Fostering moral courage: What do business students learn about professional ethics in cooperative education placements?

Abstract

This paper examines recent literature and research into business students’ experiences in cooperative education placements with a view to exploring their experiences and learning of professional ethics. In recent times, the business world has been rocked by scandals such as Enron, WorldCom and Parmalat. At the heart of these business collapses is the realization that the business world has fallen short in terms of professional and business ethics. As cooperative education students enter the workforce for the first time, they have the opportunity to learn from their colleagues’ and mentors’ attitudes and behaviors that will influence them for a life time. These may be positive strong attitudes to ethical behavior and practice or poor attitudes and questionable practices. This examination of the recent literature and research will serve as a foundation for a small research project into students learning and experiences of professional ethics in their cooperative education placements.