The Moral Education: Literature Review of Its Development from Past to Present

Abstract

In a broad sense, moral education refers to all activities that purposefully and systematically exert influence on members of society in terms of politics, ideology, and morality. The purpose of this study is to expose Chinese moral education. This literature review synthesizes the paper on moral education from a historical view, pros and cons of moral development across K-12 and higher education. From a historical perspective, moral education in China falls heir to Confucianism ideology, synchronously reconciling the recent national development and situation. The changes are probed in K-12 and universities as moral education. The highlights and limitations in each period will be discussed. In conclusion, moral education in China is at the introductory period, as it intergrades the traditional value meanwhile transfers the new era of moral standards. The moral education in different periods schools from kindergartens to colleges are diverse in terms of moral purpose. Finally, this paper intends to provide the implications in policy, practice, and research regarding morality practice.