The Role of Academic Education on the Development of Iranian EFL Learners’ Moral Competency

Abstract

This study aimed at investigating the moral competency of university students majoring in English literature. To this end, four hundred university students were selected. In the first phase of this study, they were asked to complete MJ test developed and validated by Lind (1998). The results of a One-Way ANOVA showed that C-scores (consistency score) of students significantly increased during the four-year period of university study. In the second phase, to investigate the situation most likely to affect students’ moral growth, 60 students were invited for a semi-structured interview. They were the ones with the high and low MJ scores. The interviews revealed that there were five situations of family, friends, reading books, media and classroom activities where they had found the chance to express their ideas freely or at least had the chance to see specimen of self-expression and logical reasoning. In the third phase of the study, students were required to complete FAMC test to examine the pattern of factors affecting moral competency of students. The result of  a Two-Way ANOVA showed that both the year of study and the five aforementioned situations could significantly affect the cognitive and affective layers of making moral decisions.