Early adolescents’ beliefs about the development of their moral character: The case of Latvia

Moral education at school is a topical debate among policy makers, academics, and practitioners. As early adolescence is a crucial period of moral growth, this study aims at capturing early adolescents’ beliefs about the development of their moral character in Latvia. In spring 2022, 1465 pupils studying in Year 5 (11–12 years old) and Year 7 (13–14 years old) in 90 classrooms at 56 different schools in Latvia participated in the study. The questionnaire used to collect data contained 35 scale items and 3 open answer items which captured the four components of the moral growth process (i.e., understanding, purposefulness, moral crafting, and moral identity). Quantitative data were processed and analysed in MS Excel and SPSS using descriptive statistics: absolute values and percentage frequencies, central tendency indicators (arithmetic mean and mode), and dispersion indicators (standard deviation). The qualitative data (1158 statements from Year 5 pupils and 1284 statements from Year 7 pupils) were analysed and used to illustrate the main trends in respondents’ answers. The results revealed that Latvian pupils have: a high level of understanding of the process of moral character development; a certain maturity in their decision of becoming better persons, which needs to be supported both in the family and at school; a mitigated practical involvement in their own moral development; and a quite strong emerging moral identity. This article offers a unique perspective on Latvian early adolescents’ views on their moral growth. These findings can be particularly useful for parents, teachers, and school leaders who would wish to support pupils’ moral development, and they are also an important contribution to the development and strengthening of moral education in the Latvian education system.