Effect of School System And Gender on Moral Values and Forgiveness in Pakistani School Children

Abstract

The present research was conducted to compare children studying in private and public
schools in Pakistan on forgiveness and moral values. It was hypothesized that the type of
school and gender of the child are likely to affect forgiveness and moral values in children.
A sample of 100 children with equal number of girls and boys was recruited from private
and public schools of Lahore, Pakistan. Tendency to Forgive scale (Brown, 2003), Attitude
towards Forgiveness (Berry et al., 2001) and the Moral Development Measure (Ziv, 1976)
were used for assessment. Analysis revealed that type of school and gender only showed
main effects on moral values and forgiveness. Children from private school and girls had
higher tendency to forgive, had better attitude towards forgiveness and high morality as
compared to public school children. Findings have important implications for public sector
school systems with regard to their role in moral development of children in Pakistan.