SPIRITUAL-MORAL EDUCATION AS AN INTEGRATIVE CORE OF SCHOOL UPBRINGING: A CONCEPTUAL AND COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF THEORY, IMPLEMENTATION, AND PEDAGOGICAL TECHNOLOGY
Abstract
Spiritual-moral education has long been recognized as an important dimension of schooling; however, its conceptual boundaries, structural position within the broader system of upbringing, and mechanisms of effective implementation remain insufficiently integrated. This article develops a conceptual and comparative analysis of spiritual-moral education by examining its relationship with moral education, character education, values education, and virtue education. The study employs a structured three-stage analysis of national, regional, and international literature, complemented by an examination of official statistical evidence and recent empirical research. The analysis conceptualizes spiritual-moral education as an integrative, value-oriented dimension of the broader system of upbringing rather than as an isolated educational direction. Three interconnected dimensions are identified: cognitive-value, affective-motivational, and behavioural-practical. The literature further reveals a persistent theory–implementation–measurement gap. Although moral and character education have received substantial theoretical and policy attention, contemporary research remains fragmented in conceptualization, intervention design, implementation, and assessment. Recent large-scale evidence reinforces both sides of this conclusion: a 2025 scoping review of 981 publications identified substantial methodological limitations in character-education research, while a 2026 systematic review and meta-analysis of 92 randomized controlled trials involving 12,693 students found positive overall effects of educational interventions on moral outcomes. The findings suggest that the future development of spiritual-moral education requires a shift from predominantly normative and organizational approaches toward theoretically coherent, culturally responsive, participatory, technologically supported, and empirically testable pedagogical models. Particular attention should be given to lower-secondary students, for whom moral dialogue, reflection, perspective-taking, collaborative problem-solving, and responsible action can provide developmentally appropriate mechanisms for value internalization. The article contributes a conceptual framework that connects national understandings of spiritual-moral education with contemporary international scholarship on moral, character, virtue, and values education.
Keywords
spiritual-moral education; moral education; character education; values education; virtue education; school upbringing; moral development; pedagogical technology; lower-secondary education; value internalization; character development.How to Cite
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