Although it might look like a simple question, the answer, on the other hand, is not that obvious nor straightforward! If in one hand it is safe to assume that most high school students are the future University students, at the other hand, these young students have little experience concerning Academic and Research Integrity issues, nor have these concepts well defined in their heads.In fact, most of the issues experienced at high school level focus on plagiarism and authorship. Adding to that is their perceived conflict of being a good student or being a good friend, when it comes to reporting a misconduct or unethical behaviour from their peers (Goddiksen et al. 2020).

At the same time, high school students are at a unique transitional period from childhood to adulthood, where they form opinions from their daily life, based on the information received and experiences lived. So, how to combine nearly no knowledge nor experience in Academic and Research Integrity, with the unique opportunity that adolescence brings, to empower young students into responsible academic and research practices? Does it even make sense to teach integrity at such an early academic stage?

At the INTEGRITY project, we believe the empowerment of students into Academic Integrity and Responsible Conduct in Research (RCR) should start at early career stages (i.e. starting at high school level) and be continued to senior stages. This is the overall goal. But how to do it in an effective, engaging and innovative way that builds capacity? Should young students just be taught about what they can or cannot do, as if sanctions are applied in case they do not follow the rules? Should they learn about the concepts and principles stated at the European Code of Conduct for Research Integrity? Would these make sense to them? Would it result in the desirable change in behaviour towards acting responsible within their environment? Are there any teaching guidelines for Academic and Research Integrity courses? Starting from the latter question, the answer is no!

Shocking perhaps, but the truth is that no European teaching guidelines for Academic and Research Integrity courses exist for secondary education. Not even, actually, for the higher education level! This offers both a challenge and a unique opportunity to design and develop innovative teaching tools that are tailored to young students’ perceptions and experiences in Academic and Research Integrity. This is an opportunity to empower students already at this early academic career stage into acting not only responsible within their academic and career life, but also into becoming informed citizens in a society prompted with key ethical and integrity issues, which they are expected to make decisions (e.g. vote). If no standard teaching guidelines exist, how to design these innovative teaching tools? What content to include? How to promote engagement?

The few studies that have focussed on the need and importance of implementing bioethics courses at secondary school level (e.g. Araujo et al., 2017; Ike and Anderson, 2018) have all mentioned the importance of promoting scenario/case-based debatable discussions in class, as a way to engage young students into critically reflection and development of argumentative skills related with ethical issues in life sciences and humanities.

To this end, three INTEGRITY Consortium partners (Trinity College Dublin, Ljubljana University and IBMC) have designed and are developing a set of 12 modules: Introduction into Academic and Research Integrity concepts and principles; Animal Experimentation; Genetic Testing; Data Transmission; Future Generation; Technology; Music and Arts; Climate and Culture; Fast Fashion; Virus and Vaccines; Space; Mental Health. The chosen themes all relate with subjects that are currently part of the high school curriculum, thereby facilitating student’s engagement. These modules were structured to provide both a brief introduction into the subject and to promote critical reflection and group discussions based on different scenarios.

For each module, the teacher receives a dedicated Manual, a PowerPoint presentation and resources materials for the practical activities. There are particularities in each module. For example, the Animal Experimentation Module is structured in two parts.The first part provides a brief introduction into the concepts used in Animal Experimentation, to then focus deeply on the ethical issues associated. Students are then expected to do a practical activity that will be a gaming exercise focusing on the already developed PlayDecide Game about Animal Testing in Biomedical Research in Europe.

The second part of the module starts with 2 video-interviews, from two INTEGRITY team members, outlining the principles of Research Integrity and providing real and fictional examples of research misconduct and questionable research practices in animal experimentation, to allow students to identify and critically reflect, in a simple and informed way, on the importance of avoiding engaging in such practices. Students then have another practical activity that focus on a group discussion about a scenario, which explores some research integrity issues in animal experimentation.

Overall, with these modules we aim to build capacity of young students into learning, identifying, critically reflecting and adopting responsible academic and research practices, while recognising that these issues have impacts upon the society they are living.

We will soon start the testing phase of the modules with students in Portugal, Ireland and Slovenia, where we expect that the feedback received from both students and teachers will be key to make the necessary adjustments into the final modules.

Keep an eye on our blog to know more about the testing phase and the feedback on our modules received from students and teachers’ experience!