The development of ?bioethical values instrument? for secondary education students within bioethics education

The aim of this research is to develop a ?Bioethical Values Instrument? to be used for revealing the values the secondary education students consider while they are deciding about the ethical issues which emerge from the application of biological sciences, especially gene technologies in different areas. In accordance with the targets of the research, an original instrument developing model is established, consisting of 4 stages including qualitative and quantitative data collection strategies.Within the frame of this model, literature review related to biological sciences, and especially about the general title "gene technology", was done primarily at the 1st stage. By examining the title list created by the analysis result which was studied through the researchers' and teachers' opinions, titles to be covered within the instrument were determined.At the 2nd stage, draft scenarios in the form of ethical dilemmas were prepared about each title. Open ended questions were added to the end of the scenarios in order to put forth the values, attitudes and opinions which the students concern while deciding about the subject. The scenarios, prepared at the 3rd step were applied to the 9th grade students of secondary education. In order to make a wide scaled research available, the equal representation of the schools having different socio-economic parameters in Ankara region-wide was targeted and to make a healthy choice for appointing these schools, State Planning Organization (SPO)?s data were used. So, in total 8 towns representing 4 different development levels, the application was performed including 13 regular and 7 Anatolian high-schools. During this application, in addition to the scenarios ?Knowledge Test? and ?Personal Knowledge Survey? were also applied to reveal the students? basic knowledge on this area and demographic information. The answers the students gave to the open ended questions were examined using content analysis strategies of the qualitative data analyzing techniques and in accordance with the thematic coding made; the instrument was transformed to a multiple choice form.At the 4th step, the expert and student opinions were consulted about the multiple choice instrument form and the instrument was finalized.In the result section, the importance of the ?Bioethical Values Instrument? was discussed within the bioethics education and application-oriented suggestions were made.Key Words: Biology and Science Education, Bioethics Education, Socioscientific Issues in Science Education, Ethics and Moral Education, Value Education, Scale Development.