The differences in moral judgment competence found in the different cultures permeate this discussion as a whole. However, more detailed considerations are important at this point.
According to hypothesis 3a, moral judgment competence would not correlate with years of study if the variable learning environment is not controlled. A one-factor analysis of variance shows that the effect of year of study is not statistically significant. MJT C-scores from students in their first and final years remain almost at the same level at the beginning and at the end of their studies in both cultures. This supports the idea that quality of education is a more important factor in students’ moral cognitive development than years of education.
According to hypothesis 3b, a statistically significant correlation in regard to differences among areas of study was expected. The hypothesis is confirmed and was extensively discussed in a previous item of this section. This confirmation is in agreement with the information from hypothesis 3 and 1.
With regard to hypothesis 3c, a statistically significant correlation between moral judgment competence and type of institution in Brazil was expected. Students from competitive insti-tutions in Brazil were expected to have higher C-scores than students from non-competitive ones. Results regarding cultural and educational particularities in Brazil that might interfere
6.3. MORAL JUDGMENT COMPETENCE AND CULTURE 121 with moral judgment competence are discussed in this section. It was expected that the MJT C-score varies between the cultures here investigated. However, considering that moral judg-ment competence has a cognitive foundation which reflects a structural similarity by the moral competence measure, results from different cultures can be compared. Lind (2005) defends the position that the differences encountered seem to be rather attributable to the quality of education than to the quantity (years) or to the culture itself. The present author suggests that differences found relate to an effect of the learning environment in each culture and they reflect, in addition, different levels ofmaturityregarding moral judgment competence.
Moral judgment competence correlates with institution type: participants from high competi-tive institutions have higher C-scores (C-score difference = 10 points). The correlation between moral competence and type of institution confirms data from Bataglia (1998 and 2001) with small samples. In her first study, participants were psychology students from a high competi-tive university (C-score 40,7). In her second, participants were psychology students from a low competitive institution (C-score 14,8). At this point, the following questions should be asked:
• Do students from competitive institutions maintain their higher moral judgment compe-tence levels during the time of their study?
Results from this study show that students who maintain or increase those levels are the ones who present a correlation between moral competence with role-taking and guided reflection opportunities. In Brazil, this correlation was found only among psychology students from competitive institutions. In the German-speaking sample, this correlation was found among psychology students and also in one group of medical students. High competitive institutions per se are not responsible for fomenting higher C-scores. In Brazil, medical schools are very competitive, with a mean of 35 candidates per place. However, moral judgment competence levels from Brazilian-Portuguese and German-speaking medical students present a regression when comparing first and final years of study. A small regression was also found among Brazilian business administration students from high competitive universities, where the involvement with opportunities for role-taking and guided reflection was low at the beginning and continued low to end of the program. They are, however, mostly part-time students who work full-time. The possibilities for such programs to implement more activities where students take real responsibilities are more limited compared to the medical school in all different countries, where students attend real full-time programs.
• Do non-competitive institutions contribute to the moral development of their students?
Students in psychology and business administration from non-competitive institutions in Brazil did not change significantly their moral judgment competence levels by the end of their pro-grams. Effect sizes of 0,07 for both cases show no correlation, which indicates perhaps that
the decrease of 1,5 points in the C-scores, while not great enough to be statistically significant, should be studied further. These results could be compared with the ones from business admin-istration students from high competitive universities in which C-scores decreased in 5,5 points (effect size = 0,21). This could add evidence to the statement supporting the idea that the quality of the program is not necessarily related to the structure of the higher education sys-tem. Lower competitive institutions did not contribute to improvement in the moral judgment competence for psychology and business administration students; as well, high competitive institutions did not contribute to fostering moral competence among medical and business administration students.
Our finding, that the specific learning environment rather than the educational institution per se is accountable for the learning outcome (i.e. moral judgment competence) agrees well with the observation by Pascarella and Terenzini (1991): “The traditional and publicly accepted indicators of college ‘quality’ (e.g., student body selectivity, prestige measures, educational resources, large libraries and scholarly faculty) tell us little about the quality and impact of the undergraduate education a student receives” (p. 458). What is called “quality” could also be understood as “measures of institutional advantage”. This can be demonstrated when data about social characteristics from Brazilian students enrolled in both types of institutions — high and low competitive — are interpreted. Real quality seems to reside in what is done programmatically more than in what resources an institution has. Pascarella & Terenzini’s review showed that students from small private liberal arts colleges in the USA had higher gains in moral judgment than students from large public universities.
The participating students from competitive universities achieved higher moral judgment com-petence scores. They have more opportunities for role-taking and guided reflection. They are enrolled mostly in full-time programs (medical school and psychology). From those, 35% work, holding mostly part-times jobs. Almost 80% from the non-competitive institutions students (psychology and business administration) work full-time and study in the evening. There is a considerable difference in regard to their parents’ level of education: 61% of the parents of students in competitive universities completed higher education, whereas only 15,1% of the par-ents of studpar-ents from low competitive universities did. The background considering secondary education is also remarkable: 23% from high competitive universities students come from the public secondary system, as opposed to 47% in the lower competitive ones. This confirms the traditional tendency in Brazil, where students who had access to better secondary education (private) are most prepared to succeed in the entrance examinations for the competitive insti-tutions. In addition, students from high competitive institutions are younger (by an average of 6 years) than the other ones, which means, students from low competitive institutions tend to join the work force before beginning a higher education program.
It seems that a private high school can better prepare students for entrance examinations at
6.4. REGRESSION IN MORAL JUDGMENT COMPETENCE 123