Katerina Mouratidou

Physical education and moral development: An intervention programme to promote moral reasoning through physical education in high school students:

Moral development is one of the goals of physical education (PE). However, few programmes have been implemented to investigate how moral development is promoted in PE settings. This study was designed in order to explore the effective ness of a six-week specially designed moral development intervention in the PE domain in high school students, and to examine whether moral reasoning differs between males and females. The interventions design was based on the creation of a task-orientated motivation climate and on reciprocal teaching style. The sample (n= 157) was assigned to control (n= 80) and experimental (n= 77) groups. At the beginning and end of the intervention the Moral Judgment Test was applied. The results revealed that the experimental group exhibited statistically greater moral reasoning after the intervention compared to the control group; however, no significant gender differences were found. These findings indicate that an appropriate design of PE could support moral development.

Determinants of athletes’ moral competence: the role of demographic characteristics and sport-related perceptions

Abstract The aim of the present study was to examine whether demographic characteristics and perceptions regarding sport-ability and sport-league affect one’s moral competence. A total of 685 athletes from five different sports participated in the study. The moral competence test was used, in order to assess players’ moral competence. Also, players’ sport-related perceptions and demographic data were reported. The ANOVAs revealed that athletes of individual sports and sports with no and/or low physical contact scored significantly higher in moral competence compared to team sport athletes who compete in high-contact sports. Moreover, players’ age, education, sport experience and perceived sport ability were found to play a significant role in moral development, while their level of competition, and gender did not have a significant effect on their morality. Overall, results demonstrated that several demographic characteristics and sport-related perceptions should be taken into account when interpreting ones’ moral profile.