LETTERS: When I embarked on my post-graduate education, which included master, doctoral and post-doctoral studies, I challenged myself to research matters that were close to my heart, yet were global or national issues worth researching.
For my master's research, I focused on using real-life moral dilemmas to get students involved in Moral Education classes.
This was an eye-opener for me as a researcher because what was in the syllabus and textbooks did not excite the students.
The research participants, who were 16-year-old adolescents, were concerned about matters related to their growth and development (biological, social and spiritual).
When global issues were included in the textbook, it became a social science subject for students.
I continued to research on the growth and development gap in my doctoral studies, focusing on dilemmas that young people faced and how they resolved them.
It was another eye-opener because out of the more than 20 dilemmas that the students provided, only one was related to nature and environment.
All the other moral dilemmas were related to the self, self and parents, sibling rivalry, peers and study-related dilemmas.
During the real-life moral dilemma discussions, the participants said they felt more comfortable speaking about their dilemmas with strangers or siblings rather than their parents or elders.
That research was conducted almost two decades ago. With online platforms now, young people are more friendly with the virtual world rather than the real world at home.
I call on researchers who are IT savvy to focus on how young people use these platforms when resolving their moral dilemmas.
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR DR VISHALACHE BALAKRISHNAN
Director, Centre for Research in International and Comparative Education (CRICE), Coordinator of SULAM@Service Learning, Universiti Malaya
The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect those of the New Straits Times