Exploring Moral Development: empirical and intervention applications informed by Situational Action Theory in schools.

Session Submission Type: Pre-arranged Panel

Abstract

This panel brings together an academic empirical study, and the development, implementation, evaluation, and cross-cultural translation of a practical school-based intervention application (SATNAV and SATNAV:Compass), all informed by Situational Action Theory (SAT), to explore moral development in settings across the UK, Hong Kong, and China. Collectively, the presentations examine how moral education shapes adolescents’ moral frameworks and influences their propensity for crime and rule-breaking and how such education can be delivered and evaluated in schools.

Together, these contributions provide innovative, cross-cultural insights into the processes and outcomes of moral education. They underscore the critical role of tailored, empirically evaluated interventions in fostering prosocial values and reducing adolescent rule-breaking, offering valuable guidance for both academic inquiry and practical policy development.

Subtopic

• Topic 1: Perspectives on Crime and Criminal Behavior / Development and Life Course Perspectives (Development and Life Course Criminology WG)

Chair

• Beth Hardie, University of Cambridge

Individual Presentations

• Exploring moral education in Hong Kong: A test of Situational Action Theory’s Developmental Ecological Action Model - Katie Tu, University of Cambridge

• Introducing the SATNAV programme of change: developing individual morality and moral contexts in schools - Beth Hardie, University of Cambridge; Neema Trivedi-Bateman, Loughborough University

• Early impact indicators from several multi-school trials of the SATNAV:Compass programme of morality change to reduce youth antisocial behaviour and crime - Neema Trivedi-Bateman, Loughborough University; Beth Hardie, University of Cambridge

• Adaptation and translation of SATNAV:Compass Moral Education Program for implementation in China - Xiaoya Xun, Shenzhen University; Neema Trivedi-Bateman, Loughborough University; Beth Hardie, University of Cambridge