The use of moral dilemmas for teaching agricultural engineers

Abstract

From the Hippocratic Oath on, deontological codes and other professional self-regulation mechanisms have been used to legitimize and identify professional groups. New technological challenges and, above all, changes in the socioeconomic environment require adaptable codes which can respond to new demands. We assume that ethical codes for professionals should not simply focus on regulative functions, but must also consider ideological and educative functions. Any adaptations should take into account both contents (values, norms and recommendations) and the drafting process itself. In this article we propose a process for developing a professional ethical code for an official professional association (Colegio Oficial de Ingenieros Industriales de Valencia (COIIV) starting from the philosophical assumptions of discursive ethics but adapting them to critical hermeneutics. Our proposal is based on the Integrity Approach rather than the Compliance Approach. A process aiming to achieve an effective ethical document that fulfils regulative and ideological functions requires a participative, dialogical and reflexive methodology. This process must respond to moral exigencies and demands for efficiency and professional effectiveness. In addition to the methodological proposal we present our experience of producing an ethical code for the industrial engineers' association in Valencia (Spain) where this methodology was applied, and we evaluate the detected problems and future potential.

Strategies for Teaching Professional Ethics to IT Engineering Degree Students and Evaluating the Result

“…The discussion of ethical dilemmas familiarizes the person with the most significant ethical questions, both social and professional (Lozano et al 2006). Working with cases is a useful method to understand moral theory, the application of different ethical perspectives or the introduction of professional deontological codes in order to analyze, and créate a solution to, an ethical dilemma (Colby and Sullivan 2008;Mumford et al 2008;Rathje et al 2008;Yau et al 2013).…”

“…Dealing with cases involves reasoning and judgment, but also is very useful to develop other important skills. The communication and dialogic skills can be enhanced by taking advantage of the group's interactions and dialogic methodology (Bowden and Smythe 2008;Lozano et al 2006;Rudnicka et al 2013). The strategy-based learning that Mumford et al (2008) propose uses the analysis of cases to develop emotional and self-reflection skills, and other useful strategies for ethical decisión making: recognizing complexity, anticipating the consequences of actions on others, seeking outside help or considering different perspectives.…”

Enhancing engineering students' ethical reasoning: Situating reflexive principlism within the SIRA framework

“…Several prominent models of moral development emphasize the cognitive development of the learner (Gibbs, ; Kohlberg, ; Perry, ; Selman, ), with studies finding that progression of moral development is highly correlated with such cognitive capacities as comprehension (Rest, Bebeau, & Thoma, ) or flexibility and adaptation (Endicott, Bock, & Narvaez, ). The Kohlbergian () framework of moral development and its neo‐Kohlbergian adaptations (Rest et al, ) are often relied upon, either implicitly or explicitly, by engineering ethics education scholars (Barry & Ohland, ; Drake et al, ; Finelli et al, ; Lozano et al, ; Nair, ; Rudnicka, Besterfield‐Sacre, & Shuman, ; Self & Ellison, ) even though this model is not accepted tout court among moral developmental theorists (Gibbs, ; Gilligan, ; Jorgensen, ). For example, Gilligan () criticized Kohlberg's model as deemphasizing relational and care‐based modes of ethical development.…”

Introducing development education in technical universities: successful experiences in Spain

“…Finally, we would like to remark, although those Groups are not focused on global issues and the pedagogy that some teachers use in their classes may not be considered similar to DE, it is undoubtedly a space to collective reflection and learning on ethical issues and innovative pedagogy. For instance, teachers members of GREVOL that hadn't previously work with moral education pedagogies have started to address ethical contents in a collaborative and participatory way [22].…”