Paving the way for geoethics pedagogy in Ghana: what students’ geoethical reasoning reveals

The fragmented way ethics is currently taught in geoscience, often limited to narrow issues such as academic honesty, plagiarism, or research integrity, demonstrates the urgent need for a dedicated pedagogical framework to ensure that students understand the deeper social responsibilities and ethical implications of geoscience research and practice. In Ghana, the lack of empirical research on how students understand and apply geoethical principles necessitates the design of curricula that match students’ conceptual readiness and learning needs to address this gap. Without this evidence, it is also difficult to identify contextual examples that connect geoethics to students lived experiences.  Thus, in this study, we use relational ethics theory to assess how students perceive the relevance of geoethics in geoscience research and practice and how they take responsibility for ethical decisions, which is an essential step for designing deliberate, contextual, participatory, reflective, and proactive curricula. Through a sequential explanatory mixed methods design that used 193 surveys and 11 theoretical interviews, we identified that almost half (45.6%) of Ghanaian students were unaware of the ethics applied to the geosciences. Students also mostly conceptualized geoethics as a set of codified guidelines and principles, emphasizing truthfulness, integrity, and respect. However, over 62% held the belief that ethical behavior preserves reputation, while violations erode respect, reflecting how geoethics is being internalized as reputation management rather than as a framework for navigating complex societal and environmental relationships. Similarly, the majority of students emphasis of geoethics as personal conduct rather than societal and environmental responsibilities indicates a gap in how students conceptualize these relationships. Finally, although 76% of students showed awareness of geoethics in sustainability and geoheritage, their emphasis on economic and cultural preservation benefits suggests that they may view community engagement and stewardship as instrumental goals rather than long-term ethical responsibilities rooted in reciprocity and accountability. We also provide pedagogical approaches that move beyond rule-based compliance and help students appreciate geoethics as a framework for engaging with communities, negotiating values, and making informed and responsible decisions in complex settings.