NCJ Number
170178
Date Published
1996
Length
16 pages
Annotation
After an overview of the "freestanding" (a separate full ethics course) and "pervasive" (incorporating ethics into other courses in the curriculum) approaches to teaching criminal justice ethics, this essay assesses the strengths and weaknesses of each and argues for an approach that combines them.
Abstract
This essay suggests that freestanding approaches are to be preferred, although the author suggests that an approach which combines freestanding and pervasive methods will be maximally useful for ethics education in criminal justice curricula. In discussing the goals of practical ethics teaching, the author advises that neutral theorizing about ethics is appropriate, but this should be distinguished from what occurs in practical ethics. The latter has several aims: the recognition of moral issues, the development of moral imagination, the sharpening of analytical/critical skills, the sorting out of disagreements, and the influencing of decisions and behavior. After discussing these aims, the essay identifies the kinds of problems that might be expected in pursuing them and the strategies that might be adopted to avoid the problems. The author concludes that although a freestanding approach is better than the pervasive approach in teaching criminal justice ethics, a combined approach can encompass the benefits of both approaches and provide the best strategy for addressing problems in achieving the goals of teaching criminal justice ethics. Appended decision procedure for morally difficult cases and 12 notes