The effect of a stand-alone ethics course in Chilean engineering students´ attitudes

Engineering ethics education is taking on increasing importance worldwide, but in Chile the percentage of universities that have a mandatory course concerning ethics is still small. Traditionally, Chilean universities with existing ethics courses teach them using a philosophical or theological perspective, limited to occidental theories, and usually from a Christian point of view. This article studies the impact of a new methodology and technique to teach ethics in Chile: case-based, non-normative, and with a critical-descriptive approach. An empirical study is conducted to assess the relative impact of an ethics class on students individual and inherent moral values and attitudes, and understand the factors that contribute to this impact. Results indicate that even though the importance of religion in Chile is decreasing, it is still a major source of students´ ethical principles and moral values. In addition, results suggest that a change in moral values develops when discussions among groups with different points of view occur.