Introduction and goal: In today’s world, the development of critical thinking skills and moral education holds particular importance, as both play a vital role in students’ intellectual, behavioral, and social growth. Moreover, spiritual intelligence, defined as the ability to understand deeper meanings and values in life, may serve as a mediating factor in strengthening the relationship between moral education and critical thinking. The present study aimed to investigate the mediating role of spiritual intelligence in the relationship between moral education and critical thinking among lower secondary school students in Nourabad Mamasani.
Research methodology: The study employed a correlational research design. The statistical population included all lower secondary school students in Nourabad (N = 1500) during the academic year 2024–2025. A total sample of 310 students was selected using a multistage cluster random sampling method. The research instruments demonstrated acceptable reliability, with Cronbach’s alpha coefficients of 0.93 for spiritual intelligence, 0.79 for moral education, and 0.79 for critical thinking.
Findings: The results indicated significant relationships between spiritual intelligence and critical thinking, spiritual intelligence and moral education, as well as between moral education and critical thinking. Path analysis further revealed that spiritual intelligence plays a significant mediating role in the relationship between moral education and students’ critical thinking.
Conclusion:. Spiritual intelligence plays a significant mediating role in the relationship between moral education and students’ critical thinking. In other words, moral education can exert its greatest impact on fostering critical thinking when accompanied by the reinforcement of spiritual intelligence. Therefore, spiritual intelligence, as a mediating variable, has the capacity to enhance the effect of moral education on improving critical thinking and can be considered one of the key factors in educational and pedagogical planning.
Keywords: Spiritual Intelligence, Moral Education, Critical Thinking, Students.