Professional Ethics

Federal TVET Agency
Civics and Ethical Education

NTQF Level V
Unit of Competence: Establish Civics, Ethics and

Citizenship
Module Title: Establishing Civics, Ethics
and Citizenship
LG Code: TVET CEE5 M01 LO1-3 1
TTLM Code: TVET CEE5 TTLM01 01 15v1
Instruction Sheet Learning Guide #1
This learning guide is developed to provide you the necessary information regarding
the following content coverage and topics –
 The significance of civics and ethical education
 The concept of ethics
 Professional ethics
 Citizenship
This guide will also assist you to attain the learning outcome stated in the cover
page. Specifically, upon completion of this Learning Guide, you will be able to –
 Explain concept civics and ethical education
 Describe ethics
 Identify professional ethics
 Develop citizenship
 Enumerate the characteristics of good citizenship
 Identify the modes of attaining citizenship
 Describe the various modes of losing citizenship
Learning Instructions:
1. Read the specific objectives of this Learning Guide.

2. Follow the instructions described in number 3 to 17.
3. Read the information written in the “Information Sheets 1”. Try to understand
what are being discussed. Ask you teacher for assistance if you have hard time
understanding them.
4. Accomplish the “Self-check 1” in page 9.
5. Ask from your teacher the key to correction (key answers) or you can request
your teacher to correct your work. (You are to get the key answer only after you
finished answering the Self-check 1).
6. If you earned a satisfactory evaluation proceed to “Information Sheet 2”.
However, if your rating is unsatisfactory, see your teacher for further instructions
or go back to Learning Activity #2.
7. Submit your accomplished Self-check. This will form part of your training
portfolio.
Learning Guide for Civics Level I Date: January 2015

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Version: 1 Revision: 0 Author: Federal TVET Agency
8. Read the information written in the “Information Sheet 2”. Try to understand what
are being discussed. Ask you teacher for assistance if you have hard time
understanding them.
11. Read the information written in the “Information Sheets 3”. Try to understand
what are being discussed. Ask you teacher for assistance if you have hard time
understanding them.
14. If you earned a satisfactory evaluation proceed to “Operation Sheet 1” in page _.
However, if your rating is unsatisfactory, see your teacher for further instructions
or go back to Learning Activity #3.
15. Read the “Operation Sheet 1” and try to understand the procedures discussed.
16. Read all the contents from materials that your teacher gave you and try to
understand the procedures discussed.
17. Do the “LAP test” in page __ (if you are ready). Request your teacher to evaluate
your performance and outputs. Your teacher will give you feedback and the
evaluation will be either satisfactory or unsatisfactory. If unsatisfactory, your
teacher shall advice you on additional work. But if satisfactory you can proceed to
Learning Guide #2.

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LO 1: The Significance of Civics and
Ethical Education
Information Sheet-1 Civics and Ethical Education
The Concept of Civics and Ethical Education

Civics and Ethics are understood and analyzed in different countries as per their
socio-economic and political realities. Given this, civics and ethics are separate
fields of academic study in the social sciences dealing with citizenship and morality
respectively. While civics is concerned with the study of the legal and political
rules governing the relationship between the individual and the state, Ethics deals
with the moral rules and values governing an individual’s behavior and his/her
relations with other individuals in a social group.
The Meaning of Civics

The word civics comes from a Latin word ‘civis’/‘ civitas’ meaning citizen. Citizen,
as commonly stated by scholars, are legally recognized members of a given state.
Therefore, civics is an education for citizens concerning the political, economic,
cultural, and socio-economic affairs of their country. Civics education can also be
stated as a way of empowering citizens with the knowledge of their country’s
political system, their rights and duties and their contribution to the wellbeing of
their country. It is a way of empowering citizens because it has mainly to do with
the fundamental principles for the organization of their country’s political
system by dealing with the constitution. As an education it can be defined as;
- A branch of social science which deals with the rights and duties of citizens
- The intensive study and understanding of political institutions such as law
making institutions, executive bodies, political parties etc.
- The theory and practice of free and open democratic society
- The study of the purpose of government , the nature of the law, and the way
private behavior affects the public order and the political system
- Studies the international socio-economic and political condition
Origin and Development of Ethics

Organized ethical thought was begun in ancient Greece with Socrates in the 5 th
century B.C. In the medieval period of Western Europe, ethics was developed by
Christian church, where as non-western ethics was linked with the religious beliefs of
Buddhism, Confucius, Hinduism and Islam. Finally, by the binging of the 19 th
century, ethics as a separate academic subject was emerged and it studies about
morality. Morality is about a judgment of individual conduct or action as good or bad,
right or wrong, acceptable or un-acceptable, fair or unfair.

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Sources of Civics and Ethical Education
Civic and Ethical Education is an interdisciplinary or multidisciplinary subject that
borrows its contents from different fields of studies. Generally, there are two
main sources of Civic and Ethical Education.
1. Subject matter/ disciplinary sources: All the social sciences deal with the
study of various aspects of human life and activities. These fields of studies
lend certain contents to civics and ethical education.
a) Political science: Political science is an academic discipline, which
focuses on government and politics. It specifically deals with areas
such as power, authority, legitimacy, the process of decision
making, distribution of political power, political ideologies, political
culture, political interaction among interest groups and political parties,
institutions of politics and functions of the political system. In political
science, we are mainly concerned with the study of man’s political
behavior in association with other men and women as members of a
common society. Political science provides citizens with knowledge
of various political theories, necessary skills for political
participation, and different methods on how to analyze political issues,
policies, laws, governmental activities and the ability to identify the
nature of their government. Hence, there is a more correlation
between civics and ethical education and political science.
b) International relations: is the study of relations between two or
more than two entities at the international level. It refers to all
activities of the state that are concerned with its external affairs.
International relations contribute to civic and ethical education by
helping citizens to be familiarized with various global issues such as
terrorism, HIV/AIDS, poverty, rapid population growth, environment,
the way the international system operates, major
international organization and their functions, foreign policy of the
state, and actors in the international system vis-à-vis state’s national
interests.
c) Philosophy: is a universal science, which deals with the ultimate
causes of all things in a rational and critical manner. It deals with all
aspects of reality such as the nature of knowledge, society, politics,
and moral values. Philosophy tries to answer questions such as:
What is the ultimate source of reality? This is studied under
metaphysics (theory of being). What is good, what is evil and how
good is attained, and evil is avoided? This is dealt under ethics.
What is truth and source of knowledge? This is studied under
epistemology. What is being human and where is the place of
human being in the universe? This is studied by political
philosophy. Hence, philosophy contributes to civics and ethical
education by providing knowledge on various areas that are
necessary to cultivate good citizens.
d) History: the subject matter of history has strong bearing on civics and
ethical education. We cannot make progress at present unless we
have an idea of the past. History deals with the study of the past
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whereas civics is the study of contemporary facts. Hence, civics
draws on the funds of history to get knowledge of the past attempts of
people in solving the different civic problems. In this regard, history
contributes to civics and ethical education by enabling the current
generation to identify the strengths and weaknesses of past
political, economic and social experiences, insight how the present
life has come into being and forecast about the future.
e) Law: is defined as a rule of conduct or procedure recognized by a
community as binding or enforceable by authority. It can also be
defined as an act passed by a legislature or a similar body. The body
or system of rules recognized by a community that is enforceable by
established process. Moreover, law is also stated as the branch of
knowledge or study concerned with the rules of a community and their
enforcement or, it is a general rule or principle that is thought t o b e
true or held to be binding. Generally, law is coercive or permissive that
allows or prohibits individuals to do something. Hence, it contributes
to civic and ethical education by enabling citizens to know their rights
and duties properly.
f) Sociology: is the study of various social relations of humankind. It
deals with the development of human as a social being. It also studies
the economic, religious, moral and political developments of a society.
Thus, it is quite natural for civics and ethical education to form a part
of the study of sociology. Sociology plays a greater role in achieving
the objectives of civic and ethical education by helping citizens to be
familiarized with how societies interact each other, and grasp how
society is organized, how diversity is accommodated, and good
governance, accountability, and morality are realized.
g) Economics: is a field of study that concerns with production,
distribution and exchange of the wealth. It studies about economic
activities, policies in an attempt to solve economic problems by
proposing alternative options and mechanisms. The knowledge of
economics helps civics to a great extent. Economics inspires human
beings to perform certain acts of human welfare. Knowledge of civics
is quite useful in dealing with laborers and consumers in a reasonable
and judicious manner. If economic relations are not properly
established it becomes very difficult to establish proper social and
civic relations. Thus, we find that economic development forms the
basis of various developments- social, cultural, moral, religious etc,
which are also the subject matters of civics and ethical education. In
this regard, economics and civics are interrelated subjects. Economics
as an art depends on civics and civics as an art depends on
economics to study the distribution of national benefits among groups
or individuals.
h) Geography: is the study of the natural problems of the world.
Therefore, it is correlated to civics education. With the help of the
knowledge of geography, we can have an idea about the culture and
the way of living of the people of a country. Civics can take advantage
of this knowledge. To understand the different political setups in

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different countries we have to understand the differences in
geographical factors in those countries. As civics education
geography also makes an effort to improve human welfare. Hence,
geography and civics education are interrelated fields of studies,
which have common concerns to be achieved.
2. Documentary Sources of Civic and Ethical Education: This category of
sources includes international agreements and conceptions, written and
unwritten, decisions and enactments of legal bodies, historical resources,
photographs, films etc.
a) International enactments: These are group of documents that refer
to the decisions of the United Nations including the universal
declaration of human rights (UDHR), which was adopted in 1948, the
convention on the right of child, the convention on all forms of
discrimination against women (1979), and the convention on refugee
and stateless person (1951).
b) Constitution: is the supreme law of the land. It can be written or
unwritten that specifies the political structure, power distribution,
functions of government and the rights and duties of citizens.
c) Decisions and enactments of legally recognized bodies: the
executive, legislative and judiciary branches of the government.
These bodies would enact and pass decisions to be implemented
such as decrees, proclamations, and declarations.
Objectives of Civics and Ethical Education

The main objective of teaching civics and ethics is to produce good citizens with the
necessary wisdom that help them actively participate in the affairs of their country
so that they would contribute their best for the development of their country. Civic
education plays a paramount role in the creation of good citizen. Good citizen is
who knows and exercise his/her rights and discharges her/his obligation. One who
accepts and understands democratic principles and behave democratically. Specific
objectives of civics and ethical education include;
 Promoting, among citizens, civic disposition and commitments of the
fundamental values and principles required for competent and responsible
citizenship.
 Developing among citizens the participatory skills required to monitor and
influence the formulation, implementation, adjudication and enforcement of
public policy as well as participation in voluntary organization or efforts to
serve community problems.
 Providing citizens with the knowledge and intellectual skills which are
required to monitor and influence government rules, decisions and actions
that significantly affect individual rights and the good of society. In short civic
education is amid at creating a participatory political culture.
 Developing a feeling of patriotism and national character;-patriotism refers
to one’s love, affection and devotion towards his/her country. Citizen should
be ready to sacrifice everything to protect their motherland .they should
also be proud of their cultural heritage and uphold the values of society
.all these feelings of patriotism could be included by teaching civic education.
 Developing Democratic Outlook and Strengthen Democracy ;- the study of
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civic education in cooperate discussions on democracy and
democratization ,and thus, helping students to develop democratic
outlook and participatory skills.
 Political Consciousness ;- teaching of civic also aims at generating political
consciousness in the mind of students .citizens are expected to be aware of
the social and political problems of the country and should try to take active
part in finding solutions to these problems .
 Developing scientific outlook ;- civic education as field of study also enables
citizens to develop scientific and rational outlook .civics helps citizens to
identify fact from myth ,truth from falsehood, mere propaganda from
genuine information ,scientific things from non-scientific one’s etc.
 Building and strengthening national and international outlook; - A proper
teaching of civics can help to create a sound base for continued unity of the
country. Civic education as subject, teaching common value and principles,
play a very important role in building nationwide outlook. Now a day, we are
living in the area of globalization and the world is becoming a global village.
With the development of science and technology, the barriers of time and
space are crumbling down. Teaching of civics provides students with the
knowledge of the different people of the world and contributions made by
them for the development of world civilization. Such as a knowledge
broadness our outlook and bring about the development of world
brotherhood and world citizenship.
 Protect the safety, health and welfare of society through promoting ethical
behavior and enforcing law in relation to service delivery and business
activities.
 Maintain and improve professional competence among professionals through
introducing code of ethics and training on ethics, and requiring compliance
with laws and rules relevant to conduct professional activities.
 Maintain good relationship trust different interests.
 Promote group efficiency of performance by way or taking care of scarce
resources.
 Promote effectiveness through doing the right things that meet the expected
development objectives and contribute to solve practical problems challenging
the public in general.
 Establish due process for service delivery through setting transparent services
standards and providing information.
To this effect, civics and ethics as a subject incorporates in its content: civic
knowledge, civic skills and civic virtue.
 Civic knowledge: refers to basic concepts and principles about
government and politics.
 Civic skills: refer to the intellectual and participatory ability of citizens.
Intellectual ability refers to the ability of individuals to understand,
explain, and evaluate the political and socio-economic situation where
they live in. generally, civic skill implies the capability of individuals to
apply their knowledge into practice. Civic skill also implies the
participatory ability of citizens to monitor and influence public policies
and decisions.
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 Civic virtue: refers to dispositions and commitment of citizens that are
essential for the maintenance and development of democratic
government. Elements of civic virtue or civic dispositions include:
 Civility: is a polite way of acting or behaving towards others. It is the
need to respect others.
 Open-mindedness: can be defined as the disposition to respect to
different ideas and arguments.
 Generosity: Generosity means the disposition to expend time, effort
and resource in a civic context for the benefit of others.
 Individual Responsibility: Citizens should be disposed to care for and
take responsibility for themselves and their actions.
 Self-discipline: Means to be governed by the fundamental values and
principles of constitutional democracy.
 Civic mindedness: Is refers to that citizens are very much
concerned about the common good of the people and not about their
own individual welfare and interests.
 Compromise: Is one form of behavior that should be observed in
settling conflicts peacefully. It involves the readiness and willingness to
spare something on both sides of the conflict in favor of peaceful
solution of the problem and its outcome.
 Tolerance of Diversity: The disposition to tolerate, appreciate, and
support diversity includes respect for the right of others to differ in
ideas, way of life, customs and beliefs.
 Loyalty to the nation and its principles: Citizens should be habitually
acted in accordance with the fundamental values and principles of
constitutional system and be committed to narrowing the gap
between those values and principles and actual
practice.

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Self-Check 1 Written Test
Directions: Answer all the questions listed below. Use the Answer sheet provided
in the next page:
1. What is civics? (3pts)

2. What is ethics? (3pts)
3. Elaborate that why civics and ethics is an interdisciplinary subject? (4pts)
4. Describe the sources of civics and ethical education? (5pts)

5. Explain the significance of civics and ethical education? (5pts)

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Note: Satisfactory rating - 10 points Unsatisfactory - below 10 points
You can ask you teacher for the copy of the correct answers.
Answer Sheet Score = ___________

Rating: ____________
Name: _________________________ Date: _______________
Short Answer Questions
1. ________________________________________________________________
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2. ________________________________________________________________
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3. ________________________________________________________________
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4. ________________________________________________________________
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5. ________________________________________________________________
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LO 2: Professional Ethics
Information Sheet 2 Professional Ethics
Ethics
The term ethics derived from Greek ‘ethos’ which denoted the place where people
live together as a definite community and developed common temperament,
character, custom, way of thinking moral law and moral consciousness in general.
Therefore ethics is sustained and systematic reflection on the nature and
justification of an ethic or morality.
Ethics is commonly defined as the branch of philosophy that studies what

constitutes good and bad human conduct, including related actions and values. In
this regard, ethics is an area of philosophy, which investigates the principles of
governing human actions in terms of their goodness, badness, rightness, and
wrongness, morality & immorality in human activities & deeds. It is concerned
with discovering the principles that should govern human conduct and with the
investigation of normative issues involving value judgments. Therefore, ethical
education is a way of identifying or distinguishing good codes of conduct from bad
codes of conduct, right actions from wrong actions and acceptable behavior from
unacceptable behavior. In this regard, the objective of ethical education is to help
citizens develop good codes of conduct and behave accordingly in their day-today
activities.
Concepts Related to Ethics

The concepts related to ethics are moral, values, norms and integrity. Before we
define the concepts, it is important to see the sources or origin of these concepts that
shape an individual’s ethical conduct. In other word, there are several factors that
facilitate or affect the development of morality, values, norm and integrity in an
individual. This is family influence, peer influence, religious institutions and practices,
life experience in a society and other situational factors.
 Moral - refers to goodness and badness of person and character or
disposition or to the personal conduct of an individual. Thus, the term, moral
may refers to a person’s life style, valves and private standards. However
morality is not only restricted to an individual, it may also be found in the
universal culture, religious, or ideological beliefs. Although sometimes, ethics
and morality are used interchangeably, morality is a phenomenon studied by
ethics. Morality is the subject matter of ethics. Examples of morals include
respect for elders, to obey religious golden rules such as don’t steal, and don’t
commit adultery.
 Values - values may be defined as individual principles or standards that
guide judgment about what is good and proper. For example, the concept of

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ethics is closely linked to that of values. That is, values are the enduring
beliefs that influence the choices we take from available means and ends.
The critical link between ethics and values is that ethical standards and
principles can be applied to the resolution of value conflicts or dilemmas.
Values are based on belief and may encourage as to change some inherited
attitudes and to cultivate often attitudes. To be more tolerant of people with
different religious or cultural backgrounds in an example of this. Values serve
as the basis from which we make personal assessments of the worth,
importance or efficiency of things as means to achieve our life-goals or the
well-being of others. What we value will be important to decide how we live
our life to achieve our goals. Values are beliefs that are used to be socially
and personally desirable and are also recognized as being an essential factor
in public organizations. Values can serve both an ethical functions and
competence functions. For example, being an efficient is a value. Thus
efficiency is a key organizational value which tells us more about the
competence of organization.
 Norms - norm may be defined as a standard or scale by which we check,
compare or measure things or assess peoples performance and the
consistency of their actions. A norm or standard allows degrees of
comparison to be made such as (bad, worse, worst), (good, better, best) on
the continuum where terms like good and bad marked the limits of the scale at
either end. Norms point to a scale of performance by which we made
qualitative and quantitative assessment based on the available evidence.
Examples of norm include ‘government workers are seen but not heard’, and
government workers are expected to be non- partisan in the course of
discharging their duties and responsibilities.
 Integrity - in Latin ‘’ integer’’ means whole, undivided and uncontaminated. It
is defined as the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles, or
the condition being whole or undivided. It implies sound character or the
wholeness of moral person, combining consistency, reliability, honesty and
fairness, both in the work places and private life. Integrity, the root word, has
to do with the whole man, with character, with completeness and goodness.
For example, to use the metaphor of the tree, integrity is the root. Even
though it is underground and not even visible most of the time, it is also lately
vital to the nourishment, strength, stability, and growth of the entire tree. A
person has integrity where there is no gap between intent and behavior,
when he or she is whole seamless the same inside and outside. This is
congruence which will ultimately create credibility.
Personal Ethics
It is the basic principles and values that govern interaction among individuals.
Personal ethics as with believe and values it can be differing widely from person to
person. Personal ethics determines what an individual believes about morality and
ethics. Personal ethics refers to the ethics that a person identifies with in respect to
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people and situations that they deal with in human activities. The manifestations of
personal ethics are concern for the well-being of others, honesty, fairness,
compliance to the law, refusing to take unfair advantage and respecting the
autonomy of others.
Professional Ethics
The word profession is simply defined as avocation or occupation, which requires a
special and advanced educational training. A person who attained a certain
specialized skill is known as a professional. A man trained in machine or automotive
technology, a man trained in medical science and the like.
Professional ethics reference to ethics that enables professionals to distinguish

what is right from what is wrong using morality as standard of evaluation. Therefore,
professional ethics can be conceived as parameter by which actions and behaviors
of a professional can be determined as right or wrong. In absolute terms all
professions do not have the same set of values and standards such as accountants,
physicians, doctors, managers, lawyers, etc.
But there are also same common codes of ethics and rules of conducts that apply
to all professions regardless of their specific specialization .These are:-
i. Punctuality: Punctuality refers to the state of being strictly observant of an

appointed or regular time across all professions a worker should be punctual
not only when he/she meets deadlines and when he/she is always available
during working hours.
ii. Honesty and integrity: honest basically refers to the art of telling the
truth. Employers and institutions expect their workers to be honest and
hence professionals should be honest, and at the same time work in good
behavior and integrity.
iii. Proper utilization of resources: A worker in any profession is it a doctor,
teacher physician, should handle the resources in a way that she/he can use
the resources for longer time. That is any worker of a given profession should
uses resources be it financial, material, etc. off efficiently, and in a just
and proper manner. This is particularly should apply in public institutions who
deliver services to the public, in other words, it means avoiding of wastage in
any, be it material or financial resources.
iv. Loyalty and self –efficacy: Any worker, in a given profession must stand
for, and not against the employer or the institution. This true certainly in
relationships with your employer or institution. Moreover, an ethical
professionals must develop self-efficacy, that is an appraisal or evaluation
that a professional about his /her professional and personal competence to
succeed in a particular task. That is he has to develop his personal and
professional belief in the ability to perform tasks successfully.
v. Working in cooperation with collogues: A worker of a given profession
should make sure that he/she has a good relationship with other workers. the
main rationale behind these codes of professional ethics is to create a fertile
and good atmosphere conducive for cooperation ethics is to create a fertile
and good atmosphere conducive for cooperation and better productivity.
He/she should serve hand in hand with other professional and better
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productivity. He/she should serve hand in hand with other professional
workers in the interest of effective provision of service.
vi. Anti-corruption spirit: It is known that corruption severely hampers
development and it is an impediment for building democracy. One way of
fighting corruption is by making professionals to comply with the laws, rules,
and regulations of the state. But most importantly, it is plausible that every
professional should enhance or develop the spirit or mentality that is
anti/against corruption so that development, equality, democracy and justice
can remarkably be fostered.
vii. Confidentiality: A worker of give profession need to keep some information

that should be kept secret. For instance, in case of physician or nurse he/she
has to keep all the information regarding the patient contained in a patient’s
chart. Therefore the physician or nurse should never voluntarily divulge
information of a confidential nature unless the patient’s best interest
requires this be done. Another example is that a teacher should keep all
information of student’s achievements confidential.
viii. Commitment: A professional should help his /her clients and the whole
community to maintain and satisfy societal or public demands. Moreover,
he/she holds paramount’s the safety, health and welfare of the public and
shall strive to comply with the principles of sustainable development in the
performance of their professional duties.
ix. Persistent tolerance and democratic culture: Any worker or
professional have to develop the ability and willingness to accommodate
differences in ideas, outlooks or views is indispensable, but it should be
carefully and peacefully managed and resolved.
x. Respecting the dignity of people: A professional or worker should respect
the dignity of all personal serving them in accordance with their basic needs,
irrespective of their sex, personal status, religion or by supernal factors
involved.
xi. Impartiality /Non-partiality: A professional should be impartial, that is
being non- participant to his /her clients or all persons that he/she
contacts. Rather, he/she should treat all equally in his/her service delivery
without any discrimination. for example a teacher should treat his/her
students equally on the basis of their academic performance or achievement.
xii. Accountability and responsibility: Any worker in a given
profession has professional responsibilities or duties. In an organization
where someone is engaged, he/she has to be obedient for the chains of
command, which are presented to him/her. As part of a given organization,
everyone is expected to be answerable for his/her actions.
xiii. Transparency: It is also important for a professional to be transparent. That
is, his/her work must be open to the public to whom he/she delivers public
services. Confident professionals who work for the people effectively and
efficiently are usually transparent.
xiv. Responsiveness: Responsiveness refers to the extent that a professional
satisfies the needs, preferences ,or values of his/her has connections and
professional relationship with his clients or public, he/she has to able to reply
or respond to the people’s demand.

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Purposes of Professional Ethics
 Advance the quality of service the quality of service for professionals could
render
 Evaluate the performance of professionals in each profession
 Distinguish acceptable and non- acceptable characters or code of conduct
 Serve as a foundation of professional identity
Managerial Ethics
Professional and ethical managers are very essential in shaping the culture of a
given organization. With reference to the essential ethic and value required in the
public sector, professional managers are expected to;-
 Understand that they have occupied apposition of trust
 Exercise delegated powers assigned by the government
 Use powers for a proper purpose as expressed in law
 Act competently and responsible ( with due consideration of the
consequence of their action)
 Be accountable for actions and ready to give reasons for decision
 Avoid conflict of interest when acting in an official capacity
At organizational, if possible, to different code of ethics are required i.e., one for the
managers who are leading the organization and another for the employees. For
example, in Ethiopian civil service, a separate code of ethics is developed for the
civil servants and political appointees. The political appointees are considered as
managers as distinguished from the civil servants.
Because managers have assumed special responsibilities or trust in terms of

providing leadership, a special code of needs to be developed for them. Managers
have an important role in shaping the ethical culture of an organization, and thus,
must discharge their duty ethically. They should be role models in accepting and
implementing their code of ethics. Managers have a special role in influencing the
behavior of their subordinates. If managers lead their professional and private lives
ethically, then subordinates are likely to aspire to act accordingly. Managers must
also treat their subordinates fairly and ethically.
To be a good model, managers must refrain from using public property for their own
professional use. They should also treat everyone without discrimination. Similarly,
managers should not accept bribe, indulge in any activity which may comprise their
professional duty and should avoid conflict of interest. If there is conflict of interest,
managers are expected to resolve the conflict in a manner that safe guards the
public interest. To this end, the following are some of the strategies which the
managers are consider in building a strong ethical culture in their organizations;-
 Establish a culture that constantly narrates the operating ‘dos’ and ‘ don’ts ‘
until they become internalized organization – wide
 Establish guiding principles such as a code of ethics for appropriate conduct
 Build systems that reward ethical behavior and punish un ethical behavior
 Demonstrate the commitment to maintain high ethical standards
 Train staff in the organizations core ethical values
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Applying managerial ethics in organization may encounter a number of challenges
for various reasons. First since the code of ethics is an innovation, it may be a
challenge until such time that it is internalized. Secondly, since the concepts
incorporated in the code of ethics like integrity, transparency, accountability and the
like may be strange to the organization, applying managerial ethics is a challenge. It
is also common to encounter challenges when change is introduced. Some of such
challenges are;
 Some managers may not be professional to perform competently and
responsibly. That why the managerial ethics will be a challenge when
managers are not appointed only on the basis of merits.
 Managers may not want to use their power or authority entrusted to them by
the public appropriately. That is they may not act the public interest
 What they are doing is contrary to public interests
 Managers may not be accountable for their acts
 Due to corrupt intentions, managers may not introduce transparent systems
such as providing information to the public and reasons for their decisions.
However, it is possible to overcome such challenges by introducing measures like
consultation about the purpose of the change, managers on the basis of merits,
involving them in the development of code of ethics, organizing training on ethics
and establishing accountability mechanisms to control un-ethical behavior.
A Code of Ethics in the Workplace

Code of ethics is a tool for appropriate conduct. It helps to set minimum standard
expected from the workers. If an organization has a task of developing code of ethics
and institutionalizing in its particular context, the following are important guidelines to
follow. The general rules for developing code of ethics at an institutional
(organization) level demand to make the code;-
 Simple (precise and handy)
 Relevant (address the organizations interest )
 Clear (should avoid confusion)
 Inclusive (should not be an imposition)
 Public (should be publicized )
 Strategic (should be part and parcel of the job or the profession)
 Innovative ;- (must respond to change by reviewing it at a regular interval of
two to three years )
The Ethiopian government has introduced a number of measures to promote

transparency and accountability in the civil service. One of the measures has taken
by the government is developing the twelve ethical principles for ethical service
delivery. By doing so, the conduct of workers is regulated on the basis of these
principles which are also the basis of developing code of ethics. The code of ethics
describes acceptable and un-acceptable conduct at work.
Ethics and Morality in Ethiopian Context

Ethiopia is a nation of many nationalities with divers‟ economic and cultural
activities. In terms of ethnicity there are over eighty (80) ethnic groups in the
country. Each ethnic group has its own values and norms. There are different
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types of religions and beliefs in Ethiopia like Christianity, Islam, Judaism and other
traditional religions. All the people have their own values and beliefs. One
respects the others. Morally acceptable by Ethiopian societies are the following:
- Respecting elders
- Hospitability
- Helping and supporting who needs special treatments
- Harmonious or peaceful coexistence with diverse people
- Keeping promise
- Telling the truth
- Avoiding prostitution
- Not stealing others property
- Respect, accept and follow the norms and values of the society.

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Instructions: Answer all the questions listed below. Illustrations may be necessary
to aid some explanations/answers. Write your answers in the sheet
provided in the next page.
1. What is ethics? (3pts)

2. Explain profession and professional ethics? (4pts)
3. List commonly used ethical rules of conduct for all professionals? (6pts)
4. Explain the significance of professional ethics? (5pts)
5. Describe code of ethics? (4pts)
6. Enumerate some of the morally acceptable values by Ethiopian societies?

(4pts)
TTLM Development Manual Date: January 2012

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Revision: 2 Author: ecbp/MoE – TVET Outcome Based Training Core Process

Rating: ____________
Name: _________________________ Date: _______________
1. _________________________________________________________________
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2. _________________________________________________________________
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3. ________________________________________________________________
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________________________________________________________________
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6. ________________________________________________________________
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LO 3: Citizenship
Information Sheet 3 Citizenship
The Concept Citizenship

The word ‘citizen’ refers to a person who has certain rights and privileges and gives
corresponding duties to the state. ‘Citizenship’ is legal relationship between an
individual and a state involving the individual’s full political membership to the state
and his/her permanent allegiance to it. It is also a sum total of legal rules or norms
regulating the relationship between the state and the individuals with respect to the
acquisition and loss of the state’s citizenship.
The word Citizenship implies a member or a Citizen of a city. It is also means full
membership of in a city. Citizenship refers to rights & duties of Citizens. Country
grants certain rights to its Citizens &demands certain duties from them. Citizenship
is a political & legal relation established b/n the individual & the state. It is the
politico-legal method of identification. Citizenship is a mode of identification, it
serve as a way of identifying nationals found in territorially defined countries.
Citizenship is a relationship between an individual and a state, defined by the law of

the state, with corresponding duties and rights in the state. Citizenship involves both
rights and responsibilities.
Characteristics of Good Citizenship

 Legality: Virtuous citizens freely adhere to the fundamental rules required for
the maintenance of a system of constitutional government without regaining
the imposition of the external authority.
 Patriotism: I t is love, devotion and commitment to one’s country. It was
said that a true patriot should respect and adhere the law of the land.
 Responsibility: Citizens have various obligations in their society. These
can be moral, ethical and legal origins. Good citizens maintain the moral and
ethical values of their society. They have also the duty to up hold the
constitutional principles and values and observe other laws. Every member
of the society has the duty to respect individual rights and freedom. Citizens
are expected to actively participate in civic associations established for
various purposes. Another way by which responsibilities shall be discharged
is through paying fair tax and protecting public property from embezzlement
and misappropriation. However, citizens have the responsibility to protect
and preserve natural resources, environment, and historical heritage. The
other issue in which citizens are strongly expected to feel responsible is the
threat posed by HIV/AIDS. Fighting this killing disease, which three tons the
existence of human race, is the major responsibility of each and every citizen.
 Industriousness:- Work, being necessary for the survival of the
human race and civilization, is the main concern of human beings. Ethical
work conduct thus enables workers to possess proper behavior and as to
develop proper relationship with other workers and help they create good
industrial environmental.
Page 22 of 31
 Active community participation: - Community participation means active
involvement of citizens in the socio-economic and political spheres. The
participation may take place at different level, having different forms. It might
take place at school; at community participation may include political
participation and civic participation.
Modes of Attaining Citizenship

A person acquires citizenship of a country in different ways (as cited in world
book, 1994) i.e. by birth, by law and dual citizenship.
1) Citizenship by birth: it has two ways of applications:
A) Jus sanguine: it is a Latin phrase that means right of blood. It
is a right that a child has to citizenship in a country, of his or
her parents .it refers to the blood line lineage (family tree)
which is explained in terms of legal blood of the child’s
father or mother .this is turn is subdivided in to two parts.
i) Jus sanguine paternity: right blood of father.
ii) Jus sanguine maternity: right blood of mother.
Ethiopia accepts the principles of legal blood of father & mother as
mode of attaining Ethiopian citizenship.
B) Jus soli: it is a Latin phrase that means right of soil. The place where
the child born is also source of citizenship status. That is citizenship
by birth place. Ethiopia also enforces this principle but gives
preference to the principles of legal blood.
2) Citizenship by law: the principle of law is the other way of acquiring

citizenship status. There are different possibilities of attaining citizenship by
law.
A) Citizenship by registration (naturalization): in article 15(2) of universal
declaration of human right of united nation, there is a citizen ship right to
change his nationality .There are six modes of acquiring citizenship
through registration.
i) Marriage: if the possibility of women marries a man of another
country can have acquiring her husband’s country citizenship. The
woman has the option of choosing her husband’s & deleting her
own country. (Refer to the annexd1930 Ethiopian citizen ship
decree article 4). Naturalization through marriage have an
international acceptance the law of each state determine the
citizenship of married women. Provisions of citizenship law of
states are based on one of the two principles governing the
citizenship of married women. When the wife is to follow that of
her husband or reserves to the married woman the right to choose
her own citizenship. On the other side, if women get divorced,
states of citizenship cannot be obliterated.
ii) Legitimation: this is citizenship by recognition. An illegitimate child
has the right to get his biological or care taker father after
legitimation. Such process is usually attributed to father of multiple
citizenships.

Page 23 of 31
iii) Option: A person of multiple citizenship has possibility to opt
citizenship status of one’s country.
iv) Acquisition of domicile: this is a way of getting citizenship status
when the person is able to get permanent residence.
v) Appointment as government official: this is citizenship by job.
Some countries grant citizenship to a person who is assigned to
work within their country.
vi) Grant on application depending: on their rules different countries
adopt requirements to grant citizenship by application. These
requirements are stated to be fulfilled by applicants who want to
acquire the citizenship of the concerned country.
B) Citizenship by political case (process): the political case refers to

acquisition of citizenship by conquest or cession of territory. Cession is
voluntary process where as conquest (subjugation) is coercive act.
Citizenship by political case is possible in two ways.
i) When the person o subjugated states are incorporated with in the
territory of the victorious state, they acquire citizenship of the new
state.
ii) Due to the merger of one state with other state citizens of the
merged state becomes citizens of the new state in which they are
merged. Example when the US bought the Louisianan territory
from France in 1803, the treaty provided that the people in the area
should become American citizens.
C) By re-integration (re-admission) person who has lost his her citizenship

due to some reasons may get it back if he /she fulfill some conditions as
laid down by the laws of the state. This process is known as the process
of Re-integration or restoration.
D) By option: this is a modern development due to the direct participation

of the inhabitants in their states of citizenship. In voluntary partition,
cession or exchange of territories option is given to the inhabitants to
choose only the citizenship of the state. Example when the territory of
India was divided into Pakistan & India.
E) By legislation: the law of the state govern principles of citizenship & it is

the law that decides as to who would be considered national or
citizen of the country .a stat confers honorary citizenship to foreign
dignitaries & peoples of prominence, if they accept the conferment.
F) Citizenship by special case (functional nationality): citizenship

can be given to an individual or collectives without undergoing all the
legal; procedures related to acquisition of citizenship.
G) Defacto citizenship (citizenship by claim /assumption) or apparent

nationality: amen (women) can marry another national without
undergoing the required legal procedure of marriage. Under such
condition the married woman (man) can possibly claim citizenship of her
Page 24 of 31
husband’s (his wife’s) country.
3) Dual / mixed citizenship: A person sometimes finds himself/herself with two
citizenship because of the possibility is available due to the existence of
citizenship laws. When a person has citizenship states of two countries it is
termed as dual citizenship. A person may have one because of his /her
place of birth (jus soli) & another because of his /her parent’s citizenship by
blood (jus sanguine). Some people have dual citizenship as the result of
naturalization.
Statelessness
Statelessness is lack of nationality. It means deprivation or loss of citizenship by an
individual who has not become a national of any another country. It is loss of
nationality without the corresponding acquisition of a new one. In order to understand
statelessness clearly understanding two concepts is essential. These two concepts
are ‘defacto’ and ‘dejure’.
Deface is Latin word means legal or true. Defacto stateless persons are persons who
have a nationality but that do not give them protection outside their own country.
These individuals have temporarily been displaced from own whom country and living
in another country. This category includes individuals commonly referred to as
Refugees. Previously, the phenomenon of statelessness was viewed as domestic
issue, and has been excluded from international law. It is emergence of defacto
stateless persons on the global scale that necessitated international action. Today,
statelessness has become an international problem that necessitates action.
Dejure stateless persons are individuals who have be deprived of nationality at their
own government. There are individuals whose citizenship is removed from them by
their own government. As compared to defacto stateless persons, dejure stateless
persons are quite rare. However, dejure stateless persons appeared on massive
scale during the Russian civil war (1918-21), and during the Nazi regime in Germany.
For instance, Adolph Hitler, in Germany, adopted a policy against the Jews. Hitler
removed German citizen ship from the Jews; the laws were evicted from Germany.
This again resulted in the appearance of a number of dejure stateless persons.
Except these two cases Russia and Germany, dejure stateless persons are rare in
the world. However, every government in the world has the right and the intention to
remove its citizenship rights from its citizens commits illegal acts. For instance, the
government may remove its citizenship right from its citizens if these citizens;
- Vote in foreign elections
- Serve in the armed force of any other country
- Desert in time of war etc.
Modes of losing citizenship

Various states adopt different principles on those citizens who violate the nation’s
citizenship laws. The following points are the various modes of losing citizenship.
1. Renunciation (expatriation) - the United Nations universal declaration of
human rights of 1948 (article 15 sub- article 2) provides the rights to the
individual to renounce his/ her citizenship & seek the citizenship of some
other state according to his/her choice. Conditions of renunciation may
include:

Page 25 of 31
A) Most countries recognizes the rights of any citizen to expatriate (emigrate)
himself /herself or give up his/her allegiance (loyalty) to one country for
allegiance of another country
B) The personal decision of a person to renounce or give up his/ her
citizenship emanates when the state harasses the persons & when the
person dislikes the policies or politics or ideologies pursued by the state.
2. Deprivation: a citizen of a state may be deprived of his her citizenship, if he/

she is guilty of committing certain serious crime against the state. Such as:
A) To make access national secrets to alien country
B) To side enemy state forces in time of war (to take up arms against his/ her
country.
C) To carry out diplomatic, economic political & military intelligence to
another state within his/her state.
3. Substitution citizenship: may be lost when his /her original citizenship is
substituted by another state, which she/he acquires through naturalization.
This may also take place when a particular territory is annexed by another
state, the inhabitants citizen ship within the annexed territory will be replaced
by the citizenship of another subjugator.
4. Lapse: citizenship may be lost, if the person stays outside of his/her country
for a long & continuous period. For example, if Indian citizens stay out
continuously for more than seven years, the person will lose his /her Indian
citizenship by the principle of lapse.
Modes of Acquiring Ethiopian Citizenship

As the case in other states, there are some modes of attaining and loosing Ethiopian
citizenship. For the first time Citizenship law in Ethiopia was adopted in 1930. Prior to
this law, the issue of Citizenship was regulated by custom and tradition. There was
no formal law based on which Individuals identify themselves with the state.
However, based on the traditional practices the status of individuals was more of
subjects than citizens. Citizenship was conferred to individuals from various
nationalities and peoples due to their integration into the Ethiopian state. As
mentioned above, the first citizenship law in Ethiopia was adopted on July 22, 1930
and amended on October 5, 1932.
Today, there are two modes of acquiring Ethiopian citizenship: by descent and by
law.
1. By Blood (descent):- according to the nationality proclamation (proc.No.
378/2003), any Person is recognized as an Ethiopian national by descent
where both or either of his parent is an Ethiopian. In other words, if a child is
born to an Ethiopian mother or father, he/she is an Ethiopian regardless of
his/her birthplace.
2. By law (naturalization):- the particulars of Ethiopian nationality law are
legislated in the Ethiopian nationality proclamation No. 378/2003. In this
proclamation the requirements for naturalization in Ethiopia is clearly
indicated. Naturalization is a process of granting citizenship status or
nationality by those who are not originally nationals of a state. Following are
the ways by which a person can become a naturalized citizen of Ethiopia.
A) By application: it is given for a person
Page 26 of 31
1. Reaches the age of majority and legally capable under the Ethiopian
law
2. Has established his/her domicile in Ethiopia and has lived in Ethiopia
for a total of at least four years preceding the submission of his/her
application
3. Able to communicate in any language of one of the nations,
nationalities of the country
4. Has sufficient and lawful source of income to maintain him/herself and
his/her family
5. A person of good character
6. Has no record of criminal conviction able to show that he/she has been
released from his/her previous nationality or the possibility of obtaining
such a release upon the acquisition of Ethiopian nationality or that
he/she is a stateless person.
7. Ready to take an oath of allegiance (I----------, solemnly affirm that I will
be a loyal National of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia and
be faithful to its constitution).
B) The case of marriage: a foreigner who is married to an Ethiopian
national may acquire Ethiopian nationality by law if:
1. The marriage is concluded in accordance with the Ethiopian
laws or in accordance with the laws of any country where
the marriage is contracted
2. there is a lapse of at least two years since the conclusion of
the marriage
3. he/she has lived in Ethiopia for at least one year
preceding the submission of his/her application
4. He/she reaches the age of majority, he/she has been
released his/her previous nationality and is ready to take the
oath of allegiance to the Ethiopian state.
C) Cases of adoption: a child adopted by Ethiopian national may acquire
Ethiopian nationality if: he has not attained the age of majority, he lives
together with his adopting parents in Ethiopia, and where one of his
adopting parents is non-Ethiopian, such a parent is expected to express
his/her consent in writing.
D) Special cases: a foreigner who has made an outstanding contribution in
the interest of Ethiopia may be conferred with Ethiopian nationality without
the requirements to establish his/her domicile in Ethiopia and ability to
communicate with any Ethiopian language.
Submission of Application for Naturalization

An application to obtain Ethiopian nationality by law is required to be
accompanied with relevant documents and to be submitted to the immigration,
national security and refuge authority The application to obtain Ethiopian
nationality is also required to be examined by the nationality affairs committee,
which is constituted by representatives from the immigration, national security, and
refugee authority (two persons (chairperson and secretary), the ministry of foreign
affairs, and the federal police. The committee is required to submit its
recommendation to the authority, following the examination of the application and
documents submitted to it as well as such other additional information furnished on
Page 27 of 31
its demand. When the recommendation of the committee for naturalization obtains
the approval of the authority, the applicant is required to take an oath of allegiance
before the committee. And, after the oath of allegiance the applicant will be
accorded with Ethiopian nationality.
Modes of Loosing Ethiopian Citizenship

Ethiopian nationality may be lost on the following grounds:
1. Renunciation: Any Ethiopian who has acquired or has been acquired the
nationality of another state has the right to renounce his/her Ethiopian
nationality by informing the immigration, national security and refugee
authority as prescribed in the law. However, the renunciation may not be
accepted if the person has not yet discharged his or her outstanding
national obligations or where he/she been accused of or convicted for a
crime and he/she has not yet been acquitted or has not yet served. The
renunciation of the nationality of a minor child shall be effected by the joint
decision of his/her parents.
2. Up on acquisition of other nationality: Any Ethiopian who voluntarily
acquires another nationality is deemed to have voluntarily renounced his/her
Ethiopian nationality. This is to avoid double nationality. Except under
involuntarily acquisition of another state’s citizenship, dual citizenship is not
allowed under the Ethiopian law. Note that a foreigner who was an Ethiopian
national but later acquired foreign Nationality may be readmitted to Ethiopian
nationality if he /she return to domicile in Ethiopia, renounces his/her foreign
nationality and applies to the immigration, national security and refugee
authority for re-admission.
Re-admission to Ethiopian nationality

A person who was an Ethiopian national and who has acquired foreign nationality
by law shall be readmitted to Ethiopian nationality if he/she;
i) Returns to domicile in Ethiopia
ii) Renounces his foreign nationality

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Instructions: Answer all the questions listed below. Illustrations may be necessary
to aid some explanations/answers. Write your answers in the sheet
provided in the next page.
1. Define citizenship? (3pts)
2. Explain the characteristics of a good citizenship? (6pts)
3. What are ways of acquiring citizenship? (8pts)
4. Identify ways of losing citizenship? (6pts)
5. Describe statelessness? (3pts)
6. Explain ways of acquiring and loosing Ethiopian citizenship? (8pts)

Page 29 of 31

Rating: ____________
Name: _________________________ Date: _______________
1. _________________________________________________________________
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2. _________________________________________________________________
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3. ________________________________________________________________
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4. ________________________________________________________________
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5. ________________________________________________________________
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6. ________________________________________________________________
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Page 31 of 31

Professional Ethics

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Civics and Ethical Education

Unit of Competence: Establish Civics, Ethics and

1. Read the specific objectives of this Learning Guide.

Learning Guide for Civics Level I Date: January 2015

Learning Guide for Civics Level I Date: January 2015

Information Sheet-1 Civics and Ethical Education

The Concept of Civics and Ethical Education

The Meaning of Civics

Origin and Development of Ethics

Learning Guide for Civics Level I Date: January 2015

Learning Guide for Civics Level I Date: January 2015

Objectives of Civics and Ethical Education

Learning Guide for Civics Level I Date: January 2015

1. What is civics? (3pts)

3. Elaborate that why civics and ethics is an interdisciplinary subject? (4pts)

4. Describe the sources of civics and ethical education? (5pts)

Learning Guide for Civics Level I Date: January 2015

Answer Sheet Score = ___________

Name: _________________________ Date: _______________

Short Answer Questions

Learning Guide for Civics Level I Date: January 2015

Learning Guide for Civics Level I Date: January 2015

Ethics is commonly defined as the branch of philosophy that studies what

Concepts Related to Ethics

Learning Guide for Civics Level I Date: January 2015