A systematic qualitative review of moral literacy development through designing

Design increasingly engages with complex social, cultural and ethical challenges, drawing attention not only to design outcomes but also to the moral development of designers themselves. This review examines how engagement in design processes contributes to moral literacy. Guided by PRISMA 2020 and the SPIDER framework, seven empirical studies (2006–25) were synthesized through reflexive thematic analysis. Three interrelated aspects were identified: design as a moral arena, which constitutes the situated context in which moral dilemmas are encountered and negotiated; embodied moral learning, which foregrounds how ethical awareness evolves through relational, affective and material engagement; and ethical reframing, which captures what values, roles and responsibilities are transformed through creative practice. The review reveals that moral literacy in design emerges not from theoretical instruction alone but through iterative cycles of reflection, action and value negotiation embedded in practice. It concludes by underscoring the implications for art and design education: cultivating ethical awareness should be recognized as a core pedagogical practice within the studio, where aesthetic inquiry and moral reflection intertwine to shape designers as critically self-aware and socially responsible practitioners.