An examination of the moral judgment development of contemporary 4-11 year-old children according to Piaget's theory of moral judgment development

In this research, development of the moral judgment of 4-11 year-old children in today's context was examined according to Piaget's theory of moral judgment development. The study was conducted in the districts of Uskudar, Kagithane, Kadikoy, Basaksehir, and Esenyurt in Istanbul, Ferizli in Sakarya, Izmit in Kocaeli, and Yenimahalle in Ankara. A total of 100 children, consisting of 52 boys and 48 girls, participated in the study. The children were divided into groups of 20 each based on their ages: 4-5 year-olds, 6-7 year-olds, 8-9 year-olds in the same groups, and 10 and 11 year-olds in individual groups. The moral judgment levels of 4-11 year-old children were determined using a personal information form and a moral judgment scale prepared by Sözer Çapan (2005). This research utilized a quantitative research method called relational scanning prototype. The data for the study were collected by the researcher in April 2023, and the necessary permissions were obtained. During this process, a personal story was narrated to each child, and specific questions were asked. Subsequently, the "Moral Judgment Scale (MJS)" was filled out based on the responses. The application took an average of 20-25 minutes for each child. The data obtained from children in the 4-11 age range were analyzed using the IBM SPSS program. Descriptive statistics regarding the moral judgment scale were conducted in line with the sub-problems of our research. T-tests and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) were performed to determine whether the scores obtained by children aged 4-11 who participated in the study differed in terms of gender, age, presence of siblings, and educational level of parents.