Moral Education

Seeks to foster in students a set of universal values, which will enable them to peacefully interact and connect
with people from different cultural and social groups who hold different views and perspectives. It seeks to
empower them to become active, responsible, local and global citizens. It enables them to develop mutual
understanding, respect for difference and empathy in order to sustain our cohesive and prosperous society.
Through dialogue and interaction, students are provided with opportunities to explore different worldviews, to
challenge one another’s assumptions and attitudes and to develop the knowledge, skills and attitude necessary
to think critically, to make informed ethical decisions and to act on them in the interests of their society.

Four Pillars of Learning:

1. Character and Morality (CM) – teaching universal ethical values, such as fairness, caring, honesty,
resilience, tolerance and respect.
2. The Individual and Community (IC) – the development of moral thinking for individuals as active
members of their families, social environment and communities at large.
3. Civic Studies (CIS) – concentrating on Emirati history, trade, travel, governance, as well as global
citizenship.
4. Cultural Studies (CUS) – focusing on local Emirati heritage, archaeology, and the importance of
preserving culture.

What is Corruption and in what areas does it take place?

 Public Sector – the part of a country’s economy that are owned, financed and controlled by the state
on behalf of the population of that country.
 Private Sector – The part of a country’s economy that are owned, financed and controlled by private
individuals.
 Power – the ability to influence something or someone and so change the course of events.
 Corruption – a situation in which the unethical or dishonest actions of an individual or individuals, who
have some element of power, abuse their power for personal gain.
 Petty Corruption – takes place on a regular basis and involves many people in all aspects of life. The
existence and acceptance of petty corruption can be a symptom of wider problems in society and the
potential loss of the rule of law and recognition of fundamental values and moral codes in society.
 Grand Corruption – occurs when a relatively small number of people with considerable power are able
to use that power with the result that the few benefits to a large extent. Where grand corruption exists,
the normal functioning of society might be paralyzed and those involved in corruption are unlikely to be
held accountable for their actions and not punished. This may be because those involved in the
corruption have the power to manipulate the justice system to their own ends and, in some cases; they
may be the justice system!

+Where does corruption take place?

-There is corruption in business, in politics, sport and many other elements in society. It is individuals
who make the decisions to engage in corruption and this behavior may continue if there is no structure or system,
or indeed, the will of political leaders to address it. This may involve making difficult decisions and making many
sacrifices over a period of time to solve the problem and return society to being free of corruption.

-Corruption can affect almost every element of society. Its penetration into so many different parts of
society and hence, our lives can have serious consequences.
Why does Corruption Occur?
 *Corrupt Activities:
o Bribery – the offer or promise of a benefit from one person to another person with the
expectation that they will carry out an improper action or activity.
o Extortion – the extraction of money or favors through the abuse of power and typically through
the use of physical force, intimidation, blackmail or threats. It can be an extreme form of abuse
of power because the power that the individual or individuals have is based on fear. It can also
include blackmail; involves the extraction of money or favors in exchange for not disclosing or
publishing information or images which may be damaging to the career, marriage, reputation,
position or life of another person. The blackmailer may have accessed the information deliberately
with the intention to commit blackmail or may have come across the information by accident and
decide to use that information inappropriately for personal gain.
o Nepotism or Cronyism – the use of personal power to grant favors to friends and relatives.
o Patronage – people in positions of power have the ability to grant titles, honors, privileges, or
financial aid to individuals, group and organizations. For individuals with the power of patronage,
there is the potential for this power to be abused and used for personal gain or some other benefit.
o Misappropriation – occurs when someone is entrusted with something which could be money,
artifacts, or information, which they do not own, and then uses the money etc. for their own gain.
In other words, they steal. Here, people use the power that has been bestowed on them, the
trust that they have been given, and misuse that power.
o Misuse of Information - *Insider Trading – the buying or selling of an asset by a person
based on them having access to information which is not in the public domain*
 Personal – at the heart of the reasons for corruption is the basic human frailty of greed. Greed is the
self-centered desire to get more and more, to seek excess. Greed is the opposite to moderation; it is the
unquenchable desire to have more. Greed pushes us beyond our moral boundaries and forces us to give
up what we might know deep down is wrong and behave inappropriately. It has been argued that humans
are ‘hard-wired’ to want to possess things. This may come from very early human existence when survival
meant having enough food and shelter, and more food and more shelter meant a greater chance of
survival. When people experience extreme poverty, it is perhaps understandable that they might resort
to corruption and dishonesty simply because they are looking to survive. However, the fact that
corruption exists in every country and, as Transparency International notes, no country comes close to
getting a ‘perfect score’, we can conclude that poverty is not the only cause of corruption in many cases.
Often, individuals who are corrupt are already relatively wealthy and live in countries which are also
relatively wealthy. It is these people who have succumbed to greed and this, in turn, is associated with
questions about their moral and ethical standards. People who engage in corruption when it is associated
with pure greed may do so because of a lack of what is called ‘ethical sensitivity’. This is the ability to
recognize and appreciate the effects of their behavior, not only on themselves in terms of the risks they
take, but the effects on other people. It may be that people do not consider the effect on other people
because they do not understand the consequences of their behavior. It is possible that some people may
see their position as being very unfair compared to others, even if their position is not one where they
are suffering poverty or hardship. They just see other people as better-off than they are and want more
‘to make things fairer’. One of the reasons why people may lack ethical sensitivity is that they do not
have the education to fully understand the consequences of their actions on other and/or may lack the
role models who may have been in a position to instill moral values into them. There are other personal
factors which may lead to corruption. If corruption exists in the public sector this can be seen as being
symptomatic of broader problems in society. Public sector activity exists for the benefit of society as a
whole and working in the public sector brings with it a responsibility to fellow citizens. If corruption exists
in the public sector, then people who work there may not understand or choose to ignore the importance
of providing service to the public. One of the major challenges facing many leaders around the world is
 ensuring that politicians and people around them have a highly developed sense of community and
service. Promoting people to positions of responsibility who have this sense of community is one way of
helping to limit corruption. Everyone has a responsibility to help defeat corruption. This means that every
individual must take personal responsibility to report on and act when they see corruption What can
happen is that individuals might not report corruption because they do not know how to, are frightened
of the consequences or simply feel that it is ‘not their problem’. It takes personal qualities to fight
corruption.
 Organizational and Institutional – Organizational factors associated with why corruption takes place
include a lack of leadership, a lack of role models in key positions in government and business, and an
unwillingness to tackle instances of corruption when they occur. This highlights the importance of
ensuring that political and business leaders appoint and promote the right sort of people in the right
positions. These people must have character and integrity and be committed to the principles of ethical
behavior in business and governance. If organizations, including governments, do not have the right
structures in place to tackle corruption, to make it clear that it is not tolerated and is not acceptable in
any form, then there will be opportunities for corruption to take hold and once it does, it becomes far
more difficult to address. This is exemplified in cases where instances if relatively petty corruption are
reported or people in organizations are aware of it but fail to deal with it adequately. In some cases, the
act is dismissed for being ‘minor’ or may not be tackled because the individual/s involved are in positions
of importance. Once organizations dismiss these acts of corruption it sends a signal to everyone else in
the organization that it is acceptable and tolerated and this provides more of a motive for personal factors
to take hold. A view that corruption is tolerated and not tackled can then become an institutional problem.
It can run through every aspect of political, public and private activities in government and business.
When corruption becomes institutionalized, it is not uncommon to hear people comment that ‘everyone
does it’, ‘s/he is clever enough to get away with it so good luck to them’, or ‘you only live once!”. Such
comments attempt to provide an excuse for the activity when, deep down, people probably know that
there is no moral basis. When corruption becomes institutionalized, there is more reason for those
involved to try to protect themselves from being found out and this means that transparency is
compromised. This, in turn, means that more and more methods are employed to hide what is really
going on, with the result that more people are enticed into corrupt activities because the fear of getting
caught and punished recedes.

What is the Impact of Corruption?

 Individuals – one of the most obvious effects of corruption on individuals is the fact that they are
breaking the law and if they get caught, they risk imprisonment, fines or whatever punishment the law
of the country concerned imposes. They may also get a criminal record and a reputation which can affect
them for the whole of their lives. Being involved in corruption can also result in further moral decay which
contributes to a downward spiral; if someone is willing to submit to bribes, what other illegal acts might
they be willing to engage in?
 Rule of Law – Corruption has a destabilizing effect on the rule of law. One of the fundamental aspects
of any civilized society is the acceptance by a nation’s citizens of the laws of the country. These laws
exist to help society operate in an orderly way and to protect all citizens. If corruption is widespread, the
rule of law can break down. To enforce the rule of law, the justice system needs to operate effectively.
If the country’s justice system is also corrupt, it may fail to support the rule of law and this can affect
people’s basic human rights. The justice system is an important element in any society but if it is corrupt
people can face trial, imprisonment or other punishment unfairly. Charges against people can be
‘invented’ without any foundation, evidence may be fabricated to ‘prove’ the guilt of those involved.
Those who are guilty and involved with corruption may not be brought to justice because the system is
corrupt, and the police and legal system does not operate as it should. If the justice system and the rule
of law are not operating effectively because of corruption, other problems can occur.
  Political System – because of the existence of power in politics, corruption in the political system is
common in many countries around the world. Corruption in the political system can mean some number
things:
o People cannot be sure that political decisions are being made fairly,
o People might be appointed to positions of responsibility, not based on their skills, ability,
knowledge and experience, but rather by who they know or what connections they have,
o Citizens of a country might not know whether public money is being used in a way which helps
develop the country and its people.
-Public money comes from taxes and revenues from natural resources such as oil, mineral and other
natural resources which are owned by the state. This money is not owned by any individual but is
managed by the state on behalf of all citizens. It should be used for investment in public services and
infrastructure which benefits all in society. In many countries, these funds do not find their way to
good causes but instead to individuals for their own personal gain. Without investment in important
services and infrastructure, the population of the country may not have access to vital health,
education and other services and other services they need, and economic growth can be lower than
would otherwise be the case.

 Corruption as a Source of Conflict – corruption ca be a cause of conflict because it creates division.

Corruption can mean that some people have more whilst at the same time others can become poorer.
Sometimes this conflict can result in violence. Those involved in corruption, particularly if they have
political power, may seek to retain their power and wealth and choose to use violence as a means of
protecting their position. Opponents, and those also involved in corruption may be seen as enemies,
taking a share of the wealth to be gained, and may have to be ‘eliminated’. When corruption benefits
the few at the expense of the many, people who are already poor and vulnerable may become even
more marginalized.
 Corruption and the Economy – organizations like Transparency International highlight countries
where corruption is high. In these countries, the incentive for investment from business outside and
inside the country can be reduced. Uncertainty over the stability and trustworthiness of corrupt countries
can severely impact investment and potential economic growth. Without economic growth, living
standards may not improve and poverty can get worse.

What Sort of Unethical Behavior exists in Education?

 Fake Qualifications – Few us might think to ask the surgeon in the pre-operation discussion whether they
really are a doctor and have the appropriate qualifications to carry out the procedure. There is growing
evidence, however, that business of supplying fake qualifications is a growing industry.