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Why teach ethics courses in professional training (and elsewhere)?

Many authors are skeptical about the outcomes of ethics training. Mintz mentions an article “on the failure of ethics education of business students to change the dynamic in the business world where the pursuit of self-interests trumps all else.” Changing the entire culture of business is a pretty tall order!  Ethics training—in the form of courses and other experiences—may be able to make a dent, but it is hardly fair to indict the relatively new enterprise of ethics training for not single-handedly curing very old problems in a profession. 

To say that ethics training hasn’t changed the culture doesn’t mean it has no impact.  We have long known (e.g., Baldick, 1980) that ethics training has at least modest effects on skills like ethical reasoning.  Besides, we usually don’t question why we teach other things.  For example, do we give up teaching science just because some people in society continue to believe in non-scientific phenomena (like ESP, past lives, and the possibility of ethics blogs going viral)?  And I’ve never heard psychology professors argue that we shouldn’t teach statistics just because most students don’t become excellent users or consumers of statistics-based information.

The importance of professional ethics training has been recognized in many fields.  For example, Mintz notes that AACSB-International, the accrediting body for business schools, recommends ethics training—although this recommendation is optional, which often means not implemented. The Accreditation Committee of the American Psychological Association requires ethics training for clinical and other training programs. 

Let’s go beyond professional training:  Another reason to teach ethics is to raise awareness and skill among consumers of professional services, which includes everyone (after all, students are all sitting in front of a professional). And, of course, ethics is a good thing for all educated human beings. In this regard, the American Association of Colleges and Universities lists “ethical reasoning and action” under “Personal and Social Responsibility,” one of their four Essential Learning Outcomes for liberal arts education.  Indeed, some schools have implemented programs in “ethics across the curriculum.”  This leads to our next question:

Where should we teach ethics?

I believe (or hypothesize, because I am a scientist….) that ethics courses should be taught both in graduate and undergraduate programs.  But ethics courses alone are not enough. For bigger societal goals like changing the nature of business in the US, ethics awareness and discussions need to permeate advising, supervision, mentoring, staff meetings, and other nooks and crannies of education.

Arguments have long raged about whether to teach ethics as a stand-alone course or as a component of other courses.  Many authors, including me (Handelsman, 1986), argue that ethics should be a stand-alone course (like statistics in psychology) and integrated into other courses and activities.

When should ethics courses be taught?

This is a common question within professional training programs.  Some argue that students should have such courses early, before engaging in any professional activity.  For example, how can a psychology trainee see clients before being grounded in ethics and understanding their obligations and responsibilities?  Others argue that new students don’t have enough experience to appreciate ethical principles and standards—they say courses would have more impact later in a program.  Once again, the right answer seems to be an inclusive one.  Mintz cites Kabrina Chang of Boston University’s School of Management:  “We need to hit the students hard when they first get here, remind them of these principles throughout their core classes, and hit them once again before they leave.”  I agree—although the metaphor of hitting students is a little harsh, don’t you think?

What should be taught in ethics courses?

At the most basic level, we should help students stay out of trouble (and protect the public) by teaching relevant laws, regulations, and ethics codes.  But ethics training can and should be more than that.  My colleagues and I have discussed “positive ethics,” which refers to striving for higher ideals rather than avoiding punishment.  Mintz makes a similar point when he discusses “ethical leadership.”

Who should teach ethics?

When discussing a training curriculum in business, Mintz reports “not being able to get faculty from various business disciplines on board to incorporate ethics into their individual courses.  Some feel unequipped to do so; others do not believe we should be ‘preaching’ to college students.”  It could be that because ethics often has a negative connotation (focusing on rules and violations rather than excellence or leadership), faculty are shy about sharing their own ethical choice-making processes.  However, programs may want to change their own culture by making ethics a routine part of their discussions, courses, and decisions, rather than addressing ethics only when dilemmas or violations crop up (Keller, Murray, Hargrove, 2012).  By creating a culture of ethics within programs, all faculty would share the responsibility to teach ethics, and we in academica can change our little corner of society. 

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Mitch Handelsman is a professor of psychology at the University of Colorado Denver and the co-author (with Sharon Anderson) of Ethics for Psychotherapists and Counselors: A Proactive Approach (Wiley-Blackwell, 2010).  He is also an associate editor of the two-volume APA Handbook of Ethics in Psychology(American Psychological Association, 2012).References:

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