Conditions for development of a multidimensional ethical competence through group discussions in fiction-based ethics education

Abstract

Based on an analysis of Swedish students’ group discussions while taking part in a fiction-based ethics education, this article presents conditions for the development of a multidimensional ethical competence. Four crucial conditions in students’ group discussions are identified: focus on the task, interest in each other’s contributions, knowledge about the object of the ethical analysis and its context, and explorations of the complexity of the human being. The results show that the fiction stories, and the students who act as more capable others, support the development by modelling in different ways, both procedural and substantial knowledge in ethics are required.