From Compliance to Culture: Ethics in Agricultural Education Research

Ethics in agricultural and life science research is often treated as a matter of compliance, yet the integrity of our work—and public trust in it—depends on everyday decisions made in labs, classrooms, and communities. This interactive session adapts Virginia Tech’s Innovative Research and Ethical Impact (IREI) model to the context of the American Association for Agricultural Education (AAAE), positioning Southern Region scholars as catalysts for ethical cultures in academia. Participants will (1) explore how social norms and informal mentoring shape “how we do things” in research groups and departments, (2) identify ethical dimensions within their own current or planned projects across the research pipeline—from formulating questions to disseminating findings, and (3) practice strategies for communicating and addressing ethical concerns in ways that align with AAAE Research Values and AFNR priorities such as environmental health, diversity and inclusion, youth development, and safety. Using brief case scenarios and peer discussion, we will foreground questions of who is affected, how, and with what scope and severity, emphasizing the human consequences of decisions in agricultural and related social science research. The session is designed for faculty, graduate students, and academic leaders who want practical, discipline-relevant tools for moving beyond one-off responsible conduct of research trainings toward a sustained community of practice around ethics in academia. Participants will leave with concrete conversation prompts, reflective questions for research teams and classrooms, and an action plan for modeling ethical research and teaching practices within their own spheres of influence.