An investigation of mainland china high school biology teachers\u2019 attitudes toward and ethical reasoning of three controversial bioethics issues

Abstract

This study investigated 59 Mainland China high school biology teachers’ attitudes toward and ethical reasoning of three socioscientific issues (SSI), including genetic modification, gene therapy, and assisted reproductive technology using a survey with open-ended questions. The results indicated that the teachers’ attitudes toward the three bioethical issues are influenced by the SSI contexts. Male teachers appeared more supportive than female teachers regarding the use of these biotechnologies. Analysis of the teachers’ ethical reasoning of the bioethical issues demonstrated that while most of the teachers could view these issues over the long term, they also encountered difficulties in considering these problems from a more national or global perspective or by taking multiple ethical frameworks into account. The implications of this study for promoting biology teachers’ development of ethical reasoning skills and practices in SSI-based instruction are discussed.