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The Value of Ethics Education for Parliamentarians

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Parliamentarians’ Professional Development

Part of the book series: Public Administration, Governance and Globalization ((PAGG,volume 16))

Abstract

This chapter examines the rationale for ethics education for parliamentarians, in view of the public significance of ethical behaviour in the discharge of the parliamentary role. The themes explored here are the public exemplary nature of parliamentarians’ behaviour, the relationship between this behaviour and social norms, the types of outcomes that explicit and implicit ethics education and/or training can be expected to deliver, the means and processes by which these outcomes can be produced, and the responsibilities of those who do and/or can play a key role in the ethics education process (e.g. leaders of the institution of parliament, experienced members and staff, role models of the past, ethics specialists, political parties, the media and the public). This chapter briefly reviews current ethics education practices in parliaments, and outlines, evaluates and recommends a new approach to parliamentary ethics education which is likely to be more effective in contemporary democracies.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Swinburne Business School, Swinburne University of Technology, Melbourne, Australia

    Dr. Cristina Neesham

Authors
  1. Dr. Cristina Neesham
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Correspondence to Cristina Neesham .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. National Centre for Australian Studies, Faculty of Arts, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

    Colleen Lewis

  2. Dept. of Mgmt., Monash Business School, Monash University Dept. of Mgmt., Monash Business School, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

    Ken Coghill

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Neesham, C. (2016). The Value of Ethics Education for Parliamentarians. In: Lewis, C., Coghill, K. (eds) Parliamentarians’ Professional Development. Public Administration, Governance and Globalization, vol 16. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-24181-4_4

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