CHAPTER ONE

UNDERSTANDING CIVICS AND ETHICS

1. Introduction
What is Civic education?
Since human being is a social animal and couldn’t live alone, he/she has to respect certain
fundamental principles and values to live together with his/her fellow beings and consequently
build peaceful society and lead prosperous life. As Johan Stuart Mill described it, progressive
and peaceful setting subsists in a given society as far as that society develops the qualities of its
members and generates good citizens. Aristotle also added that citizens of a State should always
be educated to suit the constitution of a State. Accordingly, creating a good citizen has been the
prior concern of many States, including Ethiopia. This is because good citizens are made not
born. Over the years, different terms have been used in an attempt to capture and describe the
educational experiences that deal with the task of developing democratic minded citizens. The
subject assumed different names and purposes depending on countries’ ideologies and thus the
definition of the discipline vary across States. Terms such as Right Education (in South Africa),
Citizenship Education (in United States of America and Germany), Citizenship and Character
Education (in Singapore), Civics and Ethical Education (in Ethiopia) are just a few examples
that can be found in the literature.

Though the most cited definition of civic education is an education that studies about the rights
and responsibilities of citizens of a politically organized group of people, different writers define
it in many ways. For instance, Patrick defines civic education as the knowledge of the
constitutions, the principles, values, history and application to contemporary life. Citizenship
education can be understood as the knowledge, means, and activities designed to encourage
students to participate actively in democratic life, accepting and exercising their rights and
responsibilities. United Nations Development Program defines civic education as a way of
learning for effective participation in a democratic and development process. On his part,
Aggarwal linked civic education to the development of ideas, habits, behaviors and useful
attitudes in the individual which enables him to be a useful member of the society. Still the
subject matter can be also defined as the process of helping young people to acquire and learn to
use the skills, knowledge, and attitudes that will prepare them to be competent and responsible
citizens throughout their lives.
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Actually, these different concepts and meanings were used to differentiate between a maximal
and a minimal civic education. The minimal concept of civic education is content-led, teacher-
based, whole-class teaching and examination-based assessment. However, the maximal concept
of civic education is comprised of knowledge, values and skills, and aims to prepare students for
active, responsible participation. Unlike narrow minimalist civic education, it extends learning
beyond the curriculum and classroom to all activities inside and outside school. In addition, it is
highly dependent on interactive teaching, which requires discussion, debate and the creation of
many opportunities for students to participate effectively.

1.1 The definition and nature of Ethics and Morality

A. What is Ethics?
Ethics is a branch of philosophy that attempts to understand peoples moral beliefs and actions
(these modules use the terms, ‘ethics’ and ‘morality’; ‘ethical’ and ‘moral’ interchangeably,
although traditionally ‘ethics’ described the process of thinking about peoples morality). Ethics,
or moral philosophy, considers theories about what human beings are capable of doing,
alongside accounts of what they ought to do if they are to live an ethically good life. Ethics also
explores the meaning and the ranking of different ethical values, such as honesty, autonomy,
equality and justice, and it considers ethical quandaries or difficulties that human beings face in
the course of living their own independent but, also, socially interdependent lives.

Ethics, or moral philosophy: considers theories about what human beings are capable of doing,
alongside accounts of what they ought to do if they are to live an ethically good life. Ethics may
share common ground with the law, religious belief, popular opinion, professional codes and the
dictates of authority figures, but it is also broader than all of these and offers a set of tools and
values against which their appropriateness can be evaluated.

Invariably all ethical questions involve a decision about what one should do in a specific
instance. Notice the word should. Ethical questions are not concerned with what one would do
(an essentially psychological concern) but what one ought to do. Judgments about such decisions
are generally expressed with words like right and wrong, should and ought, or obligation and
duty.

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Occasionally the term ethics is used interchangeably with morals. Business or medical ethics, for
example, is generally synonymous with morals. Although this is acceptable, a precise usage
would apply the terms morals and moral to the conduct itself, while the terms ethics and ethical
would refer to the study of moral conduct or to the code that one follows. Thus, the specific act
of telling the caller you were home could be described as moral or immoral. But what makes any
act moral or immoral, right or wrong fall within the province of ethics.

When we speak of moral problems then, we generally refer to specific problems, such as “Is
lying ever right? or “Is stealing always wrong?” in contrast, we can look at ethical problems as
being more general and theoretical. Thus, “what makes any act, such as lying or stealing, right or
wrong?” and “what makes any entity good?” are ethical problems. In short, morality refers to the
degree to which an action conforms to a standard or norm of human conduct. Ethics refers to the
philosophical study of values and of what constitute good and bad human conduct.

In dealing with human conduct from the perspective of obligation and value, ethics investigates a
variety of related concerns. Among them are whether a standard of morality exists that applies to
all people at all times everywhere, the precise nature of moral responsibility, the conditions
under which one is morally accountable or responsible, and the proper end of law. When
ethicists use word like “good” or “right” to describe a person or action they generally means that
the person or action conforms to some standard. A good person or action has certain desirable
qualities. Ethicists often disagree about the nature of those standards and desirable qualities and
follow different paths in establishing standards and discovering which qualities are desirable. For
purposes of understanding, though, we can view ethics as divided into two fields; normative
ethics and non-normative ethics.
Generally, Ethics is:
1. The critical examination and evaluation of what is good, evil, right and wrong in human
conduct.
2. A specific set of principles, values and guidelines for a particular group or organization.
Ethics is the study of goodness, right action and moral responsibility, it asks what choices
and ends we ought to pursue and what moral principles should govern our pursuits and
choices.
B. What is Morality?

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Of course, morality is a complex concept. Though it is one of most frequently used terms, it can
mean different things to different people. Morality is a commonly used word in most cultures.
Some Scholars argued that if we do not know what morality is we cannot teach it. In crucial
ways we do not know what morality is. Yet we must teach it because it is of prime importance
and must be learned. Moreover, teaching must not be brainwashing; it must be moral. So, in
order to understand Moral and Civics Education, the term “moral” needs to be understood.

Morality can be viewed from different perspectives and let us start with the simple definition of
the word itself. Morality from a dictionary definition (from Latin moralitas “manner, character,
proper behavior”) refers to the concept of human action which pertains to matters of right and
wrong – also referred to as “good and evil”. It can be used to mean the generally accepted code
of conduct in a society, or within a subgroup of society. It relates to values expressed as: a matter
of individual choice, those values to which we ought to aspire and those values shared within a
culture, religious, secular, or philosophical community. This definition is clear when morality is
spelt out and agreed upon by others. However, it becomes ambiguous when defined by different
ethnic groups, especially in the multicultural society, like Ethiopians. Morality has been a topic
of discussion for a very long time. According to Socrates “We are discussing no small matter,
but how we ought to live” when issues of morality are discussed.

Socrates is rightly asserted that morality is not a small matter. In fact, moral philosophy is the
attempt to achieve a systematic understanding of the nature of morality and what it requires of
us. In Socrates’ words it’s “how we ought to live”. Living in a multicultural Ethiopia, how we
ought to live can be very complicated because of the diversity of culture that is vast and unique.
Morality is, at the very least, the effort to guide one’s conduct by reason that is, to do what there
are the best reasons for doing while giving equal weight to the interest of each individual who
will be affected by one’s conduct. It is important that in countries like Ethiopia, morality is
shared as a common goal to ensure harmony and integrity.

Terms such as morality and ethics are often used interchangeably in everyday speech as referring
to justified or proper conduct. But ethics is usually associated with a certain conduct within a
profession, for example, the code of ethics for the teaching profession. Morality is a more
general term referring to the character of individuals and community. In other words, Morality is
used to refer to what we would call moral conduct while ethics is used to refer to the formal

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 study of moral conduct. It can be claimed that morality is related to praxis, but ethics is related to
theory.
Morality is:
1. Those principles and values that actually guide, for better or worse, an individual’s personal
conduct. Morality, whatever else may be said about it, is about things over which we have
control that lead to “bettering human life”. It is different in every society, and is a convenient
term for socially approved habits.
2. Morality is the informal system of rational beings by which they govern their behavior in
order to lesson harm or evil and do good, this system, although informal, enjoys amazing
agreement across time and cultures concerning moral rules, moral ideas and moral virtues.

Ethics Morality
Is philosophical study of the code, standards or Is refers to the code of conduct one follows while
norm of human conduct and it is more ethics is the study of moral conduct or the study of
theoretical and general one. the code that one follows
Ethics establish the standards, norms, or codes to Is the conformity of human behavior to the
be followed by human beings are the study of established code of conduct .If an action conform to
morality, moral principles, and moral decision the established code, it is called moral ,if not
making. immoral
Is the development of reasonable standards and Is refers to the effort to guide one’s conduct by
procedures for ethical decision-making? reason while giving equal weight to the interests of
each individual who will be affected by one’s
conduct
Is a set of normative rules of conduct, a code, a Has to do with what one should do, all things
standards that govern what one ought to do when considered, not what, in fact, any of us will so in a
the well-being, or duties to oneself, others or particular instance
institutions is at stake.

1.2 Ethics and Law

As against morals and ethics, laws are norms, formally approved by state, power or national or
international political bodies. Many laws are instituted in order to promote well-being, resolve
conflicts of interest, and promote social harmony. However, there are several reasons why ethics
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is not law. First, some actions that are illegal may not be unethical. Speeding is illegal, but one
might have an ethical obligation to break the speed limit in order to transport someone to a
hospital in an emergency. Second, some actions that are unethical may not be illegal. Most
people would agree that lying is unethical but lying is only illegal under certain conditions, e.g.
lying on an income tax return, lying when giving sworn testimony, etc. Third, laws can be
unethical or immoral. The United States had laws permitting slavery in the 1800s but most
people today would say that those laws were unethical or immoral. Although we have moral and
ethical obligations to obey the law, civil disobedience can be justified when immoral or unethical
laws exist.

Since we can appeal to morality and ethics to justify or criticize laws, many writers maintain that
the main function of a legal system is to enforce a society’s moral and ethical consensus. Fourth,
we use different kinds of mechanisms to express, teach, inculcate, and enforce laws and ethics.
Laws are expressed publicly in statutes, penal codes, court rulings, government regulations, and
so forth. Although ethics and morals are sometimes made explicit in religious texts, professional
codes of conduct, or philosophical writings, many ethical and moral standards are implicit.
Finally, we use the coercive power of government to enforce laws. People who break certain
laws can be fined, imprisoned, or executed. People who violate ethical or moral standards do not
face these kinds of punishments unless their actions also violate laws. Often we “punish” people
who disobey moral or ethical obligations by simply expressing our disapproval or by
condemning the behavior.

1.3 The importance/Goal of Moral and Civic Education

Civic education is a discipline that deals with virtue traits rooted in values of respect and culture
of tolerance to make individuals responsible and efficient member of their community. It teaches
the values and sense of commitment that define an active and principled citizen, how to make
responsible decisions, solve problems, care about others, contribute to society, and be tolerant
and respectful of diversity. In higher educational institutions of Ethiopia, civics and ethics/moral
education is given with the aim of educating students about democratic culture, ethical values
and principles, supremacy of constitution, the rule of law, rights and duties of citizens. These
elements are imperative in the process of producing self-confident citizens who decides on issues
based on reason. It is also aimed at creating a generation who has the capability to shoulder
family and national responsibility. Ethics has also become important in education, because
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education is a fundamental process of human life. Therefore, ethics is very important subject in
education. We can easily reach all knowledge by technology. In education using technology
reveals some ethical problems such as plagiarism. In order to understand the importance of
ethics, ethics should be placed as a course in educational system. Generally, the necessity of
delivering the course emanates from:
1) The need to instill citizens about their rights and duties: The two phrases rights and duties
co-exist with each other (they are termed as the two sides of the same coin) that regulate the
values and behavioral patterns of an individual. For instance, the State has the obligation to
provide health care services because citizens have the right to access that service. However, the
State will be unable to ensure that citizens led a healthy life unless citizens themselves act
responsibly with respect to their own health, in terms of a healthy diet, exercise, and the
consumption of liquor and tobacco. Similarly, the state will be unable to meet the needs of
children, the elderly or the disabled, if citizens do not agree to share this responsibility by
providing some care for their relatives; the state cannot protect the environment if citizens are
unwilling to reduce, reuse, and recycle waste byproducts in their own homes; and attempts to
create a fairer society will flounder if citizens are chronically intolerant of difference and
generally lacking in what Rawls calls a sense of justice. In short, we need a fuller, richer and yet
more subtle understanding and practice of citizenship, because what the ideal society needs and
wants to be cannot be secured by coercion, but only through its members (citizens) who have a
balanced understanding of rights and duties.

There are four issues that we have look into the interplay between rights and duties. First, one's
right implies the other's duty. This means every right of an individual is automatically imposes a
duty on others. For example, the right to freedom of movement imposes a duty on others not to
interfere with the right of movement of any body, except regulated by law. Second, one's right
implies one's duty to recognize similar rights of others. This implies that every exercise of right
is subject to restrictions. For example, one has the freedom of speech and expression, but, at the
same time, the practitioner has to bear in mind that the exercise of free speech and expression in
no way affects the rights of others. Third, one should exercise his rights for the promotion of
social good. If any person tries to misuse the rights, which affect the rights of others or of the
society or state, the Government has a duty to take appropriate legal action to prevent such acts.
For example, if a person tries to abuse his right to freedom of speech and expression, the State

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can take legal action. Any such action by the State is justified. Fourth, the State being a nucleus
organ needs to take care of the social and legal interests of all its individuals. From this point of
view, the State has the obligation to discharge duties towards its citizens. As the State guarantees
and protects the rights of everybody, one has a duty to support the State in its legal endeavors.
Therefore, there is no doubt that there must be a balance between citizenship rights and
obligations. For this reason, civics and ethics course provides to citizens to ensure that each
individual become an informed citizen capable of thinking effectively as well as responsibly in
carrying out their duties and observing rights.
2) The Need for Participant Political Culture: According to the International Encyclopedia of
the Social Sciences (1961) political culture is the set of attitudes, beliefs, and sentiments which
give order and meaning to a political process and which provide the underlying assumptions and
rules that govern behavior in the political system. Taylor (1999) describes political culture as the
norms of conduct both of and between the various political actors operating in society, together
with the concomitant expectations and understandings of the rights and responsibilities of
citizens, representatives, public servants and so on. Political culture shapes what people expect of
their political system, what they see as possibilities for their own action, and what rights and
responsibilities the various actors are perceived to have. Generally, political culture defines the
roles which an individual may play in the political process.
Almond and Verba construct three political cultures: parochial cultures, subject cultures, and
participant cultures. In parochial cultures citizens have low cognitive, affective, and evaluative
orientation regarding the political systems, government powers and functions and even their
privileges and duties. In such political culture, the role of citizens in the political sphere of their
countries is insignificant since individuals thinks of their families advantage as the only goal to
pursue. In subject cultures, there is high cognitive, affective, and evaluative orientation towards
the political system and policy outputs, but orientations towards input objects (like political
parties) and the self as active participants are minimal. Thus, orientation towards the system and
its outputs is channeled via a relatively detached, passive relationship on the part of the citizen.
Subject cultures are most compatible with centralized, authoritarian political structures. In
participant cultures, members of society have high cognitive, affective, and evaluative
orientation to the political system, the input objects, the policy outputs, and recognize the self as
an active participant in the polity. Largely, participant cultures are most compatible with

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democratic political structures because the qualities and attitudes of citizens determine the health
and stability of a country’s democracy. Democracy can only thrive when citizens understand and
participate actively in civic and political life from the perspective that participation is important,
but informed and educated participation is more important.

Discussion Question:
Which political/civic culture best describes the Ethiopian political situations?
However, there are many factors challenging the democracy and democratization process of
countries including Ethiopia. For instance, individual interests seem to be more important and
dominant in the socio-economic and political structure of a given State. Apparently, many
citizens lack the competences and knowledge to deal with the tensions between individually and
socially centered norms and obligations. Besides, small parts of the population support the norm
that a citizen should be politically active. That is, although many modes of political participation
are available, most citizens still rely on voting only. But, it is clear that democratic political
activities cannot be restricted to visiting a ballot box every five years. Likewise, the self-
understanding of people as recipients/consumers instead of active citizens seems to be important
challenges in the democratization process.

That's why people in a democratic country are supposed to have in-depth understanding on
democratic behavior and able to behave democratically: individuals sense of identity and their
ability to tolerate and work together with others who are different from themselves; their desire
to participate in the political process in order to promote the public good and hold political
authorities accountable; their willingness to show self-restraint and exercise personal
responsibility in their economic demands and in personal choices-which affect their health and
the environment. Without citizens who possess these qualities, democracies become difficult to
govern, even unstable. For this reason, civics and ethics has been given to inculcate these
competencies upon learners and, in turn, advance and strengthen the democratization process.
In active citizenship, also, participation is not restricted simply to the political dimension rather it
also includes socio-cultural and environmental activities. This understanding of active
citizenship is ethically-driven where activities should support the community and should not
contravene the principles of human rights and the rule of law. The role to be played by civics and

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ethics is, therefore, acculturation learners with the attributes of active citizenship, democracy and
equip them with the skills of participation in civil society, community and/or political life to
ensure that the young possesses a combination of knowledge, skills, attitudes, and values at their
disposal. So that they can develop and practice civic skills, offering opportunities for open
discussions about political and social issues, fully discharges their role as citizens, and make
informed and educated decisions about candidates and public policy. Generally, the subject plays
undeniable role in democratization process through solving societal problems, socializing and re-
socializing individuals by instilling desired values, helping individuals develop feeling of respect
to others, develop a sense of belongingness and patriotism, and the like.
3) The Need for Relevant Knowledge, Skills and Positive Attitudes: Relevant knowledge is a
type of knowledge which is useful in dealing with a particular problem at a period of time.

However, knowledge would remain inert knowledge unless it is functional or put into practice to
achieve a certain goal. Still knowledge would remain infirm if the person is not equipped with
right attitudes and requisite skills which are basic to enable him/her perform his/her role as a
credible member of a society. Hence, the State in question will do better in its bid for
development if most of her citizens are skillful in one field or the other and also demonstrate
positive attitudes at the work place. Right attitudes are very essential ingredients needed to
ensure harmony and peaceful co-existence among people. It is reasonable to claim that skillful
manpower is a pre-requisite for every nation that wishes to develop but a skillful manpower
without positive attitudes to work is likely to result in counter production because vices like
corruption, bribery, abuse of power, lateness to and work absenteeism among others will pop
their ugly heads. For this reason, civics and ethics is acknowledged as an essential subject from
the perception that it can be a useful cure for the ‘social ills’ often associated with young people:
that is, tendencies for anti-social behavior and political apathy among young people, or, what
Osler and Starkey describe as ‘youth deficit’. At the local community level, it is assumed that
social and environmental problems can best be resolved through an understanding of what it
means to be a citizen.
Group Discussion:
What would happen in a State if its citizens lack relevant knowledge, skills and positive attitude?

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4) The issue of fostering intercultural societies: The recognition of cultural diversity is certainly
meritorious, but civics and ethics education could move a step forward by appealing to the notion
of inter-culturalism, which explicitly asserts the need for relationship, dialogue, reciprocity and
interdependence. Beyond differences of semantics, civics and ethics education is a useful
instrument not only towards tolerating or celebrating each other, but also about nurturing
dynamic exchanges based on interaction, openness and effective solidarity. The subject helps to
integrate the best traditions of multicultural and intercultural education to develop political and
pedagogical strategies that contribute to overcome discrimination and to nurture genuine,
inclusive dialogue among cultural groups.
The issue of inclusiveness: By framing a universal concept of citizenship constructed on the
attributes/identities and practices of male subjects, gendered relations and the private sphere have
been neglected. Civics and ethics as a subject is thought to nurture new and inclusive relations
and practices in both public and private spaces that recognize gender differences while ensuring
inclusiveness and equity. It should also go beyond the idea of quotas for women in formal
politics, or strategies to empower women to play male politics. Hence, promoting democracy and
inclusiveness in public spaces as well as in families, workplaces, unions, and other institutions
become the area of focus of civics and ethics.
5) The issue of peace-building: in an environment characterized by increasing militarization,
terrorism, civil wars and genocidal acts, it is urgent for citizenship education to advance
pedagogical strategies to promote cooperation, dialogue, and a sustainable peace that is based on
justice. It is obvious that civics and ethics alone cannot bring peace to our planet, yet it can make
a valuable contribution to create the subjective conditions for more peaceful situations. This
includes the development of competencies for peacemaking, conflict resolution, healing,
reconciliation and reconstruction. It also includes an understanding of nonviolent civil
disobedience philosophies, strategies and skills. A peace-oriented citizenship education can
foster the development of values, attitudes and skills to nurture peace within ourselves and in our
personal relationships, and to create the conditions for peace in our own communities and in the
global community.
The aim of moral/ethical and civic education is to provide people to make decisions by their free
wills. You can teach norms easily, but you cannot teach easily to obey these rules unless you
teach ethics. Therefore, teaching ethics has an important and necessary place in education.

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Students who graduated from universities may be well educated persons in their professions but
it is not enough. Aristotle also says, “Educating the mind without educating the heart is no
education at all.”
Moral and Civics Education is based on and seeks to promote in students core moral, ethical,
democratic, and educational values, such as:
o Respect for life
o Respect for reasoning
o Fairness
o Concern for the welfare of others
o Respect for diversity
o Peaceful resolution of conflict
In sum the goals of teaching civics and ethics at any level of educational institutions is to
produce competent, high moral standard society and responsible citizens who can ask and use
their rights and fulfill their obligations in accordance with the laws of their respective country.
Democracy doesn’t deserve its name without citizens’ participation. Ever since Pericles this
claim has been defended and discussed. The question is not whether citizens should be involved
in democratic decision-making processes, but how much engagement and participation is
required for a vibrant democracy. Citizens’ involvement, however, cannot be taken for granted
but depends heavily on resources, motivations, and social contacts. Orientations and activities of
citizens that strengthen democracy and which, in turn, are strengthened by democratic
experiences are summarized under the label active citizenship. Citizens cannot fulfill these
ambitious tasks adequately without specific competences; that is, citizens need to have “a
combination of knowledge, skills, attitudes, and values” at their disposal enabling them “to
become an active citizen”. In the last ten to fifteen years we have witnessed some remarkable
efforts to ‘revise’ or ‘revitalize’ the tradition of citizenship education within schools and
education systems. There have even been demands to ‘reinvent’ or ‘revitalize’ civic education.
Often they deplored the still existing neglect and disregard in the field of citizenship education
and asked for a new and specified form of “democratic citizenship education” beyond just
“civics,” for a new way of “teaching democracy” beyond teaching institutional political settings
or a new “education of, for and through democracy” beyond mere teacher-centered instruction in
politics.

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Chapter Summary
Different authors define civic education in different ways. But the most cited definition of civic
education is an education that studies about the rights and responsibilities of citizens of a
politically organized group of people. Ethics is a branch of philosophy that deals with the
rightness and wrongness of human actions. In this regard, Ethics is the study of morality.
Whereas morality is defined as a set of personal and social values, rules, beliefs, laws, emotions,
and ideologies collectively governing and arbitrating the rightness and wrongness of human
actions. In higher institutions of Ethiopia, civics and ethics is given with the aim of educating
students about democratic culture, ethical values and principles, supremacy of constitution, the
rule of law, rights and duties of citizens. The major goal of civics and ethics is producing good
citizens, citizens who obey the law; respect the authority; contribute to society; love their
country; believe in doing what is right; stand up for the right of others; tries to serve the interest
of others before oneself. It is also aimed at creating a generation who has the capability to
shoulder family and national responsibility.
Thus, in conclusion, it is important to state that the normative value of ethics in life explores
what is our origin as human beings. It takes into consideration the fact ‘the unexamined life is
not worth living;’ to quote the ancient sage, Socrates. Without the fundamental factors of self-
critique, of the ethical questioning and practical engagement, of the fundamental factors of
tradition – something lived out in the present that proposes and gives its reasons – the youth
would remain fragile, doubtful and sceptical. Exposure to life’s experiences which is achieved
beyond the classroom is risky. But it helps the student to become authentic, standing on one’s
own feet and daring the current. This is not the domain of Ethics in Higher education but the
normative value of ethics and life. It is confrontation with man’s real identity and the questions
of contradictions of life, yet tackled beyond doubt.
The context of a new vision for education which calls for mindset shift from reading and writing
to skills acquisition with relevance for daily life and society becomes imperative. Ethics
education is opportunity for a new value orientation. Such education ensures the training of both
the teacher and the student, develops new technologies and conclusively allows a new vision, a
new policy, a new market, new resources and a new system. The normative value of this kind of
education is the emergence of a new humanity of responsible leaders driven by values and

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virtues and knowledgeable enough to transform their environment and serve entire humanity in a
new society yearning for ethical and fair minded leaders.

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