Table 1.

Summary of the three conceptions of sociomoral learning through narrative fiction

Literary stances
Themes	Efferent	Expressive	Critical-analytic
Learning mechanism	Direct instructions about “right” and “wrong” behavior through literary examples and models	Imagination of the perspectives and emotions of fictional characters	Argumentative dialogues with peers about initial responses to narrative fiction
Developmental outcomes	Accumulation of abstract moral propositions; culturally conforming social behavior	ToM, empathy	Social reasoning, interpersonal competences
Type of narrative fiction	“Classic” stories with straightforward moral messages	Narrative fiction of high literary quality (literary fiction)	Narrative fiction with complexity and ambiguity
Instructional principles	Strong didactic guidance toward a single "right" text interpretation	Eliciting spontaneous and individual responses to literary fiction through creative tasks and peer dialogues	Supporting argumentative dialogues with peers; critical examination of initial responses
Educational relationships	Asymmetric and hierarchical text-child and adult–child relationships; adults as moral experts, children as moral novices	Symmetric adult–child relationships; peers as important source for sociomoral learning	Symmetric and flexible power relationships in the classroom; peers as important source for sociomoral learning