Ethics is the branch of philosophy that studies morality, or right and wrong behaviours. Earlier empirical studies like done by Husu and Tirri show teachers are often unaware of the ethical ramifications of their own actions and overall practice on the behavioural implications on students. Klaassen found that teachers were quite critical of the manner in which parents raise their children, and believed that parents should impose more rules and be more consistent in their child rearing. Parents, on the other hand, criticise teachers for lacking a clear pedagogical policy and for minimal communication with parents regarding the values they teach.
Will this blame game of parents accusing academia of not doing enough to impart ethical education and academics defending that the basic moral values are driven from home bring any prudent results? Someone needs to step up and take the responsibility of ethical training; after all, it is the future generations’ value system at stake.
Many researchers like Giacomino believe that the general moral decline in society in recent decades entail ethics education. Several countries have taken ethics so seriously that Lithuania’s national security strategy considers crisis of values as one of the 14 main threats to their national security.
It is also imperative to expand ethics education in the business curricula as a recent researcher’s study shows that the public increasingly views the entire corporate sector as corrupt, and business education is receiving part of the blame for corporate misconduct. People believe that business schools serve their main clients’ interests; the corporate sector, emphasis on presentation, marketing and maximising profits, are we teaching students that everything is fair for profits?
Several countries have taken ethics so seriously that Lithuania’s national security strategy considers crisis of values as one of the 14 main threats to their national security
Researchers contend that academics play a critical role in developing ethical values of the future organisational workforce by imparting education. Does teaching one course on ethics suffice for ethical development of students? We need to categorically introduce a part of ethics training interventions using ethical dilemmas as it can stimulate moral reasoning, ethical sensitivity and even ethical behaviour in different course across disciplines as had been shown in many empirical studies. Ethics education can have positive results both for faculty and students as studies have shown that ethics education improved students’ ethical awareness and moral reasoning. Researchers believe that business education can reduce managerial tolerance for unethical behaviour.
Now the issue arises when many professors feel unqualified to teach ethics as they have had little ethics training themselves. So isn’t it high time that a faculty development institute for professional training be established for HEIs to give soft skills training including ethics? Many academics and/or philosophers believe that there is a steady decline of values in HEIs that warrants interventions at a national level.
It must be remembered that students hold the key to our future; we need to talk about their moral development to make them law-abiding ethical citizens. That is only possible when the main agenda of universities also includes extensive moral development to help students become better human beings when they graduate with a degree to become skilled professionals.