Shaping Personal Morality in Context: An Analytic Review of Moral Education Interventions for Rule-Breaking through Situational Action Theory

Objectives: Two analytic reviews are planned drawing on the literature search described in this protocol: one on interventions targeting personal morality within the home context, and one on interventions targeting personal morality within the school context. Each analytic review will (1) collect and analyse literature focusing on how interventions in the respective context target personal morality as it is conceptualized in SAT; (2) examine the extent to which they do so through key mechanisms of moral education and moral engagement (the application of personal morality to the moral context) as specified in SAT; (3) evaluate the link between engaging these mechanisms and interventions’ effectiveness; and (4) explore the implications for enhancing interventions’ efficacy and impact. Background: Crime is an enduring social problem, yet we lack a clear and shared understanding of what causes it and how to effectively prevent it. Situational Action theory (SAT) is a general, dynamic and mechanism-based explanation of crime as moral action (acts of rule-breaking) that has been empirically tested and supported across many international contexts (see Hardie & Rose 2025). SAT identifies personal morality as a key personal characteristic that shapes people’s perception of action alternatives when they encounter different moral contexts, and is fundamental in determining whether or not people see crime as an acceptable alternative. This review explores if personal morality, the process of moral education through which it is acquired, and its engagement in action settings as specified in SAT provide a foundation for current intervention practices targeting crime and its causes in family and school contexts, and if this can enhance future intervention practices. Despite growing interest in moral education interventions in school and family settings, the evidence base remains fragmented, and no synthesis has examined this literature through the analytical lens of SAT. Methods: A systematic search of electronic databases (PsycINFO, Web of Science, Scopus, ERIC, Criminal Justice Abstracts, CENTRAL) will identify relevant studies. Studies of any design reporting primary data on interventions targeting moral development will be eligible, with the proposed reviews focusing on interventions involving children, adolescents, or young adults in school or family settings. Data will be extracted and coded according to a pre-specified framework drawing on SAT constructs. A narrative synthesis will be conducted following SWiM guidelines; meta-analysis is not planned given the anticipated heterogeneity of interventions and outcome measures. Risk of bias will be assessed using the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool (MMAT). Expected conclusions: The review is expected to identify a range of interventions targeting moral education and moral engagement that vary in their theoretical grounding, target mechanisms, and delivery contexts. Applying SAT as an analytical lens is anticipated to reveal gaps between current intervention practice and theory-informed understanding of how personal morality develops and is applied to moral contexts. The review will provide a platform for improved, theoretically coherent crime prevention strategies centred on moral education and moral engagement.