Abstract:

Research ethics is a complex and often abstract subject, posing persistent pedagogical challenges for academics who teach it and for students who are required to internalise and apply its principles. A compounding difficulty is that students frequently perceive research ethics as a procedural, gatekeeping hurdle rather than as a central dimension of rigorous research practice. This perception exposes a pedagogical paradox: when research ethics education is delivered as a compliance-driven checklist, it mainly yields superficial student engagement, whereas deeper ethical understanding is more effectively fostered through creative and experiential methodologies, such as storytelling, role-play, and dialogical and reflective inquiry.

This paper introduces an innovative pedagogical intervention that draws on two cultural commemorations, Halloween and Remembrance Day, as powerful metaphorical and narrative means for teaching research ethics. By conceptualising commemoration as a symbolic system, the model invites students to interrogate ethical dilemmas and research scenarios through culturally resonant lenses. The metaphor of Halloween illuminates concealed risks in research design, and the metaphor of Remembrance Day foregrounds the ethical legacy of research practice. Both these commemorations map onto the entire ethical lifecycle of a research project, from initial design to the dissemination of findings.

Drawing on experiential learning theory and narrative pedagogy, the paper outlines the Commemorative Research Ethics Pedagogy (CRED) framework, implemented with final-year undergraduate Business Studies students and validated through internal evidence comprising student feedback and academic peer observations. The seminars were consistently characterised as inspiring, engaging and exemplary of good academic practice. Students reported a deeper appreciation of ethical complexity and an enhanced capacity for ethical decision-making, confirming the framework’s value in building ethical literacy.

The paper argues that culturally situated pedagogy, by aligning research ethics principles with ritual-inspired narratives, cultivates memorable learning and more nuanced ethical sensibility and judgement. This approach moves beyond procedural compliance, equipping emerging researchers with the reflexibility and reasoning required to navigate the moral complexities of research practice. This paper contributes to the scholarship on innovative research ethics pedagogy in higher education, providing a transferable framework for educators seeking to transform research ethics from a bureaucratic checklist into a dynamic, reflective and internalised practice.

Keywords:

Research ethics education, Commemorative pedagogy, Experiential learning, Narrative Pedagogy, Halloween, Remembrance Day, CRED framework, Curriculum innovation, Undergraduate education.