethics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the methods used at Penn State to teach engineering students about ethics is a one-credit First-Year Seminar entitled "How Good Engineers Solve Tough Problems." Students meet in class once a week to understand ethical frameworks, develop ethical problem-solving skills, and to better understand the professional responsibilities of engineers. Emphasis is on the ubiquity of ethical problems in professional engineering. A learning objective is the development of moral imagination, similar to the development of technical imagination in engineering design courses. Making sound arguments is also addressed in the process of reasoning through cases, and critiquing other's arguments. Over the course of the semester, students solve five engineering ethics cases. Each week, a student team of four people is responsible for reading the assigned section of the text, developing a summary, and leading the class discussion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ethical formation of the new generation in Cuba has been a maximum priority in the consolidation of our society, however, the Cuban educational system and specifically the higher education, evaluates the actions that are developed in such a sense as consequence of important social and economic changes that take place in the country in last years. What values should they be formed in the higher education?, is it necessary to assist the formation of values in the university students in these circumstances or is part of the social mission of the universities?, how to understand didactically the educational processes in an university career? These are the aspects that motivated this work and the ideas that are expressed in it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Discusses findings of a study of moral and civic education programs at universities and colleges in the U.S. Relation between moral and civic values; Dimensions of moral and civic maturity; Core values of moral and civic education; Institutional sites of moral and civic education.