Shaping geoethical geoscientists: awareness, relevance, and responsibility

Abstract

Geoethics is an essential yet underdeveloped component of geoscience education in regions experiencing significant environmental and social impacts from resource extraction. Grounded in relational ethics, we investigate the extent to which students recognize the ethical, societal, and environmental dimensions of geoscience practice. Using a sequential explanatory mixed-methods design, we surveyed 193 undergraduate and graduate students across Ghanaian higher education institutions and conducted follow-up interviews with 11 students to interpret patterns of awareness, relevance, and responsibility. Findings indicate low but emerging awareness of geoethics, with over 54% of students intuitively engaging with ethical ideas despite limited formal instruction. More than 62% primarily conceptualized geoethics as a code of conduct, and 58.5% as moral principles. Interview data showed that students associated geoethics mainly with truthfulness, integrity, respect, and accountability, while also recognizing its relevance to decision-making, professional behavior, and environmental stewardship. Approximately 88% of students reported geoethics as relevant to geoscience research and practice, and 88.6% viewed it as relevant to academic work. Students strongly affirmed responsibility toward themselves, colleagues, society, and the natural environment, although their interpretations often emphasized rule-based compliance and reputation management rather than relational engagement with affected communities. In addition, more than 45% of students reported limited departmental support and insufficient curricular integration of geoethics, leaving them underprepared for real-world ethical dilemmas. The study offers an empirical foundation for developing culturally relevant geoethics curricula that promote ethically grounded and socially responsive geoscience practice. The findings underscore the need to embed geoethics within coursework, field experiences, and research mentorship to cultivate geoscientists capable of addressing Ghana’s environmental challenges with responsibility, transparency, and care.