This mixed-methods study examines the proposition that teachers act first as moral educators and then as subject specialists, exploring how moral instruction relates to student moral development and academic outcomes in secondary science classrooms. Guided by objectives to describe teachers’ moral-education practices, assess relationships with student ethical reasoning and academic engagement, and explore teacher professional identity, the study sampled 18 science teachers and 384 students across seven public secondary schools in West Bengal. Independent variables included teacher emphasis on moral education and teacher training in character education; dependent variables included student moral development (ethical reasoning and prosocial behaviour), student academic outcomes (engagement and achievement), and teacher professional identity. Data collection combined teacher logs, validated student questionnaires, achievement records, classroom observations, and semi-structured teacher interviews. Quantitative analyses employed descriptive statistics, multiple regression (controlling for prior achievement, socio-economic status, and class size), and moderation/mediation tests; qualitative data were analysed using thematic coding. Illustrative findings indicate that frequent, explicit integration of values instruction predicts modest but significant gains in student prosocial behaviour and engagement (β = .28, p < .01) and small gains in subject achievement after controlling for covariates. Teacher professional identity functioned as a mediator: teachers who strongly self-identified as moral educators were more likely to align values pedagogy with subject content, which in turn correlated with student outcomes. Classroom climate and supportive school policy moderated effects, amplifying positive associations. Implications suggest that values-integrated pedagogy should be recognized in teacher training and school policy to foster both moral and academic development. Recommendations include targeted professional development, curriculum resources for values integration, and future longitudinal research to test causality.
