Moral and Ethical Education of Schoolchildren: Problems and Solutions

Moral and ethical education of schoolchildren is one of the key objectives of the modern educational system. In the era of digitalisation, globalisation, and rapid social transformations, the formation of stable moral guidelines among the younger generation becomes an especially pressing issue. The school, alongside the family, plays a decisive role in shaping the child’s personality, value system, and moral principles. However, under conditions of a crisis in family upbringing, it is precisely educational institutions that become the principal environment where a child may acquire moral guidelines and experience of positive interaction. Therefore, the search for effective solutions to the problems of moral and ethical education gains particular importance. The novelty of the study lies in presenting a comprehensive review of the challenges of contemporary moral and ethical education and possible solutions. The subject of the study is the problems of modern moral and ethical education exemplified by Russian society. The object of the study is representatives of the new generation of school-age society. The study aims to actualise the problem of contemporary moral and ethical education of children and adolescents in the society of the twenty-first century. In the course of the study, both general scientific methods, such as analysis and synthesis, induction and deduction, the comparative method, and the systemic approach, as well as selected psychological and pedagogical methods were employed. The author presents an analysis of the genesis of the issue of contemporary moral and ethical education, a comprehensive review of the problems of moral and ethical upbringing of the younger generation in modern society, and situational examples from social practice that clearly illustrate certain evident problems in the moral and ethical education of school-age children and adolescents, along with the development of updated pathways towards resolving this issue. The author concludes that addressing the problems of moral and ethical education is not merely a pedagogical, but a national task, upon the success of which the future of society depends. Sustainable development is possible only if society is able to foster a generation capable not only of successfully adapting to the challenges of modernity but also of maintaining fidelity to moral ideals, which constitute the foundation of a strong, cohesive, and sustainable society.