There is an influence of ethical awareness in each of our daily activities. Here I am going to explain the role of education in creating ethical awareness in students when the idea of ethics should be given to the student, the practice of professional ethics, etc.
It is in childhood that everyone develops an idea about the world; the idea about what is right and wrong. So, education has a great role in teaching an individual about rights and wrongs. An educational institution has a big role in the life of students. As the world is too competitive, the main intention of schooling is to make the students face the challenges of competition. But institutions face a major problem when they make their students aware of ethics that should be maintained in their whole life.
Students come to know about right and wrong in the early stages of education. This fact points to the necessity of implementing the lessons of rights and wrongs in the primary classes themselves. These ideas have a role in determining the later approach of people towards different things like business, family life, profession, etc. Rights and wrongs vary with criteria. So to decide whether an individual’s action is ethical or not, certain parameters have to be considered. “The Ethics Awareness Inventory refers to a combination of broad characterizations representing four categories of ethical philosophy, which are Character, Obligation, Results, and Equity. They have been designed to assist in the development of a deeper understanding of personal ethical perspectives and styles.” (Ethics awareness inventory analysis, 2009, para.1).
Being ethical is about keeping adherence to what is understood as right and wrong. But, it doesn’t mean that someone who strictly follows a book or code of rules would be ethical always. The character of an individual plays a great role in choosing between good and bad. Equity is one of the main aspects of ethics. But, there are many arguments like equity alone cannot be an aspect of ethical awareness. The existence of humanity even in small amounts can be a measure of ethical awareness Whether an individual is ethical or not is decided based on the decision taken by him on critical occasions. Let us take the example of a doctor in jail. His responsibility would be to treat his patients with love and care. The profession of a doctor requires adherence to lots of principles. But in jail, most people would be thieves and criminals. This thought would definitely take the doctor into a dilemma of whether the patient deserves good care or not. In such a situation, theories of professional ethics influence the decision.
Thomas Percival, a well-known physician and the president of Manchester philosophical society was the person who introduced the term professional ethics. It was related to closing a hospital in Manchester. The authorities had to close the hospital at the height of an epidemic. It made a big social issue. Mr. Percival was invited to solve the problem. “It took Percival three years to produce a prototype of all codes of ‘medical ethics’ and ‘professional ethics’ and more significantly his writings marked a major change in the way that professional ethics are conceptualized and implemented. “(Tribe & Morrissey, 2005, p.8).
Developing professional ethics and ethics in all other activities of life is related to the ethical awareness one gets in childhood. The students coming out of educational institutions which are well known for victory in competitive exams normally lack ethical awareness.
Reference List
Ethics awareness inventory analysis. (2009). Oppapers.com: Research Papers and Essays for All. Web.
Tribe, R., & Morrissey, J. (2005). Handbook of professional and ethical practice for psychologists, counselors and psychotherapists. Psychology Press.