Understanding the Moral Perceptions of College Science Students:

A Constructivist Approach

Eric Nolan

Northern Arizona University

This essay calls for universities and colleges within the United States to improve their science curriculum by including dialectical practices centered around morally-based issues. Science, as a body of knowledge, offers insight into the mechanical nature of the universe at large but there are applications of science that have caused, and are causing, real damages to communities all around the globe; examples demonstrating some of these severities include (and are not limited to): consumer demand on fossil fuels contributing to global climate change, advancement of military technologies threatening global warfare, dependence of global economies to practices of deforestation and food-supply exhaustion, and the creation of regional/global pollution levels resulting from the manufacturing practices of consumer societies (Parenti, 2012; Steffen et al., 2015). The misapplication of science, as seen in the modern era, grew from industrialized scientific exploration and production (Bowers, 2001; Illich, 1971; Tarnas, 1993). This essay argues that educational institutions are morally obligated to provide students with curriculum that emphasizes a moral responsibility to prevent and/or remedy the misuse of science that fuels these pressing global issues. Characteristics of said moral responsibility can range from better decision-making in the grocery store to the influence one gives to a corporate cultural identity.

The U.S. Department of Education (2016) states that as of the 2014-15 academic year, there were 161,787 undergraduates receiving a bachelor of science degree having majored in the disciplines of mathematics and the natural sciences. Many of these students have attended universities and colleges that provide a traditional education in science in the sense that curriculum has been structured in a way to provide students with technical know-how and workforce readiness to meet an emerging demand for science-related occupations (Casey, 2012). However, there are missing components to this education that students will need in order to understand the relationship between the uses of science and environmental, sociological, and anthropological factors (Braungart & McDonough, 2009; Lee et al., 2013; Tobin, 2014). 

Undergraduate students are presented with subject matter that emphasize a concepts-only, or concepts-first, curriculum where the material is heavily objectified, and theorized, and any sort of meaningful value in the application of that knowledge is reduced to simply completing “school work” (Hodson, 1998). This type of pedagogy creates a gap in the student’s understanding of real social and environmental issues that relate to the application (or misapplication) of science (Colucci-Gray et al., 2006). Examples of conceptual teaching methods that contribute towards this gap include: memorization of established facts from textbooks, assigned tasks with (or without) students’ interests, and hypothetical problems based on an expected answer or outcome (Brunsell & Fleming, 2014). This type of conceptual methodology within science education frequently lacks meaning-making activities that would otherwise help students in their continuing development of moral aptitude toward science-related matters (Zeidler et al., 2014). 

Enabling science departments to alter their programs of study to include explicit moral focuses within the required coursework will not be easy. Firstly, there is a question of whether resources and political will exist to enact new paradigmatic approaches in teaching science as many institutions adhere to positivist methods of assessment (Tobin, 2014); this can be clearly seen by the use of the “GPA” protocol that determines a student’s academic success. Secondly, even if resources and political will were available, how can educational institutions know where students’ moral aptitude exist in order to provide curriculum that appropriately guides them toward scientifically responsible decision-making? It is proposed in this theoretical position essay that using a constructivist paradigmatic approach in the pursuit of understanding such moral aptitudes will help educational institutions design educational experiences that connect students to the aforementioned global crises in a way that will enhance students’ decision-making abilities toward those issues.

Within theories of moral psychology, one body of work that seems suitable for this sort of research is that of Lawrence Blum’s (1994) moral perception theoretical framework. The premise and assumptions of this theory center around an understanding that the interpretations of an individual as they perceive a given situation or issue will greatly determine and influence their moral agency. The particularities and sensitivities that Blum describe help illustrate some of the finer details involved in how morality is activated and acted upon. He describes these components as entities that bring attention and awareness toward a given situation based on features that are recognized as “moral”. Moral perception would then precede moral deliberation and can be understood as the moral sensibilities an individual brings to particular situations (Blum, 1994).

Blum (1994) describes the process of moral perception as an ignition of an individual’s ability to make sense of the particularities of a situation in a salient manner when something is perceived as a violation of some sort. The process he discusses looks at what occurs before someone reaches a decision about what actions need (or need not) be taken to resolve a moral situation. Blum states that there are three key steps to an individual initiating their moral perception and they are: 1) initially recognizing a particular situation as one that is “moral”, 2) having an ability to identify morally significant features based on the individual’s interpretation, and 3) determining which set of guided principles are called upon to motivate action(s) toward a resolution of the supposed violation. 

It is the purpose of this position paper to show how using a constructivist approach to research can help contribute to a collective body of knowledge that seeks to understand the moral perceptions that are exhibited by college science students. The following sections will first describe the background of constructivist theory and how it relates to students’ learning and meaning-making experiences, followed by an analysis combining constructivist methodologies to the moral perception framework. This essay will then conclude with a position on using constructivism as a guiding ontological, epistemological, and methodological paradigm to help support assumptions, presuppositions, and orientations.

Background

To better understand how the constructivist framework can function within the realm of moral perception, it is important to consider a few factors about the ontology that constructivist theory bases its assumptions on. Constructivist theory posits that reality is not knowable (Doolittle, 2014, p. 487) since the human mind is a dynamic system of constructs relevant to an individual’s experiences that develop from a perceived and constructed reality (Research Methodology, 2008). The epistemological approach used by most constructivists centers on qualitative methodologies that seek to capture the subjective nature of a given phenomenon by using descriptors and other qualifying explanations. This contrasts the more objective nature of positivist thinking where the world is seen through physical observation and experimentation using quantitative interpretation. Yilmaz (2008) supports the constructivist movement by stating that multiple perspectives and pluralistic realities exist and that “knowledge is not discovered but constructed by individuals based on experience” (p. 162). Constructivist methodologies seek to offer some explanation as to how this can be so and do not depend on any one methodological approach as every practical method with have its own unique applications and limitations depending on the goal of the research. The qualitative nature of constructivism uses descriptive characteristics as evidence to what is being investigated, rather than through quantitative inference or deduction. With this sort of methodological nature in mind, research practices within constructivism allow for participant-generated meanings to emerge within the context and settings relevant to the participants of a particular study (Research Methodology, 2016).

Constructivism, learning, and meaning-making. Since the focus of this research is to examine how students construct their moral perceptions within science education, it is important to illustrate how constructivism relates to the idea of learning. A key component in understanding this relationship is acknowledging that a constructivist interpretation of learning is founded on the principle that learning is a process of meaning-making (Ultanir, 2012). Yilmaz (2008) elaborates on some of the qualities that lead to meaning-making with the following assumptions:

• Learning is an active process. 
• Learning is an adaptive activity. 
• Learning is situated in the context in which it occurs.
• Knowledge is not innate, passively absorbed, or invented but constructed by the learner.
• All knowledge is personal and idiosyncratic. 
• All knowledge is socially constructed. 
• Learning is essentially a process of making sense of the world.
• Experience and prior understanding play a role in learning. 
• Social interaction plays a role in learning. 
• Effective learning requires meaningful, open-ended, challenging problems for the learner to solve.

These qualities that contribute toward a learner’s meaning-making interpretations of the world are not in isolation from the individual’s external surroundings and will be addressed in a coming section. For now, an emphasis is placed on recognizing that belief systems, values, and inherent principles that an individual carries with them in life are learned from their ability to intellectually generate their own understandings of themselves and the world they live in through posing questions, solving problems, and constructing theories and knowledge (Yilmaz, 2008). Understanding the connection between learning and constructivist theory within moral perception research will be discussed in more detail in a coming position analysis.

Radical constructivism, perception, and experiential knowledge. Constructivist theory breaks down into three main categories: sociological, psychological, and radical (Yilmaz, 2008). Each of these categories address methodological, didactic, dialectical, and radical characteristics that arise when understanding how and why an individual constructs their interpretation of the world in the way they do. Although sociological and psychological categories cover ideas looking at methods of collective and individual meaning-making (Yilmaz, 2008), it is the theory of radical constructivism that seems particularly attractive for the purposes of this research. Within radical constructivism, an elucidation of characteristics pertaining to experience help to create a common understanding in the idea of perception that will be explained shortly.

According to Phillips (1995), radical constructivism is characterized by an alternative understanding on the concept of knowledge where rather than thinking of it as a result from an activity of learning it is instead suggested that knowledge itself is an adaptive function that directly ties to experience. Duit (1996) refers to radical constructivism as “experiential knowledge” and suggests three key principles that set the foundation for this ontological and epistemological approach, and those principles include: 1) knowledge is not passively received but is built up by the cognizing subject, 2) function of cognition is adaptive and enables learners to construct viable explanations of experiences, and 3) the process of constructing meaning always is embedded within a social setting of which the individual is part. This may sound familiar to some of the qualities laid out under learning and its connection to constructivism but with this there is a focus stressing the epistemological functionality constructed from, and interpreted by, the individual. Doolittle (2014) fleshes out the idea a little more clearly when it is stated that “knowledge is not an accurate representation of external reality, but rather is an internally coherent and coordinated collection of processes and structures that provide for adaptive behavior.” (p. 487). Phillips, Duit, and Doolittle suggest that within the idea of radical constructivism, knowledge is more so a verb than a noun and within this interplay of external realities and internal interpretations, the individual’s construction of knowledge is therefore defined as experiential. 

Since the concept of experience is so closely tied in with the idea of radical constructivism, it is important to draw a connection between experience and perception. Audi (2013) suggests there is a similitude between perception and experience in that we should assume perception to fundamentally be an experiential phenomenon. Audi states, “To see (or otherwise perceive) entails having an experience, and the experience is distinctively qualitative” (p. 12). Doolittle (2014) suggests that radical constructivism can address how knowledge is constructed from both external experiences and earlier mental structures. Radical constructivism is built on the premise of exercising qualitative research so connecting radical constructivism to experience in order to understand perception would seem to be a logical progression of thought when considering the moral perceptions of college-level science practitioners.

Constructivist methodologies. Methodologies used for research within radical constructivist projects come from many of the same methods used in general constructivist theory, as radical constructivism is a part of the continuum of constructivism (Doolittle, 2014). Methods can include both qualitative and quantitative approaches but what is clear is that the former is emphasized as the preferred and appropriate choice (Onwuegbuzie et al., 2009). Overall, however, there is no one methodological approach that is bound to constructivist theory as each project will require its own strategy relevant to the topic of discussion (Lee, 2012). Some examples of methods that can be used within a given strategy include: interviews, focus groups, word count, keywords-in-context, comparative analysis, text mining, narrative analysis, and latent content analysis (Onquegbuzie et al., 2009; Research Methodology, 2008); there are over thirty methodological strategies that can be used that based on goal-dependent factors.

Analysis

Radical constructivism, as a paradigmatic research approach, offers many benefits within the inquiry of moral perception. The benefits center around the use of methodologies that explore the qualitative nature of experience. By considering the relationship of experience and perception, and how both focus on the internal nature of knowledge, radical constructivism offers a way of understanding how college-level science students interpret their personally viable realities (Doolittle, 2014). In order to make the connection between perception and morality, for the purposes of context, Blum’s (1994) theoretical framework on moral perception will need to be analyzed for its contextual placement within radical constructivism. 

Blum’s (1994) theory on moral perception helps to set the stage in understanding that simply looking at a person’s moral principles and reasoning capacities does not necessarily indicate that the person will apply those principles correctly toward a given situation. It can be argued that moral perception is a person’s adaptive functionality in the ability to recognize moral features within a given scenario that in turn could progress to an accurate application of moral principles, but this will only be based on what is initially recognized to be morally salient. Once features are deemed to be morally significant only then can a rational process of deliberation take place in making a determination toward a moral judgment. The particularities of an individual, as Blum (1994) refers to them by, can be understood as the unique characteristics that shape and form the adaptive functionality of an individual’s knowledge-making capacities; especially within the realm of moral knowledge construction. Kuhn (1962/1996) offers a slightly different take but still in line with the idea that “What a [person] sees depends both upon what [they] look at and also upon what [their] previous visual-conceptual experience has taught [them] to see” (p. 113). Radical constructivism, based on the understanding that knowledge is experiential, would be a productive paradigmatic approach to help capture some of the particularities, or unique constructs, that each person brings to a moral situation. Understanding particularities through qualitative methodological approaches can help illustrate some of the finer details involved in how a person’s morality is activated and acted upon. 

In discussing Piaget’s contribution to constructivist theory, Doolittle (2014) points to an emphasis placed on discovery and exploration as examples of experiences that foster the mental structures of the mind toward more sophisticated methods of reasoning. In connection to this, Rawls (1989) explains a Kantian argument that morals are a construct built on reasoning that is experiential and shared among others if there is an inherent will for good. In respect of that, do colleges that provide a degree in science allow for discovery and exploration on what the good means so that students experience dialogue within an effort of mutual meaning making? If college science students were given an opportunity to discover and explore moral features associated with some of the global problems discussed in the introduction of this study, it seems plausible to think that students could demonstrate features of their moral recognitions. Therefore, radical constructivism offers a framework that allows for the observation, interpretation, and possible explanation of college science students’ moral perceptions by looking at differences and similarities between individuals’ responses when discussing moral situations. This type of data analysis may give an indication of what science education could be doing right, or potentially missing out on.

Criticisms of constructivism. Although it has been argued in this study that radical constructivism is an acceptable paradigmatic approach toward researching the moral perceptions of college-level science students, this is not to say that limitations do not exist. O’Loughlin (2007) offers a perspective suggesting that constructivist approaches, in general, are not adequate in understanding science education as there is an “inability to come to grips with the essential issues of culture, power, and discourse in the classroom” (p. 791). 

Critical theorists criticize constructivist approaches on the premise that knowledge and power are inseparable and not value free. This is especially important when educational institutions intentionally separate knowledge from the issue of power and instead offer said knowledge as technical and unbiased subject matter (McLaren, 2009). A good example that demonstrates how constructivism misses out on recognizing the value-laden use of constructed knowledge is by considering a student learning the concept of the atomic bomb. A constructivist would help explain how that individual experiences the cognition of these concepts but this would not indicate that student’s personal relationship to the subject in a meaningful way (Rodriguez, 2014) that indicates their value assessment beyond a “fun fact”.

 
Another shortcoming of radical constructivism is the emphasis placed on the interpretive nature of an individual’s unique construction of the world that often leaves out the significance of social factors (Duit, 1996). Lee (2012) argues that social constructivism seeks to address this gap by having its own distinct epistemological agenda using its own methodological approaches. However, Duit (1996) states that radical constructivism “leads to the separation of the individual from the world” (p. 43). If radical conservatism is used to base claims on the moral perceptions of the individual student based on the impacts of their education then how can there be any separation between what is actually going on within the socially shared space of science education separate from the personal interpretations of the individual? Doolittle (2014) and O’Loughlin (2007) address this question in suggesting that constructivism cannot adequately make the claim that the global behavior of an individual, situated within a historically and socially constituted subjectivity, is directly predictable through an individual’s experiences and interpretations. Onwuegbuzie, Johnson, and Collie (2009) claim that some of the criticism directed at constructivism stems from a belief that it is risky by placing too much emphasis on people’s perceptions rather than the complex social forces that shape and constrain experiences, events, and actions (p. 127).

Position

Despite the criticisms that were discussed in the preceding section, it is still believed that constructivism, radical constructivism particularly, would be an appropriate approach for the paradigmatic purposes of this research. If educational institutions are to provide an education that emphasizes smart moral recognitions and sound decision-making then it would first be necessary to compile and document the moral interpretations that college-level science students experience. The proposed paradigmatic approach aims to offer a contribution toward hermeneutic and phenomenological understandings of science education at the collegiate level.

Findings from constructivist research can help inform educators on what influences are at least particular for the population that is studied. Having a sizable sample size would allow themes to emerge but only as an extension of the researcher’s interpretation of the data. Perhaps after such research has been completed, educators can design new curricula (based on other paradigms of inquiry such as postpositivism or critical theory) that offer a way to test the effectiveness of communicating morally significant features of science-based issues (as determined by the instructor or designer of the curriculum). Recent research has shown promising results that if classrooms were to include morally relevant features of known issues within their curriculum that students do show an increase in their cognitive moral development (Choi et al., 2011; Herman, 2014; Lee et al., 2012; Lee et al., 2013).

In conclusion, factors such as perception, experience, meaning-making, discovery, and exploration are vitally important components to consider if radical constructivism is to be used as a paradigmatic position to investigate the moral perceptions of college science students. Radical constructivist theory appears to be a good match for the purposes of this research as the aforementioned factors of perception, experience, and meaning-making would be the cornerstones in exploring ways of attaining a baseline understanding of the moral perceptions that college-level science students hold toward science-based global issues. 

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