Moral education in secondary education: A systematic review of academic trends

Abstract

Moral education in contemporary educational institutions develops in a scenario of axiological pluralism, in which different understandings coexist about the foundation and purpose of the moral formation of adolescents. The objective of this article was to identify and systematize the main currents present in recent academic literature on moral education in secondary school students, as well as the role attributed to the family, culture, educational institution and religious organizations in the formation of moral conscience. To this end, a systematic review was carried out following the general guidelines of PRISMA. The search was executed in the databases Scopus, Web of Science and SciELO, with the keywords "moral education", "moral relativism", "Catholic morality" and "moral development". After a process of four successive filters—by database, by subject area, by temporality (2019-2026) and by direct relationship with the topic—20 peer-reviewed articles were included. The analysis identified three currents present in the literature and in the theoretical framework consulted: one that questions the foundations of traditional morality from rationalist and vitalist perspectives; one that addresses moral education from secular frameworks focused on cognitive-moral development; and one that bases it on Catholic morality and natural law. It is concluded that these currents coexist without a single consensus in the literature reviewed, and that the included studies coincide in pointing out the family, the educational institution and the community as decisive actors in moral formation, regardless of the evaluative framework adopted.