Morality and ethical acting in Higher Education Students

The teaching-learning process should promote an ethical culture of proximity that focuses on people who are capable to promote identity feelings of citizenship that will support the making of decisions towards the universal good and the creation of a sense of belonging which will bind them together and allow them to express their solidarity towards the community they are part of and in which they intervene. The Research Questions included identifying the moral principles that support the ethical performance of higher education students. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the morality of higher education students. The Research Methods included the use of a descriptive cross-sectional study, performed with the help of 345 nursing students, 80% of them being female, and whose average age was 20.82. Cunha's "Questionario de Mod de Agir Etico (2015)" (QMAE) was administered. The findings revealed that the morality of the student's actions focused mostly on individualism and is based on the following ethical principles: Ethical Subjectivism- 68,7% (69,1% male and 68,6% female)., Relativism -56,54% ( 56,5% male and 56,7% female); Deontological Ethics (Kant) -53,9% (55,8% male and 47,0%female); Subjectivism/Ethical Egoism-11,3% (7,4% male and 12,3% female). It can be concluded that as part of the pedagogical practice, schools must educate their students for the decision making process, creating consensus based on universal values. Therefore, bioethical education becomes more important-and should integrate the discussion of Trans-subjective morality criteria, like rationality (what any person would do for everyone's well-being) interconnected with impartiality, among others. (C) 2016 Published by Future Academy www.FutureAcademy.org.uk