The effects of moral reasoning educational program on the moral judgement indicators of athletes participating in elite collegiate sports

Summary
Throughout the last 50 years, researchers have found through empirical research that moral reasoning is a continual process that, under the right conditions, develops consistently throughout one’s lifetime. In addition, these researchers also note that curricular content and the type of pedagogical strategies affect moral reasoning either positively or negatively. However, only a few give explicit information about particular methodological techniques (Culp, 2012; Grant, 2012, Hornsby, 2007). Little research describes the best pedagogical method to enhance moral development.

Methodology

The design of this study was a quasi‐experimental with a pre-test, intervention, post-test design. The participants were all presently or formerly competitive athletes. All participants took a pre-test of the EAMCI, an instrument to measure moral reasoning about doping in sport.  The intervention was an online curriculum consisting of 11 lessons. Each lesson had four essential parts. A general reading, a video, a set of multiple choice questions in which if a poor answer was chosen the participant was forced to re-do the question, and a post lesson assessment with instructor response and feedback.  At the conclusion of the 11 lessons, the participants took a post-test assessment of their moral reasoning about doping in sport.

Results

The written assignments and discussions appear to foster a relationship with the instructor on an academic level through online assessments and the reflections allowed the athletes to discuss and share their experiences and thoughts on a deeper, more personal level. The athletes became more engaged in their discussions and in their writing during the progression of the intervention. The writing produced by the athletes began with surface level analyses of the issues presented and progressed to deep reflection, application of moral principles, and thoughtful, complex decision‐making. The online reflections began with short responses from the athletes typically one to two sentences in length; however, in the last few online reflections the athletes provided lengthy, reflective, and personal stories that showed their growth in reasoning and understanding of the importance of honor and integrity in sport. See appendix C of the full report for examples of the athlete’s online reflective responses. We are assured that this modality of an informal, online setting is a key aspect of the significant growth we witnessed in this group of athletes.

Significance for Clean Sport

The results of the intervention indicate that the online curriculum appears effective in enhancing the moral reasoning of young athletes in regards to ergogenic aids and doping in sport. Furthermore, have been shown that the intervention increases interest and engagement in moral reasoning of young athletes in regards to ergogenic aids in sport. Throughout this intervention, the athletes’ reasoning skills have been tracked quantitatively through the data provided here and qualitatively through the quality of their work alongside their oral and written responses to issues regarding doping and sport.