Nel Noddings, Lee Jacks Professor of Education, Emerita, at Stanford University, agrees with Professors Lapsley and Woodbury that moral aims are central to education. She has argued that the main aim of education is to produce better people--better in "all aspects of a complete life: moral, physical, social, vocational, aesthetic,…

Improved teacher morale and improved learning for all students go hand in hand. But what, exactly, do we mean by student learning? And what is the aim of this learning? According to Nel Noddings, the success of our efforts to boost teacher morale through greater collegiality, creativity, and continuity will depend on how we answer these questions.…

There is a widespread movement today to prepare all students for college, and it is promoted in the name of democracy. I argue here that such a move actually puts our democracy at risk by forcing students into programs that do not interest them and depriving them of courses at which they might succeed. We risk losing the vision of democracy that…

Care theory is used to describe an approach to global ethics and moral education. After a brief introduction to care ethics, the theory is applied to global ethics. The paper concludes with a discussion of moral education for personal, political, and global domains.

From its inception in the early 1980s, interest in care ethics has grown rapidly. The language of care ethics has arisen largely from women's experience, but that is not to say that it is inaccessible to men. It does suggest, however, some beneficial changes in male experience and education, just as women's participation in mathematics--long…

Michael Slote's very interesting work on moral sentimentalism and moral education raises some important questions on the meaning of empathy, the limitations of "inductions", and the development of moral education from the perspective of care ethics. These questions are addressed in this commentary. (Contains 5 notes.)

In this essay, Nel Noddings calls upon U.S. public schools to equip students with a more nuanced understanding of religious vocabulary, history, and ideas. Examining recent books by outspoken atheists including Richard Dawkins, Daniel Dennett, Sam Harris, and Christopher Hitchens, Noddings argues that schools should help students "communicate…

This 72-item bibliography presents an overview of publications related to moral development. The listing includes books and articles related to individual moral character development and how schools are involved in the development process. (EH)

Examines Dewey's claim that moral education refers to both the conduct of education (a morally defensible form of education) and the product of education (a moral citizenry) as expressed in his essay "Ethical Principles Underlying Education." Maintains that Dewey did not consider adequately the need for specifically moral criteria for…

The author of this article contends that current efforts at school reform--ostensibly designed to increase equality of outcomes--may actually be undermining democracy by undervaluing the wide range of talents required in 21st-century America. Many policy makers today argue that all students should have a standard curriculum that will prepare them…

The concept of morality in American schools needs revising. Caring should be the moral orientation to teaching and the aim of moral education. Teachers and students should spend more time modeling, dialoguing, practicing, and confirming so that trust will develop. This model can also encourage collaborative inquiry between teachers and…

Through a feminist perspective of caring, this article examines the differences between masculine and feminine views on good and evil. Argues that analysis and articulation of the feminine view may contribute significantly to an understanding of moral issues and a reformulation of educational practices. (Author/DH)

Examines three arguments supporting the status quo in education and society: the poor lack values and receive what they deserve, the rich are entitled to resources they accumulate, and change would require government intervention that could cause socialism. Solutions must be acceptable to a society deficient in generosity requiring self-sacrifice.…

An alternative to character education is care ethics. The ethics of care can be seen as fundamentally relational, not individual-agent-based in the way of virtue ethics, and the ethics of care is more indirect than character education. After an introductory chapter that outlines the similarities and differences between character education and care…

The public schools in the US should go beyond teaching fundamental skills in a democratic society. The teachers should be allowed to interact with students as whole persons and new policies should be developed that treats the schools as a whole community because the future of the children and democracy depends on them.