Moral Based Thinking Process Skills for Students Morality and Ethics Development

Transcription

1 Moral Based Thinking Process Skills for Students Morality and Ethics Development Khuntarose Sanwong, King Mongkut's University of Technology North Bangkok, Thailand Abstract: The research involves mixed methodology, aiming to develop undergraduate students morals and ethics in five dimensions including punctuality, honesty, unity, responsibility, and sustainability. These components were transferred though moral-based thinking process skill. The study further explored the impacts of moral-based thinking process skill development upon the progress of morals and ethics. Lastly, the effects of moral-based thinking process skill on undergraduate morals and ethics were compared along with education level and fields of study. The samples contained 799 tertiary students from College of Industrial Technology, King Mongkut's University of Technology North Bangkok. The data were analyzed via t-test, ANOVA, Stepwise Multiple Regression Analysis, and content analysis. The instruments contained a survey on morals and ethics, an attitude appraisal, and an observation form. The overall Cronbach's alpha coefficient was.875. The outcomes disclosed the efficiency of the teaching model using, moral-based thinking process skill on the progress of student morality and ethics (p<.05). The increase in these dimensions can be predicted by the subjects' attitudes. All five dimensions could be categorized into two subcomponents. Suitable values comprised comprehension, being aware, and clarification potential. Unsuitable values blended among ignorance, morality employed. Keywords: Moral based, Moral and Ethics Development, Student Development Introduction There have been several social problems in the recent decade, for example; crimes, drug abuse, sexual harassment. They are all from moral and ethical decline. Although several campaigns raising awareness of morality and ethic concern have been activated by both public and private organizations, the problems still continue. As a matter of fact, the referred methods can be considered as a remedy that focuses on the surface level not deep into the core part. The actual matter affecting social problems is from the citizens in society. In case of decent citizen equipped with morality, the society can be sustainable in good order. Thus the sustainable solution to social problems is to foster the members of society to have morality and ethics. According to the royal speech upon the 200 th anniversary of Ratanakosin city given by HM King Bhumipol concerning 4 aspects of morality, the government has adopted the suggestion. They urged people to practice the following morality in daily routine; honesty, tolerance, patience and being economize. In addition Padthaisong (cited in Ruangchindawalai: 2003) asserts that not only should citizen be responsible to taxpaying and following laws, but also should they take part in social and political function with public concern and of course with morality consisted of discipline, ethical brave, public service minded. The researcher as a lecturer teaching the general education courses, with full attempt to foster students with morality and ethics, can notice several moral and ethical problems e.g.

2 lack of discipline, unpunctuality, irresponsibility. Those problems are from several causes. Thus the researcher would like to focus on students morality and ethics development with systematically moral and ethical development program. Therefore students can be prompted with intelligence and morality that can benefit social advantages. Objectives 1. To develop students morality and ethics concerning punctuality, honesty, unity, responsibility and sustainability with the application of moral based thinking process skills practice. 2. To examine the result from practicing moral based thinking process skills. 3. To make a comparison on the results from practicing moral based thinking skills among different groups of students divided by education level and fields of study. Hypothesis 1. The teaching methodology with the application of moral based thinking process skills practice can result in the development in students morality and ethics. 2. Education level of students does not influence any differences in the result from practicing moral based thinking skills. 3. The different fields of study do not influence any differences in the result from practicing moral based thinking skills. 4. Student s attitude toward morality and ethics can predict moral and ethical behaviors. The Concepts of moral based thinking process skills The concepts of moral based thinking process skills are derived from several practices forms regarding groups of educators (Ministry of Educations, 2001). In conclusion, the concepts can be developed to be 5 stages of moral based skills practice, as following; 1. Realizing the problems and importance of solving problems with morality 2. Collaborating in analyzing and assessing causes of problems and relating factors 3. Creating options and following them 4. Evaluating and adjusting oneself 5. Appreciating and being proud of the moral Research methodology Research approach: The present study is conducted with the application of Mixed Methodology, so that both qualitative and quantitative approaches have been followed. Population and sampling: The population of this study consisted of 18, 928 undergraduate students and pre-engineering vocational certificate students studying in KMUT, North Bangkok, in the second semester of education year The random sampling has been used to select the sample group. The first sample group consisted of 5,805 students studying in the college of Industrial Technology, derived from simple random sampling. Then they

3 were selected by simple random sampling again. Therefore the group of 799 students studying in under-gradate and pre-engineering vocational certificate level were derived. Instrument Design: The following instruments have been used as instrument to collect data for the present study; moral and ethics evaluation form, the attitude assessment form, the Lesson plan covering moral based thinking process skills practice, the program of moral based thinking process skills practice, self evaluation form concerning morality and ethics, and behavioral reporting form. The instruments have been designed by 12 research assistants and verified by 3 experts to approve the content validity. Data Analysis: The quantitative data have been calculated and analyzed by SPSS for Windows. The following descriptive statistics have been used; frequency, percentage, Standard Deviation. In addition inferential statistics like t-test, ANOVA and Stepwise MR have been applied to test the hypothesis. The content analysis of qualitative data has been done via the report on students behavior. Regarding the behavioral report, there were 12 lecturers collaborated in the collection of qualitative data in class. Research Findings Table 1 shows the result of students self-evaluation on morality and ethics by levels of morality, pre and post program Morality pre post Level t Df sig. X SD X SD Punctuality Very high 11.93* Honesty Very high 10.84* Unity Very high 16.21* Responsibility Very high 17.06* Sustainability High 12.66* α = High According to the table 1, it can be seen that behaviors indicating morality and ethics after the program are overall in high level (=4.32). In addition the morality concerning punctuality, honesty, unity and responsibility are in very high level while the morality concerning sufficiency is in high level. Furthermore, the after program mean appears to be higher with statistical significance of.01.

4 Research findings with the references to hypothesis test 1. Hypothesis 1 : the teaching methodology with the application of moral based thinking process skills practice can result in the development in students morality and ethics. Chart 1 Moral, ethics, and attitudes in two phases Mean Mean Pre Post Pre Mean α =.05 α =.05 Post Attitude As can be seen in the chart 1, showing the comparison of behaviors indicating morality and ethics, before and after the program, the mean of behavior concerning morality and ethics after the program appears to be higher than before the program (8.45/9.71) as well as the mean of attitude toward morality and ethics which increase after the program (161.99/165.00). This is in accordance with the hypothesis 1 that the teaching methodology with the application of moral based thinking process skills practice can bring about the development in students morality and ethics. 2. Hypothesis 2: education level of students does not influence any differences in the result from practicing moral based thinking skills.

5 Chart 2: Comparison of pre and post means of behaviors, and attitudes, preengineering students and undergraduates Mean Behaviors Mean 2 before after before after attitudes Pre-engineering Undergrads Preengineering Undergraduates As can be seen in the chart 2, from the behavior mean concerning morality and ethics categorized by education level, the group of pre-engineer vocational certificate students and the group of undergraduate students have the similar mean of behavior concerning morality and ethics in both pre and post program. Different education level reveals no significant difference in attitude means toward morality and ethics as well. 3. Hypothesis 3: Different fields of study do not influence any differences in the results from practicing moral based thinking skills.

6 Chart 3 : Moral and ethics behavior means by fields of study Pre Post Mechanical Electrical Tech/ Wood Others Chart 4 Moral and ethics Attitude means by fields of study Pre Post Mechanical Electrical Tech/ Wood Others

7 According to the chart 3 comparing the mean of behavior concerning morality and ethics categorized by fields of study, pre and post program, it can be seen that the different fields of study do not influence any differences in the mean of behavior concerning morality and ethics therefore they appear to have similar behavior. In addition, the chart 4 comparing the mean of student s attitude toward morality and ethics categorized by fields of study, students from different fields of study appear to have no significant different attitude. In conclusion, the result showed in chart 3 and 4 is in accordance with the hypothesis 3. Regarding the hypothesis 4: student s attitude toward morality and ethics can predict moral and ethical behaviors, it can be seen in Table 2 and Table 3. Table 2: MR results, predictive power of attitudes towards 5 aspects of morality Predictors R R 2 Adj R 2 F Sig Attitudes The table 2 shows the result of multiple regression analysis concerning student s attitude toward 5 aspects of morality. According to the table 2, the attitudes towards all 5 aspects of morality; punctuality, honesty, unity, responsibility, and sufficiency, are effective in predicting the development in all 5 aspects of student s morality. Regarding the F value of.01 and the coefficient of determination relating student s attitude toward morality and ethics can predict moral and ethical development with the value of 1.8 percent. Table 3 : MR for examining equation predicting moral and ethic development of Predictor B Se B Beta T P - Constant Attitudes towards morals and ethics The table 3 shows multiple regression analysis determine the equation to predict student s moral and ethical development. According to the table 3, the multiple regression analysis in process can come up with the following equation; moral and ethical development = constant + coefficient And it can be written with the raw score as following; Student s moral and ethical development = (attitude toward morality and ethics) From the equation above, it can be asserted that in every increase of 1 score on morality and ethics affects 0.14 point of moral and ethical development, with the constant of 6.142, the coefficient of determination of 1.8 and correlation of.134.

8 When the raw score is transformed to be Z-score the equation to predict moral and ethical development is as following; ^ Z = β (Z) moral and ethical development = the multiple regression coefficient of Z-score (attitude toward morality and ethics) In this case, it can be substituted as following; moral and ethical development =.134 x attitude toward morality and ethics score Regarding the table 2 and 3, it can be concluded that attitude toward morality and ethics can predict student s moral and ethical development (p<.01) and predictive coefficient 1.8 per cent, and correlation of.134. Research findings with the references to content analysis It has been conducted to answer the following research questions; 1) how many aspects or forms of behavior concerning morality and ethics the sample expressed and 2) how the samples reflect their behavior concerning each stated aspect of morality and ethics. 1) how many aspects or forms of behavior concerning morality and ethics the sample expressed Regarding the first question, there are 8 forms of behavior concerning morality and ethics. 1. Behaviors relating zero level of understanding and realizing in morality and ethics 2. Behaviors on understanding and realizing the importance of morality and ethics and ability to explain the meaning of morality and ethics 3. Behavior on realization and ability to tell the benefits from having specific morality and ethics, and the affect of the absence of specific morality and ethics 4. Behavior on moral and ethic concern that can explain how to practice 5. Behavior on moral and ethic concern that can apply to daily routine with specific condition to control behavior 6. Behavior on moral and ethic concern that can somewhat apply to daily routine 7. Behavior on moral and ethic concern that can regularly apply to daily routine 8. No development in any specific moral and ethical behavior. 2) How the samples reflect their behavior concerning each stated aspect of morality and ethics. Regarding the second question, it has been found that there are 5 forms of behavior concerning morality and ethics expressed by the samples, as following; Punctuality Form 3 Behavior on realization and ability to tell the benefits from having specific morality and ethics and the affect of absence of specific morality and ethics Form 4 Behavior on moral and ethic concern that can explain how to practice Form 5 Behavior on moral and ethic concern that can apply to daily routine with specific condition to control behavior Form 6 Behavior on moral and ethic concern that can somewhat apply to daily routine

9 Form 7 Behavior relating having moral and ethic concern that can regularly apply to daily routine Honesty Form 3 Behavior aspects on realization and ability to tell the benefits from having specific morality and ethics, an affects of the absence of specific morality and ethics Form 4 Behavior on moral and ethic concern that can explain how to practice Form 8 No development in any specific moral and ethical behavior. Unity Form 3 Behavior aspects on realization and ability to tell the benefits from having specific morality and ethics, an affects of the absence of specific morality and ethics Form 4 Behavior on moral and ethic concern that can explain how to practice Form 7 Behavior on moral and ethic concern that can regularly apply to daily routine Form 8 No development in any specific moral and ethical behavior. sustainability Form 1 Behaviors relating zero level of understanding and realizing in morality and ethics Form 2 Behaviors on understanding and realizing the importance of morality and ethics and ability to explain the meaning of morality and ethics Form 4 Behavior on moral and ethic concern that can explain how to practice Form 7 Behavior on moral and ethic concern that can regularly apply to daily routine Form 8 No development in any specific moral and ethical behavior. Responsibility According to the results from data analysis, the samples appear to express the preferable indicator in their behavior concerning morality and ethics of which including form, 2,3, 4 and 7. In addition, the majority of samples appear to have form 7 of behavior which can be observed in 8 classes. Conclusion and Discussion The result of the present study can be concluded as following. 1. The teaching methodology with the application of moral based thinking process skills practice appeared to result the development in students morality and ethics with statistical significance of 0.5. In addition, it has been found that students came up with better moral based thinking process skills. Therefore The teaching methodology with the application of moral based thinking process skills affect the result relating to the qualitative data collected from class activities by the collaborate lecturers. Regarding the qualitative findings there are 4 preferable behaviors found, as following; perception with comprehension and ability to explain theoretical framework concerning morality and ethics, realization with capability to explain the benefits and the ways of practice and having moral behavior over unpreferable behaviors. This is due to the fact that the application of moral based thinking process skills practice were conducted in accordance with the reference to the real situation in daily life along with the process to raise students awareness and realization in solving the problems concerning lack of morality and ethics. Regarding the mentioned process, students were

10 involving in critical thinking activities to evaluate the causes and effect and also specify the value concerning preferable morality and ethics with self adjustment, finally it leaded to approaching self respecting. This is in accordance with a study of Somsri (2007) and Son gsri (2004). 2. It has been found that there is no significant difference between the results from the groups of sample from different education levels. Both the group of students from preengineer vocational certificate and the group of students from undergraduate show the same preferable result. This may be due to the fact that the teachers and lecturers teaching general education subjects are capable in raising and improving students morality. In addition, the students are sharing the similar background of being technical students. Furthermore, there are a variety of promoting campaigns on morality and ethics broadcasted on television, radio and other mass communication media, so that the students have more exposure to moral concern thinking practice. This is in accordance with the result of a study on different level of education with no affect on differences in morality and ethics, by Chue-amnuay (2005). 3. Regarding the fields of study, it has been found that the different fields of study affected no significant differences. As a result, the students majoring in Mechanics, Electrics, Fine Art Technology and Woodcraft Technology, etc. appear to have similar result in practicing moral based thinking process skills. This may due to the fact that they are from similar fields of study relating science and technology; therefore they seem to share similar frame references to their point f view. This is in accordance with a study of Phumdeeying (2004) that students from different majors have similar response to the problems. 4. Regarding the prediction of moral and ethical development, it is with the statistic significance of.05, with predictive coefficient of 1.8 percent, correlation of.134. This is in accordance with a point of view of Panthumnawin (1981), asserting that ethical attitude is one of the four elements relating human s ethics. Besides, ethical attitude is related to how an individual feels, prefers and can reflect ethical behavior as well. Thus ethical attitude can be one factor to predict individual s behaviors concerning morality and ethics more accurately than based on social value only. However, it has been found that the predictive coefficient and correlation value are rather low. This may be due to the fact that the sample s field of study which mainly majoring in Science and Technology affect on how they express the result of practice in daily routine. Although the results indicate some limitation, the study can take benefit. The development on student s morality and ethics can support further social benefits. This is in accordance with a study of Au-amnuay (ibid) that individual morality concerning honesty, consciousness and discipline can set an equation to predict the working performance of Wattanapasarn Engineering Company Limited.

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