Led by ACU’s Dr Geetanjali Basarkod from the Institute for Positive Psychology and Education, the review and meta-analysis shows that stand alone ethics education is overwhelmingly effective in terms of its ability to craft good citizens who consider how their actions have an impact on others.

Said to be the largest study of its kind spanning four decades and involving nearly 13,000 students from across 20 countries, the researcher says the analysis found that ethics education really does work.

Namely, ethics classes helped students recognise the presence of ethical issues (moral sensitivity), give better reasons about the right thing to do (moral judgement), and be more willing to prioritise doing the right thing (moral motivation), Basarkod explains.

To those that argue teaching a child ethics should be a parental responsibility, Basarkod says she agrees to a large extent.

“I mean, I think it's our responsibility as parents, obviously, to help our kids be better people.

“But in schools, they have such a wonderful opportunity to be exposed to different viewpoints and different perspectives that as parents, we can't give them - we have our own views.

“And as much as we might try and encourage them to think for themselves, it would be wonderful for them to be exposed to different perspectives and different ideas in an environment that's safe to do so.”

At a time of extreme global challenges, the researcher says formal ethics education that’s grounded in fostering open-mindedness has never been more critical.

“I feel like we're getting so siloed in our own viewpoints, so then for students to have the opportunity in a safe environment in schools, where they're led through purposeful discussions - where there doesn't necessarily have to be a right answer, but they're just exposed to that process of discussion and debating with each other with an open mind – would be so useful.”

Ethics has been part of the national Australian Curriculum for more than a decade, Basarkod says, but as a general capability it is technically to taught be all teachers – but in practice no-one is responsible for teaching these skills. 

“I feel like if I was teaching Mathematics, it would be difficult to also include those sorts of (ethical education components) while I'm teaching. And teachers have a lot on their plate, and to add another thing that isn't ... easily integrated in the traditional sense and obviously would require additional training and all of that…”

She points to Australian research that found even teachers who value general capabilities, such as ethics, struggle to teach them explicitly.

In most Australian states, the only dedicated ethics offering in schools is during optional religious instruction. This means that students whose parents opt out of this miss out.

Basarkod is now calling on education ministers to make ethics a subject that’s taught in its own right.

This would be of huge benefit to our society at large, she suggests.

“To have those dedicated classes would mean that students are getting these sorts of lessons every week, year upon year. And from a young age, they are able to engage in these discussions that might be difficult to do so.

“And then when you get out of school and you're at university and in the real world, you take those skills with you…

“Other research has shown that moral reasoning skills reduces delinquent behaviour and people are more likely to help others. And so, [there is a lot that] translates out into the real world as well.”

Australian states could consider a volunteer-led model, such as the one in NSW, which is the only jurisdiction that offers a standalone ethics program called Primary Ethics.

The way ethics is taught was also important, the study found.

Classes that were based around student discussions were effective at improving moral outcomes, while those relying solely on lectures or readings did not show clear evidence of positive impact.

“Evidence from past research suggests that discussions can encourage students to engage more deeply and actively with their learning, while also enabling collaboration and understanding others’ perspectives,” Basarkod said

According to the researcher, addressing society's greatest challenges, such as climate change, requires us to act as ‘moral agents’.

“Ethical interventions within schools and universities have the potential to cultivate ethical and moral attributes in millions of people,” she said.