To Guide or Provoke? Maps, Pedagogy, and the Value(s) of Teaching Criminal Justice Ethics

Abstract

Addressing the ethical misconduct often associated with the criminal justice system requires a better understanding of existing models of criminal justice ethics education. Based on a 12-month mixed methods study of 48 students in a criminal justice internship program at George Mason University, this paper examines the role of coursework by exploring how students represented their values and responded to different approaches to ethical instruction. Using multiple methods, this paper argues that ethics coursework can influence how students understand their values. In addition, the findings of this study suggest that approaches that combine agency-specific dilemmas with critical thinking decision-making can best be used to teach and explore ethics and the criminal justice system.

Notes

1. See Justice Brandies dissent in Olmstead v. United States, 277 US 438, 48 S.Ct. 564, 72 L.Ed. 944 (1928).