Building a community of ethical practice through PACE

Ethical practice is a core principle of PACE. Partners must conform to the University’s ethical standards and values, and PACE activities must promote the well-being of people and the planet. Students are expected to engage in an ethical manner, and their activities might include research that requires ethics approval. Approaches to telling the PACE story must also be ethically sound. This chapter identifies the practical and epistemological imperatives behind collaborative efforts to foster ethical understanding and practice across the program. These attempts have raised questions such as ‘What constitutes an ethical activity?’ and ‘How might students be prepared for ethical complexities?’ It has led to pushing pedagogical and institutional boundaries, resulting in benefits for Macquarie students, the University as a whole, staff involved in PACE, and community-based partners. This chapter also acknowledges a number of complexities that pose challenges and further questions, as well as suggesting future directions for both practice and research.15 page(s