Effect of Study Circle on Moral Attitudes of Filipino College Students

Abstract

The study sought to find out the effect of study circle on the moral values of Filipino psychology students of Samar State University, to identify probable external factors, and to develop an improved study circle material to use in this inquiry. The study is anchored on the interrelated theories of cognitive, affective and social potentials as a way to achieve moral and social learning set forth by Kohlberg, Fraenkel, Raths, and Durkheim that occurs spontaneously within the individual. Utilizing the method of triangulation composed of qualitative and quantitative approaches to research, the study examined the process of participation in religious scripture-based study material resulting in the transformation of the person’s moral attitude. The findings revealed that participants in the study circle developed better moral attitudes and perception from moderate to strong moral attitude. It also showed that attendance and profile variates of age, sex, family income, occupation, and religion did not correlate to the moral attitude level of the respondents. This implied that participation in the study circle and the usage of the study material were the only factors that caused the significant difference in the mean score, and consequently, the leveling up of participants’ moral attitude. The number of participants in the discussions and activities from start to the last session improved from few to almost all, and the qualitative data generated through focus group discussion (FGD) and observation revealed highly favorable comments by respondents on various elements of the program.