Pre-service Biology Teachers’ Moral Reasoning about Socioscientific Issues and Factors Affecting Their Moral Reasoning
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.29329/bes.2023.563.04Keywords:
Anthropocentric, Ecocentric, Environmental education, Moral reasoning, Scenario, Socioscientific issues (SSI)Abstract
Besides factors such as emotions, thoughts, and intuitions, moral reasoning is also effective in individuals' decisions, especially on socio-scientific issues. This study aimed to determine the moral reasoning of pre-service biology teachers about some socioscientific issues and the factors affecting their moral reasoning. The study focused on 16 pre-service biology teachers studying in the 4th grade, and this study was customized as a case study from qualitative research methods. While scenarios were used to determine the moral reasoning of pre-service teachers, semi-structured interview questions were used to determine the factors affecting their moral reasoning. In this study, content analysis was used to analyze qualitative data. The statements in the pre-service teachers' responses to the water problem, climate change, and biodiversity scenarios were coded as ecocentric, anthropocentric, and non-environmental moral reasoning. It was determined that the answers given by pre-service biology teachers to the scenario about the water problem were mostly anthropocentric moral reasoning, followed by ecocentric, and least by non-environmental moral reasoning. In the scenario on climate change, it was found that the pre-service biology teachers gave answers mostly following anthropocentric moral reasoning, followed by non-environmental moral reasoning, and ecocentric moral reasoning, respectively. In the last scenario on biodiversity, it was determined that the pre-service teachers' responses were equal in ecocentric and anthropocentric moral reasoning and lower in non-environmental moral reasoning. Looking at the total responses of the pre-service teachers to the three scenarios, it is understood that the moral reasoning with the highest frequency is anthropocentric, while ecocentric and non-environmental moral reasoning are almost equal. Eleven factors affecting the moral reasoning patterns of pre-service biology teachers were identified: impact on human life; experiences; duties, responsibilities, and principles; environmental knowledge and awareness; approach with emotions; universal values; media/popular culture; national values; political, social, and economic balances in the world; religious beliefs; ambivalence and contradiction.
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