Abstract
In competitive education test scores and scientometric indicators are
‘the alpha and omega’. This can be mis-educative for healthcare
students’ moral competence. A pilot research study with n=114
Polish healthcare students was conducted to examine how their moral
competence development was affected by learning environment with the
focus on competition. Data were obtained with the standard Moral
Competence Test. Results. The sample allowed the identification
of a regress in moral competence during students’ pre-clinical
curriculum, and then progress during their clinical curriculum. Also, a
reverse gender gap effect concerning participants’ C-scores (C for moral
competence) was observed, but no significant segmentation effect was
noticed. Explanations. Scholarly literature usually suggests a
decrease or stagnation of medical and healthcare students’ C-scores
(particularly during their clinical curriculum) resulting from, e.g.,
competitive trends in higher education. Polish tertiary education only
tries hard to increase its competitiveness and position in national and
international rankings. This delay effect seems beneficial for the
development of students’ moral competence against trends in moral
competence education during medical education documented between 1983
and 2021, and additionally discussed in the following article.