the different ethical issues in education

1. ETHICAL THEORIES
DR AMINA
NAKIMULI
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2. Introduction:
• Ethical theories are based on the ethical
principles.
• They each emphasize different aspects of an
ethical dilemma and leads to the most
ethically correct solution according to the
guidelines within the ethical theory itself.
• These ethical theories include:

3. 1- Deontological Ethical Theory:
• The deontological ethical theory states that
people should adhere to their obligations and
duties when analyzing an ethical dilemma.
• A person who follows this theory will produce
very consistent decisions since they will be
based on the individual’s set duties.
• E.g. a deontologist will always keep his
promise to a friend and will follow the law.

4. Cont…
• Deontology provides a basis for special duties
and obligations to specific people, such as
those within one’s family.
• E.g. An older brother may have an obligation
to protect his younger sister when they cross a
busy road together.

5. Cont…
• This theory also praises those deontologists
who exceed their duties and obligations,
which is called “supererogation”.
• E.g. volunteering to die in the place of
someone condemned as was done by Fr.
Macmillan Kolbe in the Nazi concentration
camp.

6. Its weaknesses:
• 1- One weakness of this theory is that there is
no rationale or logical basis for deciding an
individual’s duties.
• One my claim duties that look admirable
when in fact there are hidden motives e.g. A
person who opens an orphanage with a
hidden intention of making money from
donors.

7. Cont…
• 2- Sometimes a person’s duty conflicts but
deontology is quiet and not concerned with
the welfare of others.
• E.g. The duty to keep time may lead to
reckless driving which could put other
people’s lives at risk, but deontology does not
explain an ethical resolution to this conflict.

8. 2- Utilitarian Ethical Theory:
• The utilitarian ethical theory is founded on the
ability to predict the consequences of an
action.
• To the utilitarian the choice that yields the
greatest benefit to most people is the choice
that is ethically correct.
• There are two types of utilitarianism: Act
utilitarianism and Rule utilitarianism.

9. Cont…
• Act utilitarianism adheres exactly to the
definition above, that is, a person performs
the acts that benefit the most people,
regardless of personal feelings or the societal
constraints such as laws.
• Rule Utilitarianism, however, takes into
account the law and is concerned with
fairness.

10. Cont…
• A rule utilitarian seeks to benefit the most
people but through the fairest and the most
just means available.
• Therefore the added benefit of rule
utilitarianism is that it values justice and
includes beneficence at the same time.

11. Weaknesses:
• 1- Inherent in both act and rule utilitarianism are
the flaws associated with predicting the future.
• Although people can use their life experiences to
attempt to predict outcomes, no human being
can be certain that this predictions will be true.
E.g. If a utilitarian lights a fire in the hope of
warming people in the house, but accidentally
the fire instead burns the house, the act of the
utilitarian ends up looking unethical due to the
result.

12. Cont…
• 2- Another assumption that a utilitarian must
make is that he has the ability to compare the
various types of consequences against each
other on a similar scale.
• However, comparing material gains such as
money against intangible gains such as
happiness is impossible since their qualities
differ to such a large extent.

13. Cont…
• 3- A third failing found in utilitarianism is that
it does not allow for the existence of
supererogation or heroes.
• 4- Since act utilitarianism is solely concerned
with achieving the maximum good, it means
an individual’s rights may be infringed upon in
order to benefit a greater population.

14. Cont…
• 5- Another source of instability within act
utilitarianism is apparent when a utilitarian faces
one set of variable conditions and then suddenly
experience a change that causes her to change
her original decisions.
• That means that an act utilitarian could be nice to
you one moment and then dislike you the next
moment, because the variables have changed
and you are no longer beneficial to most people.

15. Cont…
• 6- Rule utilitarianism also contains a source of
instability that inhibits its usefulness.
• In rule utilitarianism, there is the possibility of
conflicting rules e.g. Keep time but don’t
speed.

16. 3- Rights Ethical Theory:
• In the Rights ethical theory, the rights set forth by
a society are protected and given the highest
priority.
• Rights are considered to be ethically correct and
valid since a large or ruling population endorses
them.
• Individuals may also bestow rights upon others if
they have the ability and resources to do so. E.g.
if you say to your friend that he can borrow your
car for this afternoon, you have given him the
right over the car for this afternoon.

17. Cont…
• A major complication of this theory on a large
scale, however, is that one must decipher
what the characteristics of a right are in a
society.
• The society has to determine what rights it
wants to uphold and give to its citizens.
• In order for a society to determine what rights
it wants to enact, it must decide what the
society’s goals and ethical priorities are.

18. Cont…
• Therefore, in order for the Rights theory to be
useful, it must be used in conjunction with
another ethical theory that will consistently
explain the goals of the society.

19. 4- Casuist Ethical Theory:
• The Casuist ethical theory is one that
compares a current ethical dilemma with
examples of similar ethical dilemmas and their
outcomes.
• This allows one to determine the severity of
the situation and to create the best possible
solution according to others’ experiences.

20. Cont…
• Usually one will find paradigms that represent
the extremes of the situation so that a
compromise can be reached that will
hopefully include the wisdom gained from the
previous examples.
• One drawback of the Casuist ethical theory is
that there may not be a set of similar
examples for a given ethical dilemma.

21. Cont…
• Perhaps that which is controversial and
ethically questionable is new and unexpected.
• Along the same line of thinking, a Casuistical
theory also assumes that the results of the
current ethical dilemma will be similar to the
results in the examples.
• This may not be necessarily true and would
greatly hinder the effectiveness of applying
this ethical theory.

22. 5- Virtue Ethical Theory:
• The Virtue ethical theory judges a person by his
character rather than by an action that may
deviate from his normal behavior.
• It takes the person’s morals, reputation and
motivation into account when rating an unusual
and irregular behavior that is considered
unethical.
• E.g. If a man known for kindness, on a certain
occasion beats a certain young man, they could
say the young man must have been on the
wrong.

23. Cont…
• One weakness of the Virtue ethical theory is
that it does not take into consideration a
person’s change in moral character.

24. In conclusion:
• Although all of the ethical theories attempt to
follow the ethical principles in order to be
applicable and valid by themselves, each
theory falls short with complex flaws and
failings.
• However these ethical theories can be used in
combination in order to obtain the most
ethically correct answer possible for each
scenario.

25. ETHICAL ISSUES IN HIGHER
EDUCATION

26. THE ETHICS OF RECRUITING:
• Recruiting has a fairly bad reputation because
of what candidates go through during the
process.
• We need to know what the proper ethics for
recruiting are, how an organization or an
individual establishes value around recruiting,
and how to determine what ethical recruiting
might look like.

27. Cont…
• There are specific areas in recruiting where
most ethical issues arise.
• These include how a position is represented to
candidates, how candidates are located, and
how interviews are conducted.
• In all aspects of our lives, the ground floor is
the legal one. First of all, we must follow the
law.

28. Cont…
• By that measure we need to recruit fairly and
make sure that no one is adversely impacted
by the practices we follow.
• We cannot discriminate, ask candidates
personal information that has no bearing on
the job, and so on. But following these laws is
not enough.
• We need to make ethical decisions.

29. Cont…
• Should you tell a candidate that the
organization is doing poorly financially?
• Should you disclose that the hiring manager
has a very high turnover rate, and that you
have helped her fill this position several times
over the past few years?
• Should you call the company and
misrepresent yourself to get the name or
position of a key potential recruit?

30. Cont…
• Should you use the proprietary email list you
are offered by a candidate?
• Should you misrepresent the position in the
discussion with a candidate by stretching the
scope or authority that the position will have?
• The list of these situations or ethical dilemmas
could go on and on, but the real issue is how
you go about deciding what to do.

31. Cont…
• Tom Shanks has developed the following
processes to help in guiding your own ethical
decision-making:
• 1- Start by following the law:
• At the base of any action there has to be a
legal foundation.
• However many recruiting issues are far
removed from the law.

32. Cont…
• Some issues are in the gray area of the law or
actions that, while not absolutely illegal, are
ambiguous.
• In those cases, the remaining steps in these
guidelines can help you.

33. Cont…
• 2- Learn all you can about the situation and
put yourself in the shoes of all the
stakeholders:
• What will your action do to each of them?
• Ask yourself what each person has at stake in
the process.

34. Cont…
• 3- List and then evaluate your most likely
course of action:
• There will most likely be two or more possible
ways you could act, and choosing the right
one is often easy.
• The following questions can help guide your
decision making:
• - What action will cause more good than harm
to all the stakeholders?

35. Cont…
• -Which action treats everyone with dignity
and respect and upholds the candidate’s
rights?
• -Which is fair and satisfies your duties?
• -Which is best for the organization as a whole?
• -Which decision will best advance the values
of your organization?

36. Cont…
• 4- Decide and test:
• Whose interest are you satisfying and why?
• Always talk over an ethical decision with
someone you trust and can confide in.
• Ask yourself what would happen if the
decision became the universal one and
everyone else were doing it.
• Would someone be hurt by the decision?

37. Cont…
• Would someone who was hurt by the decision
at least understand your reasoning?
• You could even think through how you would
explain and justify your decisions to someone
close to you.
• Would they agree with your decision?

38. Cont…
• 5- Finally make you decision, act and then
follow up on your decision:
• Ask yourself after the decision is made
whether or not the result was what you
expected.
• Ask yourself how others reacted to the
decision and whether all the stakeholders felt
the decision was good.

39. Cont…
• In the end, all of us in recruiting have to ask
ourselves whether we are being true to our
own values and beliefs;
• Whether we do more good to ourselves, our
candidates, and our clients than harm;
• Whether we are acting fairly and treating
others with respect.

40. THANK YOU !!!