The challenge of values – others’, society’s and our own

1. The challenge of values – others’, society’s and our own Nigel Duncan

2. The Affective Domain So it seems that responding ethically to a situation is not merely a question of knowing the rules, or intending to behave well. To understand it requires consideration of individuals’ emotional responses to the situation in which they find themselves and the question of their exhibiting moral courage and when that might be particularly difficult. Thus, the affective domain is engaged and those of us who are interested in preparing students for ethical practice as lawyers should be willing to address it. (Nigel Duncan, 2012, 257)

3. What is the role of the values educators hold? "All research is influenced by the ideology of the researcher; sometimes the researcher is also a major actor...It is good practice to provide clear statement of methodological stance in terms of the values and beliefs of the researcher.” British Educational Research Association, (2000), 5; "Educational Research for Social Justice – ‘getting off the fence’ - without some acknowledgement of initial opinions, including beliefs and values, the research will certainly be biased... not only does such acknowledgement help to unmask any bias that is implicit in those views but it also helps to provide a way of responding critically and sensitively to the research", Griffiths (1998) at 130; "The teacher must be a leader in argument if he is to teach argument", Mary Warnock (1975), at 165, The neutral teacher, in: S.C. Brown (Ed.) Philosophers Discuss Education (London, Macmillan). (References thanks to Shamini Ragavan)

4. The values of reflective practice Trainee teachers, nurses and architects encounter assignments that try to assess their commitment about professional practice. These implicitly look for evidence of an emotional, personal transformation, moving from “wrong” to “right” attitudes. A trainee teacher, for example, might write about how they have shifted from didactic to “student-centred” approaches and are now emotionally committed to promoting deep rather than surface approaches to learning. (Bruce Macfarlane, 2014, 33)

5. A morally diverse student body Using these criteria of universally accepted immorality and degree of moral motivation, one might subdivide law students into: • The Sinners: a very small group, who are already inclined to lie, cheat, bully and oppress others in the service of their clients and themselves; • The Saints: a relatively small group of students with already developed virtuous characters in the sense that they value morality and tend to act accordingly; • Thatcher's Children: possibly the largest group—they are not incorrigibly bad but tend towards amorality and the pursuit of self-interest; • The Moral Innocents: probably the second biggest group—with the right conditions they may develop a sense of ethical professionalism, but otherwise are likely to adopt the current norms of amoral professionalism. (Donald Nicolson, 2008, 161)

6. References • Nigel Duncan, 2011, Addressing emotions in preparing ethical lawyers in Paul Maharg and Caroline Maughan (eds) Teaching and Reaching the Whole Student – the Impact of Emotions on Learning (and Teaching) the Law, Ashgate.  • Bruce MacFarlane, 2014, Truly ‘higher’ study demands critical thinking, not faking it, THE 6 March 2014, 33 • Donald Nicolson, 2008, ‘Education, education, education’: Legal, Moral and Clinical, 42.2 Law Teacher, 145, 161.