In this study, empirical research was conducted in the field of civic and moral education using a real problem-oriented learning methodology. The effectiveness of the methodology in enhancing students' civic awareness and moral behavior was assessed through a randomized controlled trial (RCT). The study combined quantitative and qualitative…

Using the Defining Issues Test of moral reasoning, researchers gathered pre- and posttest data from educational leadership students (N = 52) and confidence levels in enacting ethical school leadership, before and after completing a master's degree program in educational leadership. On a 95-point scale, pretest, postconventional moral reasoning…

The Center for the Study of Ethical Development archives DIT data and, in this way, it is possible to investigate normative trends, which is the purpose of the present study. Specifically, online DIT-2 data is used. Results support the notion that the primary difference in the paper/pencil version and the online version of the DIT-2 is simply the…

The ethics assessment industry is currently dominated by the second version of the Defining Issues Test (DIT2). In this article, we describe an alternative assessment instrument called the Sphere-Specific Moral Reasoning and Theory Survey (SMARTS), which measures the respondent's level of moral development in several respects. We describe eight…

Rest's hypothesis that the components of morality (i.e., sensitivity, reasoning, motivation, and implementation) are distinct from one another was tested using evidence from a dental ethics curriculum that uses well-validated measures of each component. Archival data from five cohorts ("n" = 385) included the following: (1) transcribed…

Purpose: The public expects school leaders to be moral exemplars, yet prior research indicates that teachers and, more recently, school principals may score lower than other career groups on a widely used measure of moral reasoning, the Defining Issues Test. Moreover, little empirical research has been conducted on educators during leadership…

This study investigates the effectiveness of pedagogical practices used to teach business ethics. The business community has greatly increased its demands for better ethics education in business programs. Educators have generally agreed that the ethical principles of business people have declined. It is important, then, to examine how common…

Kohlberg's (1969) slx stages of moral development are grouped into three levels of two stages each: (1) preconventional (morality is externally controlled); (2) conventional (doing the right thing and respecting authority); and (3) postconventional (principles of morality are to be applied universally). Rest (1974) typifies these stages in the…

The purpose of the study was to determine comparability of an online version to the original paper-pencil version of Defining Issues Test 2 (DIT2). This study employed methods from both Classical Test Theory (CTT) and Item Response Theory (IRT). Findings from CTT analyses supported the reliability and discriminant validity of both versions.…

The encoding and processing components of moral judgment-making responses were investigated by using a "thinking aloud" response mode to Rest's Defining Issues Test (DIT) of moral judgment. Three subject groups were asked to "think aloud" as they took the DIT: (1) 30 male and female graduate students from a philosophy…

Surveys counselor education students (N=68) using Defining Issues Test and White Racial Identity Scale to determine relationships among multicultural training and moral racial identity development. Results indicated that training could help change modes of information processing about racial attitudes, but may not promote cognitive complexity…