Educators’ perceptions of the teaching of bioethics in primary and secondary schools in Greece

In recent years, a growing number of studies have emphasized the importance of integrating ethics education into the school curriculum. The objective of the present study is to investigate the perspectives of educators on the teaching of bioethics in primary and secondary education in Greece. A survey was conducted using google.forms. Through the official websites of the Directorates of Primary and Secondary Education throughout Greece, the email addresses of schools were identified. The link to the questionnaire was sent to these email addresses and the director of each school was asked to forward it to his/her fellow teachers. A total of 1274 educators responded to the survey. We found that there is strong support for integrating bioethics education into both primary and secondary education, with a clear preference for incorporating it into existing courses rather than creating separate bioethics courses. The necessity of teaching bioethics is viewed as slightly more important in secondary education compared to primary education, reflecting the increased complexity and relevance of bioethical issues as students mature. This is the first large-scale survey in Greece to examine the views of teachers in primary and secondary schools on issues related to bioethics. The study supports the argument for the introduction of bioethics education in the early years of school life. This, however, requires the enhancement of teacher training programs in bioethics and the development of appropriate teaching materials and techniques for use at each level of education.