The effectiveness of the pervasive method in ethics pedagogy: A longitudinal study of journalism and mass communication students

This study answers Christians’ (1978) call for research on the ‘pervasive method’ of ethics instruction. Longitudinal student surveys identified a robust level of concern and suggested penalties for the core ethical issues of plagiarism and fabrication in professional media careers that increased as students progressed through their program of study. Similar, positive findings were also observed among students from many disparate areas of vocational interest. Qualitative instructor assessments of specific techniques for teaching ethics in an introductory skills course and a senior-level capstone seminar further explicate observed increases in students’ ethical growth. Results suggest that the pervasive model as an approach to ethical instruction through socialization can be effective in advancing students’ ethical development.