Skip to main content

Ethical Understanding Among Students About Bioethical Issues

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Ethics in Science
  • 392 Accesses

Abstract

Students have varied perceptions about ethical issues related to Biotechnology which was evident from their responses in the classrooms at both high school and undergraduate levels. One of the factors contributing to the development of students’ ethical understanding is the quality of exposure that they are given in the classroom vis-a-vis ethical issues. The classroom discourse initiated by the teacher around these issues also helps in triggering thought process and critical understanding about these issues. The present chapter highlights the different aspects of students’ thinking, meaning-making and ethical understanding with respect to STSE (science, technology, society and environment) issues which is often evident in their arguments. Sometimes, it was found that students abide by their teacher’s positions and stances on ethical issues, while in others, there were also some conflicts recorded in their responses. This will give a firsthand understanding to the teacher as to how students think about ethical issues in Biotechnology and can thus help them in better planning and transaction of issues. Development of ethical reasoning is indispensable for sound decision-making and attaining a high level of scientific literacy on these issues, which was reflected in some students’ responses.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Notes

  1. 1.

    Taken from, Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy (https://www.iep.utm.edu/ethics/).

References

  • Bottcher, F., & Meisert, A. (2013). Effects of direct and indirect instruction on fostering decision-making competence in socioscientific issues. Research in Science Education, 43(2), 479–506. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11165-011-9271-0.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cavanagh, H., Hood, J., & Wilkinson, J. (2005). Riverina high school students’ views of biotechnology. Electronic Journal of Biotechnology, 8(2), 121–127.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Clermont, C. P., Borko, H., & Krajcik, J. S. (1994). Comparative study of the pedagogical content knowledge of experienced and novice chemical demonstrators. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 31, 419–441.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Coles, R. (1998). The moral intelligence of children: How to raise a moral child. New York, NY: Plume.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • De Jong, O., & Van Driel, J. H. (2001). The development of prospective teachers’ concerns about teaching chemistry topics at a macro-micro-symbolic interface. In H. Behrednt, H. Dahncke, R. Duit, W. Graber, M. Komorek, A. Kross, & P. Reiska (Eds.), Research in science education: Past, present and future (pp. 271–276). The Netherlands: Kluwer Academic.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Friedrichsen, P., Abell, S. K., Pareja, E. M., Brown, P. L., Lankford, D. M., & Volkmann, M. J. (2009). Does teaching experience matter? Examining biology teachers’ prior knowledge for teaching in an alternative certification program. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 46(4), 357–383.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gardner, H. (1999). Are there additional intelligences? The case for naturalist, spiritual, and existential intelligences. In J. Kane (Ed.), Education, information, and transformation (pp. 111–131). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

    Google Scholar 

  • Griswold, J. C., & Chowning, J. T. (2013, Spring). Strategies to support ethical reasoning in student argumentation. Issues in Teacher Education, 22(1), 63–75. Retrieved from https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1013926.pdf.

  • Iyalomhe, G. B. (2009). Medical ethics and ethical dilemmas. PubMed (pp. 8–16). Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19485140.

  • Jones, A., McKim, A., & Reiss, M. (2010). Towards introducing ethical thinking in the classroom-Beyond Rhetoric. In A. Jones, A. McKim, & M. Reiss (Eds.), Ethics in the science and technology classroom (pp. 1–6). Netherlands: Sense Publishers.

    Google Scholar 

  • Knabe, B., Stearns, J., & Glasser, M. (1994). Medical students’ understanding of ethical issues in the ambulatory settings. Family Medicine, 26(7), 442–446.

    Google Scholar 

  • Macer, D., Bezar, H., Harman, N., Kamada, H., & Macer, N. (1997). Attitudes to biotechnology in New Zealand and Japan in 1997, with international comparisons. Eubios Journal of Asian and International Bioethics, 7, 137–151.

    Google Scholar 

  • Macer, D., Azariah, J., & Srinives, P. (2000). Attitudes to biotechnology in Asia. International Journal of Biotechnology, 2(4), 313–332.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rogerson, M. D., Gottlieb, M. C., Handelsman, M. M., Knapp, S., & Younggren, J. (2011). Nonrational processes in ethical decision making. American Psychologist, 66, 614–623.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sternberg, R. J. (2012). A model for ethical reasoning. Review of General Psychology, 16(4), 319–326.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Usak, M. (2009). Preservice science and technology teachers’ pedagoical content knowledge on cell topics. Educational Sciences: Theory and Practice, 9(4), 2033–2046. Retrieved from http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ867376.pdf.

  • Van Driel, J. H., Verloop, N., & De Vos, W. (1998). Developing science teachers’ pedagogical content knowledge. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 35, 673–695.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wang, H., Hong, Z., Liu, S., & Lin, H. (2018). The impact of socio-scientific issue discussions on student environmentalism. EURASIA Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, 14(12), 1–15. https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/95134.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Astha Saxena .

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2019 Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Saxena, A. (2019). Ethical Understanding Among Students About Bioethical Issues. In: Ethics in Science. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-32-9009-9_10

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-32-9009-9_10

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore

  • Print ISBN: 978-981-32-9008-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-981-32-9009-9

  • eBook Packages: EducationEducation (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics