Bd. Decasterle et al., THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN EDUCATION AND ETHICAL BEHAVIOR OF NURSING-STUDENTS, Western journal of nursing research, 18(3), 1996, pp. 330-350
Based on the cognitive theory of moral development of Kohlberg, refine
d by the addition of the dimension ''ethics of care'' and !he educatio
nal theory of Janssen, the relationship of education and ethical behav
ior of nursing students was examined. Ethical behavior referred not on
ly to the ethical reasoning of students bur also to the relationship b
etween this reasoning and their behavior: This study axamined the resp
onses of 2,624 nursing students to five ethical nursing dilemmas inclu
ded in the Ethical Behavior Test by relating them to four educational
variables: students' level of education, level of enrollment, school,
and students' perceptions of the educational process. A significant re
lationship between education and ethical behavior was found.