Promoting ethical competencies: education for democratic citizenship in a Mexican institution of higher education

Abstract

Higher education institutions have a responsibility to promote the development of students’ ethical and citizenship competencies, especially in contexts of major social inequality. Graduates, who constitute a very small percentage of the population in México, are the best qualified to conceive of creative alternatives to resolve its demanding social challenges. But this cannot be done if trained professionals and specialists remain indifferent to their communities and merely seek to satisfy their personal interests. Higher education institutions should have an active role to play in the consolidation of democracy in México, providing society with technically and professionally well prepared individuals who are also ethical and competent citizens. This article sketches a 10‐year program focusing on the development of the ethical and citizenship competencies of higher education students being implemented in a private university. Evidence from the first phase of assessment of ethical competencies is cited and discussed.

Notes

1. After Independence, the official name of México became Estados Unidos Mexicanos [Mexican United States] or Republica Mexicana [Mexican Republic]. Its political regime is described as a ‘Representative, Democratic and Federal Republic, composed of free and sovereign States in respect to their internal regime, but united into a federation’ (México, 2008). The Capital of the Republic is México City, which is the Federal District, site of the Union Powers: the Congress, the Supreme Court and the seat of the Presidency.

2. The motto of 1910 Revolution, Sufragio efectivo, no reelección [Effective vote and no re‐election] reveals the spirit of a struggle intended to attain a true democratic government. The first century of México as an independent country (1810–1910) was characterised by 70 years of internal struggles and great instability, followed by 30 years of a hostile peace due to the dictatorial government of Porfirio Díaz.

3. The Mexican people’s psychological traits, attitudes and behaviours have been studied by Ramos (1987), Díaz‐Guerrero (1990) and Ramírez (1993) and, more recently, Bartra (2002).

4. The author is an ethics professor at this institution and is involved in evaluation of aspects of the program.

5. According to the World Bank classification that means a gross national income of US$3,856–11,905 per capita.

6. Generally the terms ‘ethics education’ and ‘values education’ have been preferred over ‘moral education’ because the term ‘moral’ is generally associated with the religious realm. By ‘moral education’ I mean education focusing on moral values and the cultivation of virtue, developing moral judgement and reasoning; I use ‘ethics education’ to refer to the philosophical study of ethics.

7. It would be a contradiction to go on denouncing others’ apathy and disengagement while manifesting the same attitudes and behaviour. It would be nonsense to expect that undesirable conditions would change while all social agents continue doing the same actions that—directly or indirectly—have provoked the unwanted situations.

8. Monterrey Tec is a private institution, inaugurated in 1943 and not related to any political party or religious group. At its formation the institution focused on engineering and management careers in order to meet the local demands of a growing industry, though science research, architecture, humanities and social sciences were part of the initial planning and were soon incorporated in its operation. Now the institution also includes a school of medicine. Because of its independence as a research institution and its autonomy to offer masters and doctoral degrees, Monterrey Tec can be considered a university more than an institute of technology.

9. Monterrey Tec could have decided to focus its 2008–2013 QEP on any other educational issue, such as internationalisation, scientific research, use of educational technology and so on. However, it was decided to focus the plan on developing students’ ethical and citizenship competencies. Ethics courses and other activities to promote moral development are not new at the institution, but this time the commitment implies a more systematic approach to accomplish the goals and a strong emphasis on assessment.

10. There are 27 campuses participating in the QEP assessment. The alumni population varies considerably from campus to campus: from 70 students to 16,276 students enrolled in undergraduate studies in the January–May 2009 semester. The sample size is related to the need to gather information to assess each campus separately and in relation to the institution as a whole.