Learning ethics - Students’ perception of the use of case-studies

This article discusses the use of case-study as a method of teaching the subject of development ethics in Malaysia. The hypothesis was that case studies amply allow for students’ critical thinking as well as for the normative contextualisation of the ethical principles both of which are often limited in a one-way lecturing and theoretical mode of teaching. The study involved conducting an experiment with a group of final year students of a development ethics course. The students followed two learning modes comprising lectures with case-studies for the first five weeks of the course and traditional lectures for the following weeks. During the 14th week of the course, questionnaires were administered to obtain students’ evaluation of their learning experience. Results of the study showed that the lecture-with-case studies mode had effectively assisted students to better understand moral theories and their applications. Besides, the case studies had enabled them to anticipate potential ethical issues that may arise in a real industry and working environment.