Teaching and Assessing Software Engineering Ethics in the 21st Century: Case Study from American University of Nigeria

There is a need to appraise the teaching of software engineering ethics within the context of modern society, heavily reliant on information and communication technologies. This is necessitated by the ubiquitous nature of computers and other computing devices in the 21st century which makes ethical consideration of their development and use a focal point. The use of computers and other computing devices has practically become a very important part of the lives of many people in this age of modernity. And this poses some ethical challenges on users and computing professionals alike. Thus, the teaching and assessment of software engineering ethics in this digital world deserves an utterly critical attention. This is more so, noting the significant changes the software engineering sub field of computing has undergone in the last decade. Ethical issues such as the dual-use dilemma, privacy and copyright protection has exposed gaps in the knowledge of software professionals in dealing with the ethical and social implications of their profession. Therefore, there is need to seek avenues to improve the teaching and assessment models of the ethical and social issues that arise within the field in this age of globalization. We present a case study from the America University of Nigeria in support of our review of the teaching and assessment of software engineering ethics in the light of digital age challenges.