Anti-corruption education consists of a number of educational approaches that vary according to their content, setting and target-group. The following section will focus on organisational ethics training; value-based and moral education; public education and mobilisation; and youth education. Further detailed information relating to public sector ethics and ethics in the political sphere can be found in separate sections of this Handbook.

Corruption scandals in the public and private sectors feed public perception that politics and business are often driven by greed. Partly in response to this, many public and private organisations have recently engaged in processes to define common ethical values, often in the form of codes of conduct. Introducing a code of conduct within an organisation does not, however, necessarily lead to endorsement of the goals and standards it sets out. Regulations and codes must, rather, be reinforced by training or education programmes that seek to strengthen organisational capacity to address ethical dilemmas.

Individual “self-regulation” plays an important role in strengthening organisational ethics. This concept is based on the notion that people with strong values and moral autonomy are more likely to make ethical decisions than those without them. A central focus of organisational ethics training should therefore be to strengthen individual moral autonomy. With more self-assurance, individuals are more likely to address ethical dilemmas and make decisions in line with an organisation’s ethical framework.

Conducting organisational ethics training

A necessary point of departure for any ethics training programme is to establish a common understanding of existing attitudes and values. A participatory “cultural audit” can be conducted to learn more about current ethical perceptions and practices within a particular organisation, and can also contribute to an increased sense of ownership of ethics training programmes. Audits can be conducted in a number of ways - including via the study of documents, through focus-group discussions and through organisation-wide surveys.

A second step is to compare existing attitudes and values with the organisation’s overall goals. Following this analysis, the objectives of the training campaign must be set. These may be to help staff understand what is meant by corrupt behaviour, or to develop ways to articulate and encourage attitudes that support ethical practice (e.g. staff awards for outstanding ethical behaviour).

Thirdly, the key messages of the training programme must be defined and an appropriate means of delivery chosen. Methods for communicating ethical messages can include posters, brochures, audio-visual material and ethics workshops. Role-play and case-study discussions are often effective training methods, but should be customised for the particular target-groups involved.

Finally, the effectiveness of the training programme must be evaluated. The tool used for the cultural audit at the beginning of the process could, for instance, be applied again to measure the impact of the training.It should be kept in mind that changes in attitudes and values, and indeed in organisational culture, are a long term endeavor, and are often difficult to measure accurately. For more information on organisational ethics training tools, please see: http://www.ethics.org/toolkit.html

Ethical values are important for organisations; they also form the basis of the day-to-day life of ordinary members of the public. Most people have little trouble identifying clear-cut examples of corrupt conduct. Politicians who steal large amounts of money, public officials who take bribes or managers who falsify audit reports are clearly acting in an unethical and, usually, criminal way. The more difficult ethical issues are those that fall into the grey area between right and wrong – situations that seem wrong but appear to be accepted by others, or situations that reveal potential conflicts of interest (Source: Practical Guide to Corruption Prevention, Independent Commission Against Corruption New South Wales: 1996.

In such situations, values can guide individual decision-making and provide a framework for action. Values such as honesty, impartiality, lawfulness, accountability and respect are crucial for those engaged, for example, in public services. Values such as pluralism, participation, representation and social justice should ideally prevail among elected politicians. Other important values include fairness, loyalty, and solidarity. When personal values clash, individuals are usually faced with an ethical dilemma. When family loyalty demands that a public official gives preferential treatment to a relative, this expectation may clash with his/her sense of professional impartiality.

Ethical dilemmas are a part of human life that are difficult to avoid. Every attempt should be made, however, to resolve them in the best interests of the public and of the parties involved. Such resolutions first require individual ethical awareness or ethical literacy i.e. an understanding that there are certain core ethical values that transcend culture, race, gender, age and socio-economic conditions.

Values education is aimed at building such ethical literacy. It does not aim to indoctrinate individuals by telling them which value is right and which is wrong. Instead, it attempts to empower individuals to identify conflicts of interest, providing them with the skills necessary to address ethical dilemmas. Values education should ideally be based on scenarios that are relevant to those being trained, ultimately enabling them to make conscious and informed ethical decisions in their daily lives.

the role of religion

Religious teaching plays a decisive role in the lives of many and all major religions reject corruption. The Islamic tradition makes a clear distinction between gifts (hiba, hadiya) and bribes (rashwa). To bribe judges is condemned in the Koran as well as in the Bible. In Hinduism, the central virtue “dharma” means good conduct, probity and honesty, and leads the king to responsible leadership and impartiality. Usury, gambling and corruption are seen as dishonest ways of income and against the way of “dharma”. In Buddhism, corruption is part of the evil in the world. Corruption, rooted in human greed, prevents the reaching of Nirvana. Confucianism also condemns corruption as an enemy of honesty and community (Source: Christoph Stueckelberger, Continue Fighting Corruption: Experiences and Tasks of Churches and Development Agencies: 2003).

Religious instruction, however, is not per se anti-corruption teaching. Moreover, if taught in an authoritarian manner, religious teaching can hinder the development of individual moral or ethical autonomy. Unquestioned deference to authority (including religious authority) is not compatible with the essence of anti-corruption education: to strengthen citizens’ critical thinking and attitudes vis-à-vis public and private institutions.

Growing political apathy in many countries threatens the very legitimacy of elected governments. This has prompted public and NGO actors alike to work towards greater citizen participation in politics. Transition countries and emerging democracies, in particular, are engaging in democracy education programmes as a means to increase public participation in politics. In well-established democracies too, citizenship education has become increasingly important in recent years.

Voter, civic and human rights education

Political corruption and electoral fraud are serious problems in many countries, especially in emerging democracies. Voter awareness plays a crucial role in ensuring the integrity of the electoral process and can be considered a necessary part of any anti-corruption education programme. Voter awareness programmes are usually conducted by national election authorities, and are generally tied to the electoral cycle. Voter education aims at empowering citizens to monitor issues including the transparency, accountability and accuracy of election administration and, in general, standards of electoral behaviour.

Civic education deals with the broader concepts underpinning democratic society, including the respective roles and responsibilities of citizens, government, political parties, the private sector and the media. Civic education overlaps with value-based and moral education. It emphasises not only citizen awareness but citizen participation in all aspects of democratic society. Civic education is a continual process, and can be conducted via the schools and university system, through civil society organisations and sometimes by state agencies.

Human rights education also contributes to mobilisation against corruption. Corruption has a direct impact on people’s dignity and can deprive them of their basic human rights. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) as well as the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966) include the right to take part in government; to fair employment; to an adequate standard of living via access to adequate food, housing, clothing and education; and to an international environment and order in which all rights can be realised. These rights can be severely violated by corruption. If public resources destined to bring health, education, housing and livelihoods to the poor are corruptly diverted, many basic rights will not be fulfilled. Individuals who are aware of their rights are more likely to hold government to account and to put pressure on public services to deliver. Human rights education is therefore closely linked to anti-corruption education in that it reinforces individual ability to hold those in positions of power to account.

High level political or grand corruption typically receives the most media attention. Accordingly, citizens are generally quick to condemn large-scale fraud, enrichment and embezzlement. Petty corruption, however, is often accepted as a way of speeding-up bureaucratic processes – an apparently unavoidable transaction that harms no-one. In reality, petty and grand corruption are often closely linked. Anti-corruption education should accordingly seek to encourage citizens to resist and condemn petty corruption, using messages of the kind found below:

• Corruption kills: The officer who issues a driver’s license without proper testing allows a potential killer on the loose;
• Corruption kills: The inspector who allows vendors to sell fake pharmaceutics or formula powder without nutritious ingredients denies treatment to the sick and starves babies to death;
• Corruption ruins small enterprises: The customs officer who extorts bribes from small businesses will deprive them of their profits.

How to mobilise the public?

There are numerous ways in which to trigger civic action. Anti-corruption messages can be disseminated via television and radio to reach a broad audience, sensitising the public to the effects of corruption. This can be through one-off campaigns or recurrent items, such as a weekly radio show with special invitees. Anti-corruption television spots have been produced in a wide variety of countries. Such spots ideally present a situation that viewers are familiar with, for example a medical clinic or a customs office.

Regular annual events can also be organised - such as an anti-corruption day or week - involving various activities at schools or town halls, media briefings, public hearings and marches. Contests and competitions for the best essay on corruption, or the best drawing or photograph, can engage citizens to think critically about corruption. Street theatre is another popular means for sensitisation in many countries. Highlighting the moral courage of anti-corruption activists through awards can also generate significant public attention.

Participatory research and its dissemination can also mobilise the public against corruption. Report card studies that facilitate citizen feedback on public services provide a good example of the effect of corruption on ordinary citizens, and have the advantage of speaking directly to most people. Polls of public service users - for example, students and their parents - can often reveal illegal payments that can trigger public action.

Young people are a particularly important target group for anti-corruption education, as they constitute a country’s political and economic future. A broad variety of methodologies exist to build youth resistance to corruption. When teaching integrity to young people, it is particularly important to respect students’ values and rights, and to strengthen their capacity for autonomous moral judgement. Teaching should also build on real-life examples, enabling students to identify with ethical dilemmas.

Teaching anti-corruption to young people: methodologies

In schools, surveys and polls can be carried out by pupils, helping them to understand the nature and extent of corruption and other people’s perceptions of the issue. Role-plays including mock ethics commissions or corruption trials can facilitate understanding of different interests and build capacity for conflict resolution. Public debates can also provide exposure to other people’s viewpoints. Anti-corruption can be linked to a variety of themes that are of particular interest to young people. One such theme is sports’ ethics: the consequences of corruption in sports (i.e. of disrespect for the value of fairness) are obvious even to young children.

Practicing public participation

Practice is better than theory. Attending parliamentary sessions or visiting public institutions helps young people understand how democracy works. Practices at school are also an important vehicle for transmitting ethical values. The representation of students and parents in school boards, for example, provides a useful means of participation. If a culture of respect and caring for each other prevails in a school, messages such as, “we all care for the public good” will fall on fertile ground. In contrast, preaching ethics or fair play in an authoritarian, disrespectful and even corrupt environment is unlikely to help build moral and ethical values among young people.

Inside or outside the formal curricula?

In formal schooling, anti-corruption education can be integrated within subjects such as history, geography, language, politics, religion, life-skills, peace education, economics, ethics and the natural sciences. More explicit topics such as civics or citizenship education may also be present. Though most curricula may not explicitly refer to corruption, they are all implicitly linked to it in that they touch on moral issues and involve concepts such as the public good and social justice. Depending on the context, however, anti-corruption can also be taught outside the formal school system, through NGOs, parental associations and youth clubs.

Anti-corruption education should not prescribe particular institutional forms of democracy and participation in political life. Instead, it should focus on the underlying values of democracy: representation, participation, responsibility, accountability and pluralism. If students and anti-corruption trainees truly understand and endorse these values, they will be well-equipped to confront corruption.

Anti-corruption education can only be effective in a conducive environment. Some important elements of such an environment are:

• Support from the top: Anti-corruption education needs the support of the highest levels of leadership. Citizens that live in a society where political and public leaders display a high degree of integrity and impartiality are likely to adopt similar ethical attitudes. Conversely, if leaders take advantage of their position, citizens are less likely to “play fair” themselves.
• Trust: Citizens who do not trust the authorities won’t report cases of corruption. Public officials who do not trust the executive are unlikely to pro-actively identify conflicts of interests and seek advice when confronted with an ethical dilemma. Building trust is therefore a crucial element in confronting corruption.
• Rules and regulations: Decision-making must be transparent and open to scrutiny; remuneration must be adequate and employment conditions such as recruitment, human resource management and career development, must be fair. If such issues are not addressed this will facilitate a breach by public servants of the standards of behaviour expected of them.
• Advice mechanisms: Anti-corruption education should be accompanied by measures enabling individuals to seek advice in their ethical decision-making. Within an organisation, staff should be able to receive unbiased advice on the interpretation of rules. A person or agency responsible for providing such guidance should be clearly designated.

Methodologies for teaching anti-corruption should be adapted to local and institutional contexts. They should be participative, interactive and related to real life, recognising the challenges of social diversity and diverging interests.

Ethics education should be carried out in a non-authoritarian, non-threatening environment. Personal case studies that are close to home are likely to have an impact.