A Holistic Approach to Creating Ethical Sensitivity and Awareness in Landscape Design Education

Abstract

The starting point of the present study was the observation of the increasing number of unethical behaviors among the students of landscape design education in recent years. The purpose of the study was to determine the ethical perceptions of students, and their ethical awareness, ethical behaviors, ethical preferences, ethical judgments, and ethical decision-making skills in the design process. In this context, the ethics concept and the importance of ethics in design education were explained, and a questionnaire was used to the students. Among the 199 students, 149 students participated in the study voluntarily. As a result of the study, it is possible to argue that the ethical perceptions and awareness of ethical/unethical behaviors of the students in design were high, their ethical decision-making skills improved, and they could make ethical choices and ethical judgments. Despite this fact, it is up to the students to make ethical choices and act ethically by showing ethical sensitivity in their designs. Ethics in design courses and how ethics education can be integrated into design courses were explained to provide ethical sensitivity and awareness to students in landscape design education.