Course Information
SemesterCourse Unit CodeCourse Unit TitleT+P+LCreditNumber of ECTS CreditsLast Updated Date
8EMB076Ethics and Ethics in Education2+0+02407.10.2026
Course Details
Language of Instruction Turkish
Level of Course Unit Bachelor's Degree
Department / Program Pre-School Teaching
Type of Program Formal Education
Type of Course Unit Elective
Course Delivery Method Face To Face
Objectives of the Course This course aims to enable pre-service teachers to: (A1) conceptually ground the distinctions between morality (value judgements and norms), professional codes of ethics and philosophical ethics; (A2) use the concepts of value, evaluation, value judgement and ethical principle on cases from preschool education; (A3) develop the habit of examining the principles of teaching professional ethics and children ` s rights in terms of the ethical principles on which they are based; (A4) analyze, with justification, ethical problems encountered in relations with children, families, colleagues and school administration and in the use of digital technologies.
Course Content Ethics, morality and everyday judgements; basic ethical theories (utilitarianism, deontology, virtue ethics); the difference between ethics and law; value, principle, rule and standard; ethical dilemmas and ethical decision-making; causes and justifications of unethical behaviour; profession, professional ethics and ethical responsibility in teaching; principles of teaching professional ethics; moralities, professional codes of ethics and philosophical ethics; value, evaluation and valuing; ethical values and human dignity; human rights, children ` s rights and the right to education; ethics education of children; artificial intelligence ethics and children ` s data; analysis of ethical cases from preschool education.
Course Methods and Techniques Lecture, question and answer, discussion, case study and ethical dilemma analysis, video discussion, group work, student presentations.
Prerequisites and co-requisities None
Course Coordinator Asist Prof.Dr. Mehmet Ceylan mehmet.ceylan@hku.edu.tr
Name of Lecturers Asist Prof.Dr. Mehmet Ceylan mehmet.ceylan@hku.edu.tr
Assistants None
Work Placement(s) No

Recommended or Required Reading
Resources Aydın, İ. (2023). Öğretmenlik meslek etiği eğitimi [Teaching professional ethics education]. MoNE Directorate General of Personnel.
Kuçuradi, İ. (2014, July 8). Eğitimi yeniden düşünmek [Rethinking education] [Speech]. Hacettepe University. https://hacettepe.edu.tr/duyuru/rekduy/47KurulusYilDonumu220714.pdf
Kuçuradi, İ. (2019). On the objective and subjective conditions of living humanely. İzmir Bar Association Journal, 84(3), 461–468.
Ministry of National Education. (2025). Artificial intelligence ethics recommendations. Directorate General for Innovation and Educational Technologies.
Aydın, İ. (2024). Eğitim ve öğretimde etik [Ethics in education and teaching] (14th ed.). Pegem Akademi.
Erdem, A. R., & Şimşek, S. (Eds.). (2022). Eğitimde ahlak ve etik [Morality and ethics in education]. Eğiten Kitap.
İlğan, A. (Ed.). (2020). Eğitimde ahlak ve etik [Morality and ethics in education]. Pegem Akademi.
Kuçuradi, İ. (2022). Ahlak, etik ve etikler [Morality, ethics and ethics]. Philosophical Society of Turkey.
Kuçuradi, İ. (2022). Etik [Ethics]. Philosophical Society of Turkey.
Kuçuradi, İ. (2022). İnsan ve değerleri [Human beings and their values]. Philosophical Society of Turkey.
Oral, B., Çoban, A., & Bars, M. (Eds.). (2019). Eğitimde ahlak ve etik [Morality and ethics in education]. Pegem Akademi.
Akgun, S., & Greenhow, C. (2022). Artificial intelligence in education: Addressing ethical challenges in K-12 settings. AI and Ethics, 2(3), 431–440. https://doi.org/10.1007/s43681-021-00096-7
Dönmez, Ö., & Dağ, B. (2024). Ethics in preschool education: Views of teachers and pre-service teachers. International Journal of Early Childhood Education Studies, 9(1), 57–74.
Kanat, K., & Erkan, N. S. (2021). Examining preschool teachers ` professional ethical behaviours and ethical dilemmas. International Primary Educational Research Journal, 5(3), 212–224. https://doi.org/10.38089/iperj.2021.72
Convention on the Rights of the Child. (1995, January 27). Official Gazette (No. 22184).
Kuçuradi Foundation for Philosophy and Human Rights. (n.d.). Ethical values and their education [Video series]. https://kucuradivakfi.org.tr/Etik-Degerler-ve-Egitimi-Video-Serisi.html
Journey to the human 2: Whose dignity is human dignity? [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y2lORKFh3tY
Course Notes Aydın, İ. (2023). Öğretmenlik meslek etiği eğitimi [Teaching professional ethics education]. MoNE Directorate General of Personnel.
Kuçuradi, İ. (2014). Eğitimi yeniden düşünmek [Rethinking education] [Speech]. Hacettepe University.
Kuçuradi, İ. (2019). On the objective and subjective conditions of living humanely. İzmir Bar Association Journal, 84(3), 461–468.
Ministry of National Education. (2025). Artificial intelligence ethics recommendations.
Reading at least one book from the supplementary sources is compulsory.

Course Category
Education %100

Planned Learning Activities and Teaching Methods
Activities are given in detail in the section of "Assessment Methods and Criteria" and "Workload Calculation"

Assessment Methods and Criteria
In-Term Studies Quantity Percentage
Mid-terms 1 % 40
Final examination 1 % 60
Total
2
% 100

 
ECTS Allocated Based on Student Workload
Activities Quantity Duration Total Work Load
Course Duration 14 2 28
Hours for off-the-c.r.stud 14 4 56
Presentation 1 8 8
Mid-terms 1 12 12
Final examination 1 16 16
Total Work Load   Number of ECTS Credits 4 120

 
Course Learning Outcomes: Upon the successful completion of this course, students will be able to:
Bilgi 
1 Explains the differences between morality, professional codes of ethics and philosophical ethics, the difference between ethics and law, and what basic ethical theories base the rightness of an action on.
3 Explains the relationship between ethical values and human rights, children ` s rights and the right to education, as principles for protecting human worth.
4 Knows the basic ethical principles underlying an article of the Ministry of National Education ` s teaching professional ethics principles and justifies this relationship.
7 Explains the teacher ` s role in the ethics education of preschool children by comparing the character education approach with education based on knowledge of ethical values.
Beceri 
2 Distinguishes, in a case from preschool education, judging based on value judgements (valuing) from evaluation made by describing the action in its context.
6 Identifies the ethical problems that the use of artificial intelligence and digital tools in preschool education raises regarding children ` s data and develops solutions.
Yetkinlik 
5 Analyzes an ethical dilemma encountered in relations with children, families, colleagues and school administration in preschool education and develops a justified action proposal.

 
Weekly Detailed Course Contents
WeekTopicsStudy MaterialsMaterials
1 Course introduction; ethics, morality and our everyday judgements Weekly reading. Study questions: What leads us to describe our behaviour as good or bad? Do "shameful", "sin", "crime" and "injustice" mean the same thing? Syllabus; Aydın (2023), Section 1.1
2 Basic ethical theories: utilitarianism, deontology and virtue ethics Weekly reading. Study questions: Is an action made right by its consequences, intention or character? Is Kant ` s criterion the same as the "golden rule"? Aydın (2023), Section 1.2
3 The difference between ethics and law; value, principle, rule and standard Weekly reading. Study questions: What distinction does the claim "If it is not forbidden, it is ethical" overlook? Is being principled the same as following rules? Aydın (2023), Sections 1.3 and 1.4
4 Ethical dilemmas and ethical decision-making Weekly reading. Study questions: Is every difficult decision an ethical dilemma? How are the conflicting values in a dilemma identified? Aydın (2023), Sections 2.1 and 2.2; Dönmez & Dağ (2024)
5 Causes and justifications of unethical behaviour Weekly reading. Study questions: What do the claims "Everyone does it" and "No one will be harmed" conceal? What is the difference between a reason and a justification? Aydın (2023), Section 2.3; Kanat & Erkan (2021)
6 Profession, professional ethics and ethical responsibility in teaching Weekly reading. Study questions: What happens when personal morality and professional ethics conflict? What responsibilities arise from the teacher ` s position of trust? Aydın (2023), Ch. 3 and 4
7 Principles of professional ethics for teachers; expected and avoided behaviours Weekly reading. Study questions: How do the principles of non-maleficence, justice, equality, respect and privacy appear in a kindergarten classroom? Which gift is acceptable? Aydın (2023), Ch. 5 and 6
8 Midterm exam Review of weeks 1–7 Aydın (2023)
9 Three meanings of the word ‘ethics’: moralities, codes of professional ethics and philosophical ethics Weekly reading. Study questions: Are value judgements knowledge? What is the difference between a professional code of ethics and philosophical ethics? Kuçuradi (2014); Kuçuradi (2019), pp. 461–462
10 Value, evaluation and valuation; ethical values and human dignity Weekly reading. Study questions: Can a type of behaviour be evaluated on its own? Can respect be commanded? Kuçuradi (2019), pp. 462–464; Kuçuradi, Ethics (selected chapters); "Journey to the Human 2" (video)
11 Human worth, human rights, children ` s rights and the right to education Weekly reading. Study questions: What is the difference between a right and a value? What does a child ` s participation in decisions affecting them look like in a preschool classroom? Kuçuradi (2019), pp. 465–468; Kuçuradi (2014); Convention on the Rights of the Child
12 Ethics education of children: values education or ethics education? Weekly reading. Study questions: What is the difference between telling a child "Be honest" and showing what honesty is? Is giving advice ethics education? Aydın (2023), Ch. 7; Kuçuradi (2019), p. 467; Kuçuradi, Morality, Ethics and Ethics
13 Ethics of artificial intelligence: concepts, risks and MoNE recommendations Weekly reading. Study questions: How do you find out which child data an AI application processes? What does algorithmic bias look like in preschool? MoNE (2025); Akgun & Greenhow (2022)
14 Case analyses (student presentations) Weekly reading. Study questions: Which value judgement operates in the case you chose? Which professional ethics principle and which ethical principle apply? MoNE (2025), recommendations for parents; sources used during the semester
15 Overall review Review of all topics and core readings Core readings
16 Final exam Review of all topics and core readings Core readings

 
Sustainable Development Goals
Contribution of Learning Outcomes to Programme Outcomes
P1 P2 P3 P4 P5 P6 P7 P8 P9 P10 P11 P12 P13 P14
All 2 2 5 2 2 5 4 2 2 5 3 3 1 5
In1 5 2 2 4
In3 2 4 1 3 1 2 5
In4 2 4 1 2 1 5
In7 2 3 3 1 3 2 5
Sk2 1 3 2 2 5 2 2 5 2 3 5
Sk6 2 4 1 1 4 4 2 3 2 5
Co5 2 4 2 2 2 4

  Contribution: 1: Very Slight 2:Slight 3:Moderate 4:Significant 5:Very Significant