DESIGNING AN OUTCOME-BASED ETHICS CURRICULUM FOR PROFESSIONAL-EDUCATION - STRATEGIES AND EVIDENCE OF EFFECTIVENESS

Goodlad and colleagues argue that teacher education curricula do not i nclude rigorous discourse about the moral dimensions of teaching. This paper offers guidance for developing such curricula drawn from the au thor's experience devising and implementing a professional ethics curr iculum for dentistry. Grounded in Rest's Four Component Model of Moral ity, the curriculum includes methods and measures for assessing (1) et hical sensitivity; (2) moral reasoning and judgement; (3) moral motiva tion and commitment; and (4) moral implementation outcomes as well as instructional strategies to facilitate their development. Evidence dra wn from the extensive literature on the psychology of morality, and fr om outcome studies of the effectiveness of the dental ethics curriculu m, illustrate that a curriculum of rather modest duration can influenc e ethical development in measurable ways.