The role of ethical care in the geosciences: examining the perspectives of geoscience undergraduates

Training students to become ethical geoscientists has generated significant interest, particularly when confronted with the need to consider geoscience practice in light of geo-technological advances and environmental issues associated with resource extraction, pollution, and climate change. In this research, we examine from the perspective of student geoscientists what it means to be an ethical geoscientist. As part of a sedimentology course that explicitly taught ethics through experiential learning, students reflected on what it meant to be an ethical geoscientist. The student reflections (N = 37) collected at the beginning and end of the semester were analyzed using thematic analysis and interpreted. We used an ethics of care framework to generate three themes which described attentiveness to care, responsibility for care, and competency to provide care. First, attentiveness to care described the act of recognizing one’s own need and the need of others and making intentional efforts to address those needs. Student reflections revealed that attentiveness to one’s integrity and reflecting on one’s own actions in their interactions are important characteristic of an ethical geoscientist. Second, responsibility for care described the recognition of the need to care for the things with which we interact. Students described that being responsible for societal and environmental needs, such as promoting scientific literacy and guarding other species, are the hallmarks of an ethical geoscientist. Finally, competency to provide care described the availability of effective knowledge, skills, and materials to ethically provide care. Student reflections captured competencies related to scientific practice in ensuring data precision, accuracy, and maintaining caring and ethical relationships with colleagues as ethical geoscience characteristics. We suggest instructional strategies that explicitly teach ethics and critical reflection to foster students’ sense of care and interest in geology both as a science and ethical practice.