Promoting the moral sensitivity of police and military personnel

To make good decisions, people must be able to identify the ethical features of a situation, i.e., to notice when and how the welfare of others and ethical values are at stake. In the work of military and law enforcement officers, moral sensitivity is of special importance, due to an especially stressful working environment and the severe consequences that a blindness to moral features may have for diverse parties. As we argue, morally sensitive people overcome three blinders that may lead others to ignore moral aspects in their decision making: Cognitive overload, psychological biases, and moral disengagement. Based on these challenges, we suggest four general learning outcomes for the training of moral sensitivity: (1) an empathic concern for relevant groups, (2) an awareness for one’s vulnerability to biases and stress, (3) moral schemas for the evaluation of risky situations, and (4) a sensitivity to attitudes of moral disengagement. To achieve the relevant learning outcomes in the ethics training of military and police personnel, we offer indicative training examples and references

Moral sensitivity in business: A revised measure

In order to manage ethical challenges in organizations and the workplace, moral sensitivity (MS)—the ability to identify and ascribe importance to moral issues when they arise in the workplace—is seen as the key prerequisite by researchers and professionals. However, despite the importance of MS, satisfactory reliable and valid measures to assess this competence are to date lacking. The present research tests the psychometric qualities of a revised MS measure for the business domain (R-MSB) that is designed to assess individual differences in moral and business-related value sensitivity. We present three different analyses with two heterogeneous samples of Swiss and German employees (total N = 1168). The first two studies provide good evidence of the measures’ factorial structure, its construct, and criteria-related validity. The third study examines how affective and empathic responses are associated with MS and business sensitivity (BS). The results support the view that empathic responsiveness enhances MS. The instrument’s theoretical and practical strengths, limitations, and avenues for future research are discussed

Spielend Medizinethik trainieren: „uMed: Your Choice“

„uMed: Your Choice“ ist ein digitales Lernspiel zur Unterstützung des Ethikunterrichts im Fach Medizin. Es wurde an der Universität Zürich entwickelt und bereichert nunmehr seit 2018 in mehreren Studiengängen die medizinethische Lehre. „uMed: Your Choice“ ist ein Serious Moral Game, das seinen ethisch-didaktischen Wert in der Verschränkung aus Selbststudium, d. h. dem individuellen Spielen, und gemeinsamer Diskussion der Spielerfahrung und der dabei aufgeworfenen Themen entfaltet (vgl. Katsarov et al. 2020). Das in didaktischer Hinsicht Wesentliche geschieht in der Konfrontation und Reflexion der Spielerfahrungen, dem Austausch mit anderen Studierenden, Lehr- oder anderen Fachpersonen. Ziel des Spiels ist es, bestehende Ansätze und Ressourcen des medizinischen Ethik-Trainings zu ergänzen. Zurzeit besteht es aus drei Szenarien, die online gespielt werden können (einzeln oder in Kleingruppen)

Moral Sensitivity Training - A Systematic Review

Moral sensitivity is one of the most important educational goals in the ethical domain. This paper offers a first review of attempts to train moral sensitivity from 1979 to 2018, including 45 studies. The studies were reviewed using a combination of qualitative and quantitative analyses. Our results show that longer courses are generally more successful in fostering moral sensitivity. However, this effect is relatively small. What ultimately appears to have mattered most, was whether learners received personal feedback on their awareness to ethical issues. Training methods that appeared to be of little value in promoting moral sensitivity including problem-based learning, the discussion of papers and texts (seminars) and a strong focus on critical thinking and challenging existing perspectives. A further major implication of our results is that reviews of ethics training ought to differentiate between learning outcomes (e.g., moral sensitivity vs. reasoning)

Educating moral sensitivity in business: An experimental study to evaluate the effectiveness of a serious moral game

Serious games have emerged as a promising new form of education and training. Even though the benefits of serious games for education are undisputed, there is still a further need for research on the efficacy of such games. The main goal of our research is to examine the effectiveness of a serious moral game—uFin: The Challenge—that was designed to promote moral sensitivity in business, a precondition of ethical decision-making and behavior and a core moral competency of moral intelligence. A second goal is to examine the role of metacognitive prompting and prosocial nudging in influencing learning effectiveness. Participants (N = 345) took part in an experimental game-based intervention study and completed a pre- and post-test questionnaire assessing moral sensitivity. The analyses of both questionnaire and game data suggest that merely playing this game is effective in promoting moral sensitivity. Neither self-reflection nor exposure to prosocial nudges, however, were determined to be factors that improve learning effectiveness. In contrast, those interventions even decreased the learning outcome in some cases. Overall, findings demonstrate the potential for game-based learning in the moral domain. An important avenue for future research is to examine others ways of increasing the effectiveness of the game

Gelingende Ethik-Lehre in der Medizin. Erkenntnisse aus der Lehrforschung

Die Frage nach den Faktoren, die eine wirksame Ethik-Lehre in der Medizin ausmachen, blieb bislang weitgehend unbeantwortet. Vor allem im deutschsprachigen Raum wird hier zu wenig Forschung betrieben. Aufgrund fehlender wissenschaftlich aussagekräftiger Evaluationsstudien lässt sich somit mitunter nur vermuten, wie wirksam bestimmte Lehrformate und -methoden in der Ethik-Lehre tatsächlich sind. Die Auswahl von Lehrformaten und -methoden, die Ethik-Dozierende für das Erreichen eines festgelegten Lernziels einsetzen, wird häufig nicht nach evidenzbasierten Kriterien, sondern auf der Grundlage von guten oder schlechten Lehrerfahrungen sowie von unmittelbarem Feedback der Studierenden getroffen. Im vorliegenden Beitrag werden nach einem kurzen Überblick über Evaluationsverfahren ethischer Kompetenzen Erkenntnisse aus ausgewählten internationalen Wirksamkeitsstudien vorgestellt und auf ihre Relevanz für den Medizinethik-Unterricht diskutiert. Wenngleich die Erkenntnisse aus diesen Evaluations- und Meta-Studien aus anderen, angrenzenden Bereichen wie der Forschungsethik und anderen Lehrkontexten kommen, so können sie doch als Diskussionsanstoß dienen und dazu beitragen, Eckpunkte für die Gestaltung wirksamer Ethik-Lehre in der Medizin im deutschsprachigen Raum zu definieren

Effective ways to teach ethics in medicine. Findings from educational research

Problem The question of what factors drive the effectiveness of ethics teaching in medicine has remained largely unanswered in German-speaking countries. Due to the lack of scientifically sound evaluation studies, it is sometimes only possible to assume how effective certain teaching formats and methods actually are in ethics courses. The selection of teaching formats and methods that ethics lecturers use to achieve a specified learning objective is often not made according to evidence-based criteria, but on the basis of positive or negative teaching experiences and direct feedback from students. Methods and arguments In this article, after a brief overview of evaluation procedures of ethical competences, findings from selected international effectiveness studies are presented and discussed in terms of their relevance for teaching medical ethics. Results and conclusion Although the findings from these evaluation and meta-studies come from other, related fields such as research ethics and other teaching contexts, they can serve as an impetus for discussion and contribute to defining cornerstones in order to design effective ways to teach ethics in medicine in the German-speaking countries.Die Frage nach den Faktoren, die eine wirksame Ethik-Lehre in der Medizin ausmachen, blieb bislang weitgehend unbeantwortet. Vor allem im deutschsprachigen Raum wird hier zu wenig Forschung betrieben. Aufgrund fehlender wissenschaftlich aussagekräftiger Evaluationsstudien lässt sich somit mitunter nur vermuten, wie wirksam bestimmte Lehrformate und -methoden in der Ethik-Lehre tatsächlich sind. Die Auswahl von Lehrformaten und -methoden, die Ethik-Dozierende für das Erreichen eines festgelegten Lernziels einsetzen, wird häufig nicht nach evidenzbasierten Kriterien, sondern auf der Grundlage von guten oder schlechten Lehrerfahrungen sowie von unmittelbarem Feedback der Studierenden getroffen. Im vorliegenden Beitrag werden nach einem kurzen Überblick über Evaluationsverfahren ethischer Kompetenzen Erkenntnisse aus ausgewählten internationalen Wirksamkeitsstudien vorgestellt und auf ihre Relevanz für den Medizinethik-Unterricht diskutiert. Wenngleich die Erkenntnisse aus diesen Evaluations- und Meta-Studien aus anderen, angrenzenden Bereichen wie der Forschungsethik und anderen Lehrkontexten kommen, so können sie doch als Diskussionsanstoß dienen und dazu beitragen, Eckpunkte für die Gestaltung wirksamer Ethik-Lehre in der Medizin im deutschsprachigen Raum zu definieren

European Research Agenda for Career Guidance and Counselling

In a changing world, there is a need to reflect about the research basis of career guidance and counselling (CGC) as a professional practice, considering the contributions of various disciplines and research traditions. This paper outlines a possible European research agenda (ERA) to further enhance the knowledge foundation of the CGC practice. The proposed lines of research, which are pronounced in the ERA, are based on a literature review involving 45 researchers concerned with the CGC practice. At three events, approximately 150 researchers from across Europe were engaged in the discussion, what kind of research is needed to enhance the knowledge foundation of the CGC practice. The paper provides a systematic overview of the relevant research fields, and links key research questions to current research endeavours. Due to the necessary involvement of diverse types of practitioners, policy makers, and researchers from different disciplines to share the CGC practice and contribute to the development of its knowledge basis, the paper calls for open, cooperative and integrative research approaches, including the combination of different research paradigms and methods. The development of the European Research Agenda was co-funded by the European Union through the Lifelong Learning Programme

Professionell beraten: Qualtätsstandards für die Beratung in Bildung, Beruf und Beschäftigung

Gute Beratung in Bildung, Beruf und Beschäftigung braucht anerkannte Standards. Die neu entwickelten BeQu-Standards definieren Qualitätsanforderungen an gute Beratung, sich an Beratende, Führungskräfte in Beratungsorganisationen und verantwortliche politische Akteure richten. Mit den Standards können Ratsuchende die Qualität von Beratungsleistungen besser beurteilen. Beratende und Anbieter können die Qualität der eigenen Angebote überprüfen und verbessern. Für Entscheidungsträger in Politik und Verwaltung liefern sie Anhaltspunkte für die Steuerung und Finanzierung der von ihnen verantworteten Beratungsangebote.Good counselling and guidance for education, vocation and employment needs recognised standards in place. The newly developed BeQu standards define quality requirements for good counselling and guidance, which are aimed at guidance counsellors, managers of counselling organisations and relevant political actors. The standards will allow individuals seeking guidance to better judge the quality of guidance and counselling services. Counsellors and providers can assess and - where needed - improve the quality of their own offering. The standards furthermore offer decision-makers valuable pointers with regards to the control and financing of the guidance and counselling offers they provide