Generation Z: Understanding the Moral Characteristics of The Current Generation

Students fill the dominant generation Z, and students today are a generation that has experienced growth in line with technological advances. The number of media interventions and easy access to harmful information can hinder efforts to instill positive moral values. One of the first steps in designing and developing moral learning strategies that suit the needs of learners is to understand their moral characteristics. Therefore, this study aims to uncover the characteristics of Generation Z in terms of their moral reasoning. The study involved 63 Generation Z students and used a descriptive method, with data collection is done through a test technique known as the "moral reasoning test". The results indicate that the moral reasoning of Generation Z students tends to be at the conventional level, dominated by stage 4, followed by stage 3. In this stage, good actions are carried out by obeying obligations and respecting authority. This reflects the existence of social conformity, where individuals tend to act according to social norms to gain positive recognition from friends or other adults.