In addition to having academic knowledge and clinical skills, health professionals need to be caring, ethical practitioners able to understand the emotional concerns of their patients and to effect change. The purpose of this study was to determine whether emotional-social intelligence, caring, leadership and moral judgment of health science…

In an evening seminar held in the Illinois Math and Science Academy (IMSA) auditorium, Lisa Anderson-Shaw, Director of Clinical Ethics Consulting Service at the University of Illinois Medial Center, posed a scenario that inspired a thirty-minute discussion of contemporary bioethics, during which speaker and students untangled issues of patient…

The aim of this study was to clarify the relationships between empathy variables, personal values and moral reasoning. The impact of empathic concern, perspective taking and personal values measured by the Portrait Value Questionnaire on moral schemas measured by the Defining Issues Test was investigated among 599 students from a university of…

Understanding the developmental issues first-time college students face is critical for scholars and educators interested in learning and development. This purpose of this study was to investigate the differential impact of first-year college experiences on the moral reasoning development of 1,469 students in moral transition versus those in moral…

This study examined undergraduate information technology (IT) students' (N = 122) level of ethical reasoning and decision making at a Midwestern university. The purpose was to determine whether IT students' level of ethical reasoning provided information about the degree of their ethical decision making. The Defining Issues Test-2 (DIT-2) was used…

Discusses the Defining Issues Test as an invaluable tool for research and practice in moral education. Explains that because such instruments are based upon previous developmental research, they are unsuitable for research on moral development. Argues that these measures stand in the way of generating new knowledge. (CAJ)

Draws on evidence from Alverno College's (Milwaukee, Wisconsin) longitudinal research to make the case that the Defining Issues Test (DIT) is best characterized as measuring growth in moral reasoning rather than a broader construct of moral development. Challenges current DIT theory, but is consistent with prevailing interpretations of growth on…

Presents a study in which students from Kuwait were given Rest's Defining Issues Test (DIT) to measure the development of moral judgment skills. Explains that results were compared with scales measuring student perception of parental behavior. Concludes that the DIT may not be a valid test for development of moral judgment in an Arab culture. (DK)