Investigating Whether Church-Based School Environment Predicts Students' Moral Identity Development and Hope for the Future

• In Event: Advances in Learning Environments Studies

Abstract

The Christian Education Health Check (CEHC) was used to assess students’ perceptions of the school level-environment unique to church schools. Structural equation modeling, involving 672 students, was used to probe theoretical relationships between CEHC scales and two student outcomes: moral identity and hope for the future. The results suggest that students’ perceptions of the degree to which the school teaches them about practical aspects of living as a Christian, affirms cultural diversity and peer connectedness, positively influences the development of a child’s moral identity. A student’s hope about the future was significantly related to the degree of peer connectedness, meaningful engagement with Biblical teaching, teaching about the world and social problems, opportunities for practical service and their moral identity.

Authors

• Felicity McLure, Charles Darwin University

• Jill M. Aldridge, Curtin University