Moral Education for Sustainable Development: Comparison of University Teachers’ Perceptions in China and Pakistan

Tahseen Asif, Ouyang Guangming, Muhammad Asif Haider, Jordi Colomer, Sumaira Kayani and Noor ul Amin
Additional contact information
Tahseen Asif: Department of Ideological and Political Education, School of Social Science, Shanghai University, Shanghai 200444, China
Ouyang Guangming: Department of Ideological and Political Education, School of Social Science, Shanghai University, Shanghai 200444, China
Muhammad Asif Haider: Beaconhouse School System, Potohar Campus, Islamabad 44000, Pakistan
Jordi Colomer: Department of Physics and Teaching Innovation Networks on Reflective and Cooperative Learning, Institute of Sciences Education, University of Girona, 17003 Girona, Spain
Sumaira Kayani: Department of Physical Education, Zhejiang University, XiXi Campus, 148 TianMuShan Road, Hangzhou 310028, China
Noor ul Amin: Faculty of Department of Education, Federal Urdu University of Arts, Science & Technology, Karachi 75300, Pakistan

Sustainability, 2020, vol. 12, issue 7, 1-20

Abstract: Sustainable development is promoted when the system of education provides the learners with an opportunity to equip themselves with moral values, skills, and competences that assist them in effecting personal and community positive changes. For this purpose, teachers play an important role as moral agents, and students consider the teacher a role model. Therefore, the understanding and beliefs of teachers regarding moral education play a pivotal role in grooming the personality of the learners. This comparative study aimed to assess the practices and beliefs of university teachers regarding moral education in China and Pakistan. A mixed-method approach was used and data analysis was performed by using an interactive model and ANOVA. Responses of twelve tertiary teachers were collected from Pakistan and China for qualitative analysis. Seven themes were constructed that categorized teachers’ practice in the classroom and their beliefs regarding moral education. For quantitative analysis, 300 teachers’ responses were collected using a validated questionnaire. The results showed that the majority of Pakistani teachers hold a conservative mindset. According to the Pakistani teachers’ perspective, sovereignty of divine laws, loyalty to the constitution of the state, and a sense of serving society were the ultimate aims of moral education. Chinese teachers were promoting a political ideology that stressed collectivism in a socialist approach, with family and social values being most relevant. Not a single teacher reported using a theoretical or research-based approach while teaching in the class. In the light of the dearth of literature, this study has implications for future research in the field of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) and Islamic Studies in higher education, as it is a longitudinal study that provided insight into how teachers’ beliefs and attitudes are shaped over time and from moral educational experiences.

Keywords: moral education; perceptions of teachers; English as a Foreign Language (EFL); Islamic Studies (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (6)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/12/7/3014/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/12/7/3014/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:12:y:2020:i:7:p:3014-:d:343313

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().