Moral education and societal development: Is the reintroduction of social education ethics the panacea for society’s moral challenges?

Abstract

Societies worldwide are faced with the challenge of increased social ills that were previously unheard of. Commonly reported in the media are cases of drug abuse, suicide, homicide, rape, teenage pregnancy and rampant engagement in corruption, an indicator that something is amiss in the value system of the young people. While some scholars have argued that these activities may be a rational response to social conditions, it is the contention of this paper that if young people were equipped with moral education, perhaps they would make moral decisions. Traditionally the role of providing Moral Education (ME) was the preserve of parents and society but this has changed with the times and so school is increasingly being looked at to provide solutions in terms of imparting a value system to the young people. Currently in the Kenyan school system, values are given very little attention while subjects like religious education for both the Christians and Muslims are relied on to offer more in terms of moral education. Yet despite the existence of both Islamic religious education and Christian religious education as subjects in the education system, moral standards have consistently deteriorated. This positional paper makes a case for the reintroduction of Social Education and Ethics (SEE) as a subject at all levels of education to specifically focus on moral education. The paper will argue out this thesis informed by literature and studies. The discussion will provide useful information for Education policy developers concerning moral education and the development of society. It is hoped that a re-introduction of a subject focusing on moral education will equip young people with the right predispositions, attitudes and reasoning that will lead them to develop a sense of right and wrong.