{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,26]],"date-time":"2025-10-26T14:24:05Z","timestamp":1761488645604,"version":"3.41.2"},"reference-count":31,"publisher":"Emerald","issue":"1","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2011,3,1]],"date-time":"2011-03-01T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1298937600000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/www.emerald.com\/insight\/site-policies"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":[],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2011,3,1]]},"abstract":"<jats:sec><jats:title content-type=\"abstract-heading\">Purpose<\/jats:title><jats:p>The purpose of this paper is to examine whether, when teaching professional ethics, the educational interventions have any effect on improving students' moral decisions. One method often used to measure change is the well\u2010established defining issues test \u2013 an American test based on Kohlberg's stage theory.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title content-type=\"abstract-heading\">Design\/methodology\/approach<\/jats:title><jats:p>Using this test, two before\u2010and\u2010after studies were carried out on cross\u2010cultural cohorts of first year computing undergraduates which both received the same lectures, debates and moral\u2010decision\u2010making exercises.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title content-type=\"abstract-heading\">Findings<\/jats:title><jats:p>One study showed a significant increase in moral judgment whilst the other showed a decrease (although not significant). Both studies indicated mean scores far below the American averages.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title content-type=\"abstract-heading\">Research limitations\/implications<\/jats:title><jats:p>As both studies involved relatively small sample sizes, the results are indicative rather than conclusive. However, they bring to light issues associated with the test, in both American and non\u2010American research, indicating that lower than average mean scores could be due to cross\u2010cultural and situational variations.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title content-type=\"abstract-heading\">Practical implications<\/jats:title><jats:p>The paper questions the premise of stage theory as a method for measurement within a cross\u2010cultural context; and the usefulness of measuring one component of moral development (moral judgment) in isolation.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title content-type=\"abstract-heading\">Originality\/value<\/jats:title><jats:p>The paper proposes that tests based on more discipline\u2010specific skills, rather than stage theory, would be of greater use in evaluating student levels of moral development.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1108\/14779961111123205","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2011,3,5]],"date-time":"2011-03-05T07:05:27Z","timestamp":1299308727000},"page":"20-33","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":4,"title":["Moral judgment in computing undergraduates"],"prefix":"10.1108","volume":"9","author":[{"given":"Suzy","family":"Jagger","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"140","reference":[{"key":"key2022030920402668700_b1","unstructured":"Ahmed, R.A. and Gielen, U.P. 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