Discusses character education as a component of the middle school curriculum. Considers a character analysis technique that allows teachers to assess students' values and needs. Presents curriculum application strategies for implementing the program. (JPB)

David Carr (2002) has argued against the use of developmental theories as a basis for curriculum development in moral education. Although we find common ground with some aspects of Carr's arguments, we disagree with several of his criticisms of the cognitive-developmental approach to moral education. He confuses romantic ideology (as espoused by…

Criticizes Piaget's theory of moral development. The author argues that Piaget's equilibrium concept does not adequately account for moral development. Because no evidence supports the theoretical sequence of moral developmental stages, he concludes that Piaget's theory is not a useful foundation for the design of moral education curriculum. (AM)

After giving a brief description of Kohlberg's theoretical position and his recommendations regarding the promotion of higher level judgments in the schools, the article details the difficulties with the implementation of Kohlberg's moral decision curriculum and notes that the unfeasibility is borne out by empirical findings. (SB)

This article puts forth some of the concepts and complexities involved in teaching secondary students ethical and aesthetic reasoning skills as well as the ideas of and debates throughout history. It is argued that curricula should connect holistically to the intellectual and emotional hierarchies of the gifted personality. (PB)

Six very different articles focusing on the prospects of today's youth upon reaching adulthood have been assembled in this booklet. The introductory chapter surveys the articles, with special attention given to technology's effects on life and education both now and in the future. The first article points out changes, good and bad, that will…

If ways are to be found to integrate doctrine, practice, and theory in the law school curriculum, a new perspective of legal education is needed. One useful approach builds on work on moral development based on two distinctive modes of thinking about moral issues. (MSE)

Discusses the role of moral education and values clarification in the curriculum, highlighting how educators' morality influences the implementation of values-centered curricula. The article advocates curricula in which students learn to critically examine their daily choices and proposes that a moral education helps students learn to think…

Contends that public education has basic, secular texts that include basic human rights common to all the world's peoples. Identifies the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948 as the first of these documents. Argues that schools in all nations should emphasize equality of rights and equality of dignity. (CFR)

Holds that ethical inquiry, as a "craft," causes students in this area to be "apprentices," and the classroom a "community of inquiry" wherein the tools, methods, practices, and procedures of the craft are imparted. States that the generic procedures of reasoning, necessary for moral reasoning, should be taught within…

Two studies of law students' attitudes and characteristics reveal some aspects of how the curriculum relates to their moral development, professional and general. It is suggested that law schools should focus on the development of role-taking skills and investigate the sequencing of courses. (MSE)

Delineates the concepts of character, virtue, vice, and privation which undergird Joseph J. Schwab's 'informing vision,' as discussed in "The Practical 4: Something for Curriculum Professors to Do." States that in explicating the informing vision, the animating spirit needs to be retained. (LS)

Presents recent research in developmental psychology that supports conclusion that understanding of dynamics of self-development within social context of group is necessary to curriculum development in ethics education. Suggests that group work is central to successful implementation of any ethics education program and that group discussion of…

The paper, presented in four sections, draws a distinction between citizenship education and values education. Section I defines the six major goals of citizenship education: the development of participatory skills and of intellectual skills; growth in knowledge of facts, concepts, and generalizations; personal development; development of dramatic…

Discusses the weaknesses inherent in Sidney Simon's values clarification method and Lawrence Kohlberg's cognitive moral development method, suggesting that single class, isolated instruction overlooks the affective, unconscious elements of character formation. Recommends an alternative holistic approach based on John Locke's concept of all…