Abstract
When asked about individual perceptions of “technology,” 68% of Americans primarily equate the term to the computer (International Technology Education Association, 2004). Although this perception under represents the true breadth of the field, the statistic does speak to the ubiquitous role the computer plays across many technology disciplines. Software has become the building block of all major industries and arguably, our modern civilization. Software drives the automation of manufacturing, medical research, avionics, telecommunications, engineering, and even our national defense. With software tools at the heart of design, problem-solving, and innovation for many major technology industries, technology education has accepted the essential role of software. The International Technology Education Association (ITEA) (2005, p. 25), which supports a broad range of technology disciplines, asserts that students should learn how to apply principles of computer science as early as middle school. Computer science is among the disciplines the ITEA identifies for postsecondary study and technology careers (p.27). Two of the nationallyrecognized ITEA Standards for Technological Literacy content standards (eleven and twelve) are supported by the design and problem-solving skills involved in computer programming (ITEA, 2000). In light of this commitment, has the technology education classroom kept pace with the ethical challenges presented by ever-expanding computer contexts? In recent years, the academic and popular literature has resounded with alarming software piracy statistics (see Al-Rafee & Cronan, 2006; Batson, 2007; IDC, 2007; Kruger, 2004). According to The Economist (Gottlieb, 2007) and the Wall Street Journal (Batson, 2007), illegal pirated copies of commercial software represented a loss of $39.6 billion in 2006. IDC Research (2007) estimates the loss to mount to $300 billion over the next four years. The Business Software _________________________
Highlights
Background and PurposeBecause today’s young technology education students represent tomorrow’s innovators, their ethical development related to intellectual property is of particular concern. Hopper (2000) stated that almost half (48%) of elementary and middle school students believe software piracy is legal. Kruger (2004) reported 40% of adult educators defend piracy within schools
Kohlberg asserts that individuals learn to reconcile ethical decisions according to three progressive levels of moral reasoning: pre-conventional, conventional, and post-conventional
When bike theft orientation was compared to software piracy orientation, the difference between groups was significant (X2 = 116.42, Pvalue=.0000) in favor of piracy
Summary
Background and PurposeBecause today’s young technology education students represent tomorrow’s innovators, their ethical development related to intellectual property is of particular concern. Hopper (2000) stated that almost half (48%) of elementary and middle school students believe software piracy is legal. Kruger (2004) reported 40% of adult educators defend piracy within schools. Because today’s young technology education students represent tomorrow’s innovators, their ethical development related to intellectual property is of particular concern. Hopper (2000) stated that almost half (48%) of elementary and middle school students believe software piracy is legal. Student beliefs mirror those modeled by their teachers, with many young people (88%) justifying piracy from a perception that individual software costs only pennies to produce and represents no harm (Kruger, 2004). Kohlberg (1989) and Piaget (1965) observed that children acquire property morals through social interaction with tangible objects, whereby they experience loss and empathy. Kohlberg’s research, which originally focused on fifth through seventh grade students in conflicting moral dilemma discussions, identified adolescence as the critical moral developmental period
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