Open research questions in Values and Moral Education

What the literature leaves open

• effectiveness of school culture. Initial findings also indicate that collaboration among school stakeholders is an important factor regarding mentoring experiences and in supporting the success of student character formation through holistic, interpersonal, and relational approaches. semi-structured The preparation of research instruments was carried out systematically by developing interview guidelines, participatory observation sheets, and documentation study formats based on the research focus concerning the management of holistic mentoring by homeroom teachers in shaping senior high school students’ character. The instruments were designed to explore character mentoring practices in depth through aspects such as planning, character-building strategies, interpersonal communication, positive school culture, handling student problems, collaboration between schools and parents, and evaluation of character mentoring. The development of indicators was conducted through a synthesis of theories and previous research findings related to character education, school culture, homeroom teacher leadership, and holistic approaches as proposed by [1], [21], [22], [23]. The instruments were prepared flexibly and contextually to capture social dynamics, interpersonal interactions, and school culture at each research location.

  A <b>Holistic Mentoring Management by Homeroom Teachers in Shaping the Character of High School Students in Ketapang Regency</b> · 2026 · DOI

• Future research is recommended to examine the implementation of the 7KAIH Program across different educational levels or employ a mixed methods approach to obtain a more comprehensive understanding of the program’s effectiveness in supporting students’ character development.

  The Management of the Seven Habits of Great Indonesian Children Program as a Strategy for Strengthening Students’ Character Culture · 2026 · DOI

• Grounded in my Living Educational Theory Research and the challenges I have faced as a school counsellor, I propose that ABKIN urgently revise its Code of Ethics with a framework that reflects Indonesia’s cultural context, legal requirements, and professional standards. The absence of a clear, contextually relevant code has left counsellors like myself, reliant on foreign standards such as ASCA, which, while useful, do not fully capture the complexities of Indonesian communal norms, legal frameworks, and school dynamics. A. Framework ABKIN Code of Ethics I. Rationale My experience with confidentiality dilemmas, such as in Shereen’s case, demonstrates the vulnerabilities created by the lack of detailed national guidance: 1) Counsellors face institutional pressure without clear professional protection. 2) Students’ safety and welfare may be compromised due to inconsistent ethical standards. 3) Public misunderstanding of confidentiality undermines trust in counselling practice Educational Journal of Living Theories 19(1). 30-55.

  LivingMyValue:NavigatingtheChallenges ofPracticingConfidentialityinCounselling · 2026 · DOI

• The moderator analyses were limited to the variables available across the 10 primary studies, which restricted the broader interpretive value of the results. In several cases, demographic details such as age and course duration were insufficiently reported, and the validity and reliability of ethics education assessments were inconsistently documented. We also encourage further research into the characteristics of ethics education across diverse settings, including variations in content, intensity, and instructional format whether delivered as stand-alone lectures, semester- long courses, or integrated curricular components to enhance the robustness and validity of future studies’ findings.

  The Association between Ethic Education and Moral Reasoning in Indonesian Higher Education: A Meta-Analysis · 2026 · DOI

• Future research should consider conducting classroom-based ethnographic studies or mixed-method comparative case studies to validate and expand upon the findings. One limitation of this study is its reliance on secondary sources, including policy documents, journal articles, and a limited number of observational and audiovisual materials, especially for the Finnish context.

  Systematic Comparison of Civics Learning Models in Elementary Schools: Indonesia Versus Finland · 2026 · DOI

• Based on these conclusions, several recommendations can be proposed for educational practice and policy. In faculties of education, in line with the philosophy of the new Curriculum, teacher candidates could be supported through practical and experience-based teaching methods that focus on values education. In addition, values education practices should not be limited solely to textbooks and curriculum documents; guidance services, social activities, and overall school culture should also play a supportive role in reinforcing values. For in-service teachers, professional development programs could be designed to include training content that specifically addresses the values education dimension of the 2024 Curriculum. Moreover, students‟ processes of internalizing values should be systematically observed and evaluated; for this purpose, 2026, Journal of Theoretical Educational Sciences - Kuramsal Eğitimbilim Dergisi 19(1), 1-24 Changing Curriculum, Changing Values?… 21 assessment tools such as performance tasks and observation forms can be utilized. Finally, institutions responsible for determining educational policies may consider establishing mechanisms to monitor the long-term effects of values education and to evaluate the overall effectiveness of the Curriculum over time. In conclusion, the 2024 Social Studies Curriculum, prepared within the framework of the Maarif Model, reveals an important transformation with the comprehensive structure and achievements it offers for values education. The curriculum is noteworthy in that it addresses the mental, emotional, and behavioral development of the individual as a whole and aims to construct values not only at the theoretical level but also at the behavioral level. However, the difficulties that may be encountered in implementation should not be ignored; it should be kept in mind that all stakeholders, from teacher training processes to school climate, should be prepared for this transformation. While the 2024 Curriculum offers a strong philosophical and pedagogical model, coordination and supportive policies are critical in the process of reflecting this model to the reality on the ground. Future empirical studies may further examine how these curricular intentions are enacted in classroom practices across different school contexts.

  Changing Curriculum, Changing Values? Thematic Transformation in Social Studies Curriculum · 2026 · DOI

• In this study, the cognitive constructs of teachers working within the scope of the TCEM curriculum regarding the ideal student profile were examined, and the findings show that teachers predominantly conceptualize the ideal student through value-oriented, responsible, and personality-based characteristics. These results indicate that teachers’ perceptions are strongly aligned with the “competent and virtuous individual” emphasized in the TCEM Student Profile, highlighting those contemporary educational reforms in Türkiye place moral and character development at the center of student formation rather than treating them as supplementary outcomes. In light of these evaluations, several recommendations can be put forward for future research: Future studies should expand the sample to include different school levels, broader geographic regions, and larger participant groups in order to examine whether value-based perceptions of the ideal student vary across diverse educational contexts. Additionally, research investigating how teachers translate the TCEM student profile into classroom practices, assessment processes, and student guidance would provide important insights into the practical reflections of the model. Longitudinal and mixed-methods designs may also be employed to explore how students’ moral, willful, and productive characteristics develop over time within the TCEM framework. Overall, this study offers an initial empirical contribution to understanding how teachers interpret the “competent and virtuous individual” model in practice, and future research will be essential in further clarifying how the TCEM vision shapes school culture, pedagogical practices, and student development.

  Investigation of Teachers' Cognitive Constructs of the Ideal Student in the Context of the Maarif Model Student Profile · 2026 · DOI

• For School Administrators • Establish School Moral Development Committees comprising teachers, parents, religious leaders, and administrators to coordinate moral education activities. leaders, student • Allocate dedicated resources for character education programs that address all levels of moral reasoning, not merely conventional morality. • Create recognition and reward systems for exemplary moral behaviour among students to reinforce positive conduct. • Develop stakeholder monitoring and evaluation frameworks to periodically assess the effectiveness of moral development initiatives.

  Understanding Stakeholders' Perspectives on Students' Moral Development in Secondary Schools: A Phenomenological Study in Mbale City, Uganda · 2026 · DOI

• Raed Zedan1 The Academic Arab College for Education, Haifa, Israel Abstract: Values education in educational systems serves as the foundation for building a healthy society, with educators playing a central role in delivering it to their students, in making them ethical, value-oriented and capable of discriminating between right from wrong, involved and contributing to the community. The present study aims to explore the perceptions and attitudes of values education among elementary school educators within the Arab society in Israel. It looks to provide actionable recommendations on how to present values when modeling and teaching them to their students. A qualitative research method was conducted using semi-structured in-depth interviews. Data was collected during the 2023-2024 academic year. It was done through semi-structured interviews of 158 educators from 34 public elementary schools in various Arab towns across the state of Israel. The findings revealed that educators consider values education to be of the utmost importance, with an emphasis on social values such as empathy and consideration for others, alongside personal values like excellence and achievement. The study also highlighted the necessity of tailoring values education to align with the contemporary era, specifically in the context of technological advancement and media influence. Educators emphasized that values education is a long-term process demanding structured implementation and effective collaboration and coordination between educators and parents. In light of these findings, it is important to continue to promote the training and professional development of educators and provide them with additional and effective tools for values education, increasing cooperation and coordination with parents. Keywords: Education for Values, Curriculum, Educator-Parent Cooperation, Dynamic Changing Society. in addition to The discourse surrounding values education, particularly within the context of a technologically driven and evolving society, places a significant responsibility on educators (Oeschger et al., 2022). This aspect of education is a reflection of the unique values system of the society. Values education aims to provide learners with a structured understanding of values, with the potential to shape their future conduct in accordance with societal norms and to influence their 1 Corresponding author; Senior Lecturer in the Department of Graduate Studies, The Academic Arab College for Education, Haifa, Israel. E-mail: [email protected], [email protected] Copyright © 2026 by Author/s and Licensed by CECS Publications, United States. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

  Education for Values Among Arab Ethnic Minority in Israel: Educators' Perspectives · 2026 · DOI

• Future research should examine the long-term retention of these outcomes, explore the transferability of the ECP model to other traditional performing arts traditions across Southeast Asia, and investigate the role of teacher cultural competence as a mediating variable in program effectiveness.

  Pedagogia cultural incorporada através de Tari Paraga: melhorar a consciência moral, as competências de colaboração e a identidade cultural dos alunos em Educação Física · 2026 · DOI

• Future work might explore how these ethical ideas take different forms across educational stages and Confucian Self-Cultivation and the Ethics of Learning with Large…1 3 geopolitical contexts, particularly in international and cross-cultural learning environments where AI-mediated practices are already reshaping educational norms.

  Confucian Self-Cultivation and the Ethics of Learning with Large Language Models · 2026 · DOI

• 1. Teachers should exemplify good character, as students learn more effectively through observation. Regular workshops and seminars should be organised to equip teachers with effective strategies for teaching CRS and interpreting biblical parables. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.20229052 ||Page No - 33 Hayat || V-15 || Issue 05, 2026 || ISSN:1735-2215 2. Students are encouraged to cultivate faith in their abilities and confidence in their future because believing in small beginnings can motivate them to overcome academic and personal challenges. 3. Parents should reinforce the values taught in schools to ensure consistency in students’ moral development. 4. Government and educational policies should provide funding and policy support for CRS and the moral education programme.

  TEACHERS' PERCEIVED PARABLE OF THE MUSTARD SEED FOR FOSTERING EDUCATIONAL VALUES AMONG SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS IN OSUN STATE, NIGERIA · 2026 · DOI

• The following recommendation based on the findings and conclusions are herewith forwarded: 1. The proposed plan of action shall be endorsed to the schools division Superintendent of Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo, Cavite for consideration and adaptation. 2. Further research on values of students shall be undertaken by other researcher. 1555 1 Volume 2 Issue 5 (2026) REFERENCES A. Books Caldwell C, Jeane L (2017). “Ethical leadership and building trust – Raising the bar for business”, J. Acad. Ethics 5 (1): 1 – 4. Campbell MA (2014). “What to do? An exploration of ethical issues for principals and school counselors”, Principia: J. Queensland Secondary Principals’ Assoc. 1: (7-9) Chodorov, Van (2010) “An interdisciplinary code of ethics for adult education”, Adult Education Quarterly. 41 (4): 233-240. Cohorts Inglehart (2017) Priority to materialist vs. post-materialist values than younger people. Dempster N. Berry V. (2023). “Blindfolded in a Minefield: Principals’ ethical decision-making”, Cambridge J. Educ. 33 (3): 457-477 De Leon, Joseph (2015). Values Education is a case of values transmission/inculcation. Katha Publishing. Glanz, J. (2016). “What every principal should know about ethical and spiritual leadership”, Thousand Oaks: Corwin Press: California. Kevin Ryan, Center for the Advancement of Ethics and Character, School of Education, Boston University, 605 Commonwealth Ave., Boston, MA 02215. 2018. Kohn & Schooler, 2018. “Multicultural Education: Why We Need It and Why We Worry About It” Network News and Views 12, 3:31. Lipman, Freidrick (2023). Free, independent, and cooperative thinking play a central role in the mental and behavioral development of the human being. Schwartz & Bardi, 2017. Reclaiming Our Schools: For Teaching Character, Academics and Discipline (Columbus, Ohio: Merrill). Miranda, Noel, Echano, Corazon L. Values Basic Education Tapline N, Ehrich L, Kimber M (2018). The right decision? Towards an understanding of ethical dilimmas for school leaders. Westminster Studies in Education. 26 (2). B. Periodicals Gordon, W. Sork TJ (2014). Ethical Issues and Codes of Ethics: Views of Adult Education Practitioners in Canada and the United States”, Adult Education Quarterly, 51 (3): 202 – 218. Harsh S. Castro M. (2017). Professional codes of ethics: Principles and Principals, Retrieved November 01, 2018, from The Ohio State University. The Principal’s Office Web site: http://principaloffice.osu.edu/files/profreading.3.08.php 1556 1 Volume 2 Issue 5 (2026) Haynes F. (2018). The ethical school”, Routledge: London. Houle JC, Gimas PC (2016). Building capacity for ethical leadership in graduate educational leadership preparations programs”, AASA J. Scholarship and Practice. 3 (1): 11-17. Karakose T. (2017). “High school teachers’ perceptions towards principals’ ethical leadership in Turkey”, Asia Pac. Educ. Rev. 8 (3): 464-477. Karri R. Caldwell C. Antonacopoulou EP, Naegle DC (2015). Building trust in business schools through ethical governance”, J. Acad. Ethics. 3 (2/4): 159-182. Kizza JM (2017). Ethical and social issues in the information age”. Third Edition. New York, NY: Springer-Verlog.

  Values of Teachers in Public Secondary School in General Emilio Aguinaldo National High School Cavite City · 2026 · DOI

• To respond to this gap in the literature, we pedagogized Kayi-Aydar’s emotion–identity–agency triangle via three teacher learning activities in a critical practicum course in a pre-service English language teaching programme in Turkey: reflective emotion diary; auto-ethnography; and critical issues analysis and advocacy project.

  Emotion–Identity–Agency Triangle in Practicum Experience: A Pre-service Second Language Teacher's Development of Critical Emotional Reflexivity · 2024 · DOI

• Through a focus on civic virtue and deliberative engagement, it is argued that an Aristotelian-inspired account of character addresses the precise concerns, including recognising and challenging social injustices and deliberative engagement with difference, which critics suggest are lacking from character education.

  Character education, the individual and the political · 2019 · DOI

• However, while the notion of virtue has gained credibility in the fields of positive psychology and moral philosophy, it has yet to be satisfactorily considered from the perspective of social theory – in spite of the ongoing calls of researchers who have identified the need for further investigation into the role of culture and social context in the development of individuals' characters.

  The social construction of character · 2018 · DOI

• The results suggest that ethics education, given (a) the curricular construction of what ability to assess, (b) complexities of test construction in ethics and (c) possible teach-to-the-test effects, runs the risk of being limited to an argumentative, conceptual competence, with ethics education being emptied of crucial content.

  Assessing ethics education through national tests—an advantage or not? · 2018 · DOI

• Current ethics instruction has been ineffective in relieving this problem because: (1) It is based on the mistaken belief that there is no consensus on values in our society; (2) ethics is insufficiently integrated into the curriculum to establish relevance; and (3) it uses an ineffective instructional methodology.

  Integrating Ethics into Technical Curricula · 1994 · DOI

• Despite the growing number of studies on literary works and character education, limited research has specifically examined how social reality in contemporary Indonesian short stories reflects character education values through a mimetic perspective.

  The Representation of Character Education Values in Aris Kurniawan’s Short Story “Tiga Cita-Cita Kasmin”: A Mimetic Approach · 2026 · DOI

• However, this study is limited to a single short story and has not examined its classroom implementation; therefore, further studies are recommended to conduct comparative analyses and classroom-based implementation testing.

  The Representation of Character Education Values in Aris Kurniawan’s Short Story “Tiga Cita-Cita Kasmin”: A Mimetic Approach · 2026 · DOI

• Additionally, while activities and outcomes are designed to reinforce specific behaviors, individualization and differentiation for students with special needs are insufficient.

  Social Skills Development in Special Education: The Role of Religious Culture and Moral Knowledge Textbooks in Special Education · 2026 · DOI

• Children’s media content is a crucial agent of moral socialization, but differences in the ethical narratives of secular and religious products remain understudied.

  Moral Foundations in Children’s Media Content: A Comparison of Secular and Religious Media Sources · 2026 · DOI

• The statistical significance of these variances warrants attention in understanding the individual variability in the intervention's impact, and suggests that additional factors might be influencing students' rates of growth in Nationalism character.

  Investigating the Growth of Nationalism Character in Indonesian Elementary School Students: A Case Study · 2026 · DOI

• Although both approaches share a common focus on fostering students’ emotional, social, and moral growth, they have frequently been examined as separate educational constructs, leaving their conceptual interconnections insufficiently explored.

  CROSS-PARADIGM SYNTHESIS: BIBLIOMETRIC MAPPING CONCEPT INTEGRATION SOCIAL EMOTIONAL LEARNING (SEL) AND VALUE-BASED CHARACTER EDUCATION IN GLOBAL SENIOR SECONDARY EDUCATION · 2026 · DOI

• Fifth, the adaptability of the framework to non-Sundanese cultural contexts remains to be demonstrated empirically; the procedure is transferable, but the specific value vocabulary will need to be replaced with culturally grounded equivalents in each new context.

  A Character Education Learning Model Grounded in Sundanese Cultural Philosophy: An Analysis of Dedi Mulyadi’s Public Leadership · 2026 · DOI

Most-cited papers in Values and Moral Education

• Developing Students' Appreciation for What Is Taught in School · Educational Psychologist · 2008 · 142 citations
• Revitalizing local wisdom within character education through ethnopedagogy apporach: A case study on a preschool in Yogyakarta · Heliyon · 2024 · 96 citations
• Critical language pedagogy: an introduction to principles and values · ELT Journal · 2021 · 84 citations
• Teaching strategies for moral education: a review · Journal of Curriculum Studies · 2008 · 82 citations
• On the concept of manner and its visibility in teaching practice · Journal of Curriculum Studies · 2001 · 69 citations
• How curricular content and pedagogical strategies affect moral reasoning development in college students · Journal of Moral Education · 2008 · 62 citations
• Tell Me a Story: An evaluation of a literature-based character education programme · Journal of Moral Education · 2000 · 59 citations
• Moral reasoning of in‐service and pre‐service teachers: a review of the research · Journal of Moral Education · 2007 · 59 citations
• The relationship between teachers’ empathy and perceptions of school culture · Educational Studies · 2010 · 57 citations
• Teachers’ Implicit Meaning Systems and Their Implications for Pedagogical Thinking and Practice: A Case Study from Finland · Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research · 2016 · 54 citations

Most recent work

• Teaching virtue literacy: A strategy for character education in the university · Journal of Moral Education · 2026
• Confucian Self-Cultivation and the Ethics of Learning with Large Language Models · Studies in Philosophy and Education · 2026
• Civic education and moral education in Malaysia and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) · Journal of Moral Education · 2026
• Discursive construction of character education in Indonesian school textbooks: a critical discourse analysis · Qualitative Research Journal · 2026
• Investigating the Growth of Nationalism Character in Indonesian Elementary School Students: A Case Study · Journal of Ethnic and Cultural Studies · 2026
• Education for Values Among Arab Ethnic Minority in Israel: Educators' Perspectives · Journal of Ethnic and Cultural Studies · 2026
• Sacrifice in L2 teaching: teachers’ perspectives from China, Iran, and Turkey · Innovation in Language Learning and Teaching · 2026
• Teacher Exemplary Behavior in Character Learning: A Case Study on the Formation of Longed-for Teachers in Madrasah Ibtidaiyah · Journal of Teacher Training and Educational Research · 2026
• The role of volunteer service in promoting moral values: a systematic review · Muallim Journal of Social Science and Humanities · 2026
• A narrative case study: Parental views on the enactment of character education in Islamic boarding schools · Journal of Moral Education · 2026

Related topics in Social Sciences