Ethics has an important role in all aspects of human life, especially in modern society, where people continually face choices that affect their life quality. It is important to note that ethics serves as principles that direct people in making positive impacts on humanity through their actions and decisions (Ferreira et al. 409). Through ethics, people are able to distinguish bad from good and right from wrong. Ethics is also important in education because it has formative effects on the character and mind as well as physical development of the learners (Ferreira et al. 409). The main objective of education is to equip individuals with abilities that are necessary for improving society. Ethics should be taught in school in order to enable learners to make ethical judgments, become responsible, truthful, think critically, and build a strong character.
Some opponents of the necessity of ethics in the structure of competence of modern graduate argue that ethical values should be formed within lifespan development, starting from the early years, and it is too late to teach ethics in higher education. However, numerous researches have established that the development of morals in a human being is a continuous process, and it has no age limits (Yoder and Kathryn 88). Development of moral reasoning improves greatly in college; therefore, including an ethics lesson at this stage will provide an excellent environment to expand moral values.
The information revolution is accompanied by significant socio-cultural transformations that give rise to a number of difficult problems of ethical nature: risk society, personal and universal security, freedom and social control of the masses. The ongoing processes of globalization and informatization of society are the reason for the “emergence of hyper-autonomous subjects of morality” (Cam 36). These circumstances predetermine the need for explicit formation of the ethical competence of students in the study of foundations of life and professional activity.
Moreover, the so called soft skills today largely determine the success of a person’s work in his/her field, and in general help to build harmonious professional and personal relationships. Emotional and communicative qualities of a student determine success in life no less than academic performance. These qualities, in turn, are inextricably linked with the value-ethical attitudes of the graduate (Gulcan 2623). When teaching, attention is usually paid primarily to cognitive skills – logical thinking, the ability to memorize and assimilate information. All this is more or less effectively measured by familiar exams and IQ texts. However, such personal characteristics of the student as personal ethics, social solidarity, etc. may be no less, but even more important. Incorporating ethics into education can be an effective way to address significant societal issues such as high crime rates, deviant behavior, lack of social ties, and class divisions.
Ethics should be included in education due to its positive impact in creating a good life among the learners. The term “good life” implies acceptance and approval in society (Yoder and Kathryn 85). For an individual to claim that they are manifesting adherence to ethical principles in life, they must demonstrate a high standard of morality. Furthermore, it involves being trustworthy, courageous, kind, selfless, principled, and helpful (Mulhearn and Tyler 898). Ethical behavior also involves pursuing the wellbeing of the whole society, not individual interest. For instance, a businessman who wants to make a profit by cutting down the trees considers his own interest at the expense of the entire society.
However, when the person demonstrates observance of ethics, he/she considers the impacts of cutting down the trees to the animals and the people who depend on the forest, therefore avoiding such business. Ethics equips learners with many important virtues (Mattingly and Throop 492). It defines the goal of the students and allows them to rise above their selfish ambitions (Mattingly and Throop 492). Moreover, ethics in education, in relation to the teaching of ethics, emphasizes inner harmony and fulfillment rather than what people can see externally (Mulhearn and Tyler 890). Furthermore, ethical competence includes obeying the rules, laws, commandments, and acting in a manner that respects the freedom and the wellbeing of others in society. It is important to note that understanding and adopting ethical behavior as a personal value brings happiness due to its intrinsic meaning.
Teaching ethics in schools will enable learners to develop vital life principles, therefore becoming fair and just in all they do. It is important to note that students who are principled have respect for others in society, and they practice fairness in decision making (Mulhearn and Tyler 884). In addition to this, being principled involves taking full responsibility for oneself’s actions as well as accepting their consequences (Mulhearn and Tyler 885). Students should be trained to understand the impacts of unethical decisions that usually come from external pressure and faulty rationalization (Mulhearn and Tyler 885). Schools are supposed to refine students and make them good people who can make the right decision on their own even when they are under immense pressure from external forces (Mulhearn and Tyler 901). Ethical learning equips students with the knowledge of understanding the impacts of doing things that their society has forbidden, like increasing the cost of the item to make more profit. Moreover, ethical lessons will enable learners to understand how they are supposed to behave when they are faced with unethical choices by making good decisions (Mulhearn and Tyler 904). Notably, principled people understand the importance of holding good values in life, and they ensure justice is done not for their sake but for the benefit of the entire society.
Ethical studies allow learners to acquire critical thinking skills by exposing them to ethical scenarios. Remarkably, the courses of ethics involve examining articles and case studies that present both incorrect and correct ethical decisions, therefore allowing students to learn and understand the complexity of ethics (Yoder and Denhardt 102). Yoder and Denhardt (103) claim that such learning activities will give students a rare opportunity of learning firsthand and developing first-rate thinking ability that is necessary for solving ethical issues. At the heart of any system of educational practices, there is a certain value paradigm that determines the choice of goals and means of education. The main values at the postmodern stage are pluralism, tolerance, multiculturalism, the ability for compromise, practicality, autonomy of the subject, self-determination, freedom of information exchange, environmental preservation or sustainable development. In accordance with these values, the educational process involves the development of a person in several directions. The first level concerns the spiritual and moral development of the personality itself. The second one determines the nature of the individual’s relationship with society in various aspects (legal, professional, etc.). At the third level, the moral foundations of the relationship of human and society to nature are determined.
Additionally, the study of ethics is a key in establishing an analytical mind, which is useful as far as understanding the concept of moral standards (Yoder and Kathryn 104). People with the ability to think critically consider moral values that are accepted in society before they take action in their lives. In the context of the ongoing search for a universal minimum of morality, conducting business and role-playing games, trainings, round tables, etc. is able to reduce the risk of the teacher imposing his moral ideas on students by methods that do not meet the principle of intellectual freedom (Murphy 19). At the same time, ethical discourse acts as the only means of preventing moral relativism.
It is worth noting that teaching ethics in school is beneficial to the learners and society in general. However, it faces some challenges that need to be addressed in order to achieve its potential, as instructors have their different way of defining ethics due to many versions and definitions of the term (Tabensky 4). For these reasons, teaching ethics in school would be difficult because every instructor would embrace a definition that fits him or her, hence affecting its understanding and application among students from different schools (Tabensky 4). Moreover, the cost of introducing additional subjects in the education system is also high because it will require hiring more teachers to cover the whole college or high school (Tabensky 4). Notably, nowadays, teachers are underpaid, and they are expecting an improvement in their remuneration; therefore, increasing their workload is likely to demoralize them (Tabensky 4). Nevertheless, parents or guardians are likely to incur more expense with the introduction of ethnic studies in the school because they will have to buy books and contribute to paying increased salaries for teachers.
The modern educational institution has become a kind of ethical universe in which requests of modern personality on informative knowledge could be realized and opportunities for full-fledged moral improvement of the individual would be created. The closest means to achieve this is to increase the presence of ethics in the educational process (Cam 39). In addition to vocational training, school and college education should systematically and in a diversified nature promote fundamental moral values, clarify their meaning and their effectiveness in life and professional activities.
In conclusion, it is important to consider the introduction of ethics learning in college due to its benefits to the learners. The role of school in society cannot be underrated because it helps in transforming the lives of young people globally by making them responsible citizens. Ethics is a key to enhancing the character and thinking capability of the learners. If ethics is introduced in schools, it will ensure that learners are more responsible, honest, and hardworking. In addition to this, students will understand the importance of societal norms and culture upheld them all times, even when they are faced with challenging situations. Moreover, the study of ethics emphasizes the protection of the environment and the wellbeing of society. Currently, there are many environmental pollution activities that are being practiced in society; in this context, the study of ethics will equip learners with different skills that are required to prevent pollutions to the water bodies, soil, and air. Honesty, hardworking, courage, and critical thinking are the traits that society needs in order to develop social institutions and effective engagement of young adults in various sectors of postindustrial economy and society.
Works Cited
Cam, Philipp. Teaching Ethics in Schools: A New Approach to Moral Education. ACER Press, 2020.
Ferreira-Padilla, Guillermo, et al. “Ethics Competencies in The Undergraduate Medical Education Curriculum: The Spanish Experience.” Croatian Medical Journal, vol. 57, no. 5, 2016, pp. 493-503. Web.
Gulcan, Nur Yeliz. “Discussing the Importance of Teaching Ethics in Education.” Procedia – Social and Behavior Sciences, vol. 174, 2015, pp. 2622-2625.
Mattingly, Cheryl, and Jason Throop. “The Anthropology of Ethics and Morality.” Annual Review of Anthropology, vol. 47, 2018, pp. 475-492.
Mulhearn, Tyler J., et al. “Review of Instructional Approaches in Ethics Education.” Science and Engineering Ethics, vol. 23, no. 3, 2017, pp. 883-912.
Murphy, Peter. Universities and Innovation Economies: The Creative Wasteland of Post-Industrial Society. Routledge, 2015.
Tabensky, Pedro. “Ethics and education as practices of freedom.” Educational Philosophy and Theory, 2020, Web.
Yoder, Diane E., and Kathryn G. Denhardt. Handbook of Administrative Ethics. Routledge, 2019.