The Universal Scholar Journal

Abstract

This article makes the case that adolescents' moral views are mostly established in their families, which are viewed as moral ecosystems. Based on a doctoral study of 300 Class IX students in the Chhatrapati Sambhaji nagar District of Maharashtra, it demonstrates that adolescent moral orientation is consistently and strongly correlated with the relational quality of family life, with correlations ranging from 0.75 to 0.85 for each subgroup under investigation. The rural-urban gap was the only demographic axis that yielded significant differences, with rural students reporting both higher moral values and healthier family settings, while the larger dispersion of urban moral scores suggested a more fragmented moral ecosystem. There were no discernible variations in each variable based on gender or type of school administration. The National Education Policy of 2020's family-centered concept of value education is given empirical support by the pattern, which places the household - rather than the institution-as the primary determinant of character.

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How Families Shape Student Moral Values