Evaluating the Effectiveness of a Formal Ethics Component in the Computer Science Curriculum

In the Fall of 1994, the Computer Science Department at Coastal Carolina University (Conway, South Carolina implemented a formal ethics component in the introductory computer science course required of all majors. Prior to the introduction of this ethics component into the curriculum, a survey of ethical attitudes was administered to all computer science majors. Two years later, a similar survey was given to computer science majors who have completed the ethics component. This paper contrasts the results of the two surveys as a method of analyzing the effectiveness of the department's strategy to promote ethical behavior. The results suggest the need to re-evaluate existing strategies. The paper concludes with a discussion of varying strategies for promoting ethical behavior and suggestions for further study. (Contains 11 references.) (Author) ******************************************************************************** * Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made * * from the original document. * ******************************************************************************** 1997 ASCUE Proceedings Evaluating the Effectiveness of a Formal Ethics Component in the Computer Science Curriculum Stephen J. Sheel, Ph.D. Department of Computer Science steves @coastal.edu (803) 349-2081 and E. Eugene Collins Department of Computer Science [email protected] (803) 349-2072 Coastal Carolina University P.O. Box 261954 Conway, South Carolina 29528-6054 Abstract U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Office of Educational Research and Improvement EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) This document has been reproduced as received from the person or organization originating it. Minor changes have been made to improve reproduction quality.U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Office of Educational Research and Improvement EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) This document has been reproduced as received from the person or organization originating it. Minor changes have been made to improve reproduction quality. Points of view or opinions stated in this document do not necessarily represent official OERI position or policy. AL; "PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE THIS MATERIAL HAS BEEN GRANTED BY C.P. Singer z TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC)." In the Fall of 1994, the Computer Science Department at Coastal Carolina University implemented a formal ethics component in the introductory computer science course required of all majors. Prior to the introduction of this ethics component into the curriculum, a survey of ethical attitudes was administered to all computer science majors. Two years later, a similar survey was given to computer science majors who have completed the ethics component. This paper contrasts the results of the two surveys as a method of analyzing the effectiveness of the department's strategy to promote ethical behavior. The results suggest the need to reevaluate existing strategies for promoting ethical behavior. The paper concludes with a discussion of varying strategies for promoting ethical behavior and suggestions for further study. Introduction Ethical practice and social responsibility have become important aspects of computer science education. The latest revision of the computer science curriculum, Computing Curricula 1991 [1], states that "undergraduate programs should provide an environment in which students are exposed to the ethical and societal issues associated with the computing field". According to Tucker, Barnes, and Aiken [10], in a summary report for Computing Curricula 1991, computer science students "need to be aware of the basic legal rights of software and hardware vendors and users, and they also need to appreciate the ethical values that are the basis for those rights. To provide the level of awareness, undergraduate programs should devote explicit curriculum time to the study of social and professional issues". In the spring semester of 1994, the authors of this paper examined the ethical attitudes of 82 computer science majors enrolled at Coastal Carolina University in response to a survey that O 176 2 11112 CT raTew AVAITIT ARA TT 11 1997 ASCUE Proceedings appeared in Effy Oz's [7] textbook, "Ethics for the Information Age," 1994. It was concluded that -Coastal Carolina University is not doing enough to promote ethical behavior."[2] As a result of that survey and to meet the requirements of the ACM/IEEE curriculum guidelines, it was decided, starting in the Fall semester of 1994, to implement a formal ethical component in CSCI 130, Introduction to Computer Science. This course provides a comprehensive overview of Computer Science as a discipline and is required as the first course for all students majoring or minoring in Computer Science. All professors teaching this course were asked to add an ethical component to their course syllabi, and portions of Oz's textbook [7] were adopted as a required supplemental text. In an attempt to assess the effectiveness of the Computer Science Department's formal ethics component, another survey of ethical attitudes similar to the 1994 survey was conducted two years later, in the fall of 1996. The first survey was administered to students who did not have the ethics component as part of their curriculum, and the second survey was administered to students who did have the formal ethics component as part of their curriculum. In particular the study focused on the following questions: 1. What is the current attitude of the students regarding ethical issues? 2. Is there a difference in ethical attitudes between students who have had the formal ethical component and earlier students who did not? 3. How effective is the current strategy to promote ethical behavior? 4. What changes in the curriculum are suggested?