An investigation of secondary school teachers’ perceptions and experiences of moral education in England

Abstract

The objective of this study is to investigate the perceptions and experiences of secondary school teachers regarding moral education in English schools. The literature presents varying theories and arguments on the definition and role of moral education, which is generally believed to encompass values, virtues, and character development, as well as societal codes, the promotion of the common good, and the cultivation of autonomy. While most research has focused on the viewpoints of inexperienced trainee teachers regarding to their understanding and experience in teaching moral education, there is limited research raising the voices of experienced teachers. The purpose of this thesis is to fill this gap by investigating the perspectives and experiences of in-service teachers from across the curriculum subjects. The data was collected through qualitative online semi-structured interviews with a stimulus material embedded showing current English policy requirements. By the utilisation of this material I aimed to open up discussions and make the data collection process more effective. In total, eighteen secondary school teachers were recruited through snowball approach from a variety of subject areas including religious education, English, physical education, maths, science, modern foreign languages, and other humanities subjects. The data were analysed using NVivo software and a reflexive thematic analysis approach. The themes identified from the analysis were developed through an inductive process. This research also aims to contribute the methodological literature by the use of stimulus material embedded in online interviews to enhance the data collection process besides its contribution to the existing literature on moral education. The primary objective of this study is three-fold. First, it explores teachers' opinions on moral education, both in relation to and regardless of government policies of SMSC, PSHE, citizenship, FBVs, RHSE, and character education, using the perspective of policy enactment theory. Second, it focuses on teachers' awareness of their roles and responsibilities as outlined by government policies, including Teachers' Standards, ITT Core Content Framework, Early Career Framework, Ofsted's School Inspection Handbook, and Education Inspection Framework, with emphasis on their personal and professional development experiences. Finally, the study assesses the potential contributions of various curriculum disciplines to the moral education of students, using the Jubilee Centre's four-dimensional taxonomy of character education given its emphasis on the cultivation of moral, intellectual, performance, and civic virtues. The findings of the data show that teachers’ perceptions of the concept of moral education was affected by the related policies rather than the theories of it. All participants know the policies of SMSC, PSHE, citizenship, FBVs, RHSE, and character education, and they implement these policies fully or partially within their form or PSHE courses, their subject areas, or the extracurricular activities within their school settlings. However, policies related to their professional development, including the Teachers' Standards, ITT Core content framework, Early Career framework, and Ofsted's Inspection Frameworks, do not appear to affect their understanding of their roles and responsibilities. The study also found a lack of initial teacher education and continuing professional development programs focused on moral education, and most teachers expressed a need for such programs to improve their teaching practices. Regarding to the roles of subject areas in providing moral education, it was found that while humanities subjects such as Religious Education play a crucial role in developing moral virtues, civic virtues can be fostered through various subject areas like history and English, and intellectual and performance virtues through science education, literature, arts, drama, and physical education. In sum, the study emphasizes that character education is not limited to a particular subject area but should be an integral part of the curriculum of all subjects. This study provides multiple unique contributions to the body of knowledge on moral education and has significant implications for policymakers, educators, and other stakeholders invested in promoting moral education within the English education system.