Enhancing Ethical Awareness Through Reflective Journaling in a Computing Ethics Course

Abstract

As digital technologies continue to shape society, fostering ethical awareness among computing students has become essential. However, traditional lecture-based approaches often fall short in engaging students, especially in newly introduced subjects like Ethics in Computing, where abstract concepts may seem disconnected from students’ lived experiences. This action research explores the effectiveness of structured 
reflective journaling in enhancing students' understanding of ethics in a newly introduced Ethics in Computing subject. The study was conducted over one semester with diploma-level students in computing. Instead of weekly entries, students completed three key reflective journals, which were submitted at the beginning, middle, and end of the course. Each journal was guided by prompts designed to help students connect ethical theories and course content to real-world computing issues and personal values. Data were collected through rubric-based analysis of the three reflections and student feedback. Results show noticeable improvement in students’ ethical reasoning, particularly in their ability to identify dilemmas, apply ethical frameworks, and express informed opinions. Despite initial unfamiliarity with ethical concepts, students responded positively to the structured 
reflection process, which encouraged deeper engagement and critical thinking. The study concludes that even with a minimal number of journal entries, reflective writing is a practical and impactful strategy for supporting ethical development in computing education, particularly in contexts where the subject is newly implemented. 

Keywords: Ethics in Computing, Reflective Journal, Ethical Awareness, Action Research, Computing Education.