Basarkod, G., Cahill, L., et al. (2024, November 20).
Abstract
Addressing society's greatest challenges, such as climate change, requires us to act as moral agents. If effective, interventions within schools and universities could cultivate ethical and moral attributes in millions of people. In this pre-registered systematic review and meta-analysis, we synthesized evidence from 66 randomized controlled trials of interventions at primary, secondary, and tertiary education levels (k=246; 9,978 students). Educational interventions effectively improved students’ moral outcomes of sensitivity, judgment, motivation, and character compared to control groups (g = 0.54; n = 45; k = 133). Interventions involving student discussions were more effective than those relying solely on unidirectional or passive transfer of information. This finding was confirmed through studies comparing two alternate ethics interventions (n = 38; k = 113). Overall, our review shows that educational interventions can improve students’ ethical and moral attributes and provides insights for prioritizing and planning future interventions to increase these attributes at scale.
Here are some thoughts:
This pre-print manuscript details a meta-analysis of 66 randomized controlled trials investigating the effectiveness of ethics interventions in educational settings. The study, conducted across various educational levels and disciplines, found that interventions incorporating student discussions significantly improved students' moral outcomes compared to control groups or interventions solely using didactic methods. The analysis also explored moderators such as education level, intervention style, and risk of bias, revealing nuanced insights into the effectiveness of different approaches to ethics education. Importantly, the researchers emphasized the need for further research to improve study design and broaden geographical representation.
