Moral and Civic Education

Muhammed Seid
2024
 Outlines of the Course
Chapter One: Understanding Civics and Ethics
Chapter Two: Approaches to Ethics
Chapter Three: Ethical Decision Making and Moral Judgments
(Assignment)
Chapter Four: State, Government and Citizenship
Chapter Five: Constitution, Democracy and Human Right
(Assignment)
 Chapter One
Understanding Civics and Ethics
Defining Civics, Citizenship, Ethics and Morality
Civics
The word civics comes from the two Latin words civis and civitas.
Civis:
Is to mean citizen.
In ancient Greece context only men and non-slaves were considered as citizens.
During the then time women, children and slaves were not considered as citizen.
Civitas:
Means a city state to imply citizens of a state
I.e. the ancient states of Greek such as Athens, Sparta, Thebes and others.
Both these words have given the birth of social science known as civics.
Now, Civics has developed many working definitions which are derived from the tasks or
activities of the subject.
Accordingly, Civics is;
A branch of social science that deals with the rights and duties of citizens;
A study about citizenship;
A branch of human Knowledge, which deals with social, intellectual, economical,
political and even religious aspects of human life.
A science which studies the theory and practice of free and open democratic society.
A study about government (type & form of democratic government)
An intensive study of political institutions (Legislative, Executive & Judiciary);
A study about the international socio-economic and political conditions.
Besides, civics is defined as a science that studies the purposes of government, the nature of
law, and why private behavior affects the public order and the political system.
 Generally, Civics is a study about the rights and responsibilities (Duties) of citizens.
 Right refers to privilege claimed or enjoyed by citizens.
 Duty indicates obligations that has to be fulfilled by citizens.
 The term Duty and Right are interrelated because citizens to have certain right they are
required to discharge certain duties.
 The word citizen refers to a person who is a member of a particular country by birth or
Naturalization (legal process).
Civics is a valid science which studies the right and duties of citizen in relation to civil
government in the modern society.
It is the study of self-government.
Democracy requires the participation of citizens.
When citizens participate in their own affairs they are exercising what is called self-
governance.
Thus, in democracy, citizens participate in their own social, political and economic affairs.
Therefore, civic education is an education for self-governance, participation and tolerance in
the system of democracy.
Civic education is an education for developing responsible way of thinking, believing and
acting.
It helps you deal with differences through tolerance, respect and mutual understanding.
It is also a tool for good citizenship, community service and personal responsibility.
The scope of civics and ethical studies is concerned with the reciprocal relationships of rights
and duties;
Between citizens and the State, (vertical relation) and
Among citizens themselves (horizontal relation) …… regarding the political, cultural,
social, economical, environmental and developmental affairs of the country or the society.
 Ethics and Morality
Ethics
Etymologically, the word Ethics comes from the Greek word ethos (norm, custom or tradition).
Ethics is a branch of philosophy which deals with morality.
Ethics is a branch of philosophy that attempts to understand people’s moral beliefs and actions.
Ethics is a critical examination and evaluation of what is good, evil, right and wrong in human
conduct (Guy, 2001).
A philosophical study of human behavior (moral philosophy)
Ethics, or moral philosophy, considers theories about what human beings are capable of doing,
and what they ought to do.
Ethics also explores the meaning and the ranking of different ethical values, such as honesty,
autonomy, equality and justice,
Ethics considers ethical dilemmas that human beings face in the course of living their own
independent but, also, socially interdependent lives.
From the perspective of obligation and value, ethics investigates concerns like;
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.
Generally, Ethics is:
The critical examination and evaluation of what is good, evil, right and wrong in human
conduct (Guy, 2001).
A specific study of principles, values and guidelines of a particular group or organization
(Guy, 2001).
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
(Madden, 2000).
Morality
Comes from Latin word “Moralitas” meaning manner, character, proper behavior”
Morality is a system that tells how to act whereas ethics is the study of that system.
As a subset of ethics, it deals specifically with interpersonal relationships and the analysis of
our duties and rights.
Morality 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.
Morality is, in general, the effort to guide one’s conduct by reason.
Morality is:
Those principles and values that actually guide, for better or worse, an individual’s personal conduct
(Guy, 2001)
Morality is used to refer to what we would call moral conduct while ethics is used to refer to the
formal study of moral conduct.
It can be claimed that morality is related to practice, but ethics is related to theory.

Civics VS Ethics
Civics;
Studies both historical and contemporary facts, and
Deals with acquiring of civic knowledge and skills of rights and responsibilities.
Ethics;
Is the study of the manner of exercising and performing the civic rights and responsibilities
Studies the moral dimension of human conduct.
Generally
 Civics and ethics are closely related b/c the study of civics equips citizens with civic
knowledge and skills whereas ethics enables citizens how to implement them.
 The Source and Interdisciplinary Nature of Moral and Civic Education
Moral and Civics is an interdisciplinary subject that draws its contents from various sources.
These are theoretical, documentary and societal sources.
1. Theoretical sources
A. Philosophy: is concerned with ethical standards and the pursuit of wisdom. It is considered as
mother of all sciences.
B. Political science: deals with political theories and practices.
Focuses on politics, state, government, democracy, constitution, etc.
Political theory is idle without ethical theory.
C. Sociology: deals with all the aspects of relationships of man while Civic deals on civic aspects
of the social life of man.
D. History: it is said “History without civics has no fruit; Civics without history has no root”
History studies about the past whereas civics studies about contemporary facts.
 But progress in present is impossible unless we have ideas of the past.
2. Documentary Sources of Moral and Civic Education
Documentary sources of civic education include
Constitutions;
International charters:
The charters of global and regional organizations,
Decisions and enactments of legal bodies,
Historical sources,
Films, photographs
3. Societal Sources of Moral and Civic Education
Positive values, harmless traditions, cultures and the likes are among the societal sources of Civic
and Ethical studies.
Some of these societal sources are:
Families
Exemplary citizens (as role models)
Libraries
Schools (as agents of socialization)
Professional associations
Churches, Mosques, and others
Labor unions
Communication Medias, etc.
 Goals of Civic Education
Basic goal
 Producing good citizens.
 A good citizen is one who knows and exercises his rights, and discharges his obligations.
 One who possesses civic virtues (patriotism, tolerance, civility, honesty, self-discipline) and
democratic principles.
Specific goals include
 Developing a feeling of patriotism and National character
 Strengthening democracy
 Building participatory Political culture
 Parochial Political Culture
 Subject political culture
 Participatory political culture
Developing scientific outlook
Building and strengthening national and international outlook
 The need to instill citizens about their rights and duties
 The issue of fostering intercultural societies
 The Need for Relevant Knowledge, Skills and Positive Attitudes
End of the Chapter
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