This paper reports a longitudinal study of levels of moral reasoning in a convenience sample of Irish undergraduate university students, using the Defining Issues Test 2 (DIT2). The study was timely, as higher education institutions are becoming increasingly interested in the promotion of social capital and the development of the whole person. A…

The importance of education in developing morally sensitive individuals who use principled moral reasoning when facing dilemmas has been widely acknowledged. In the context of the criticism levelled at the Irish higher education system for failing to fulfil the role of intellectual leader and moral critic within the public domain, this paper…

The moral role of the teacher has long been recognised and this has implications for the selection and education of student teachers. There is growing recognition of the importance of teachers' capacity to make sound moral judgements and of the influence of teachers' levels of moral reasoning on their professional practice. The paper presents the…

This paper reports the effect of a moral education programme on the ethical judgement making ability of university students. The programme comprises two forms of intervention: a dedicated ethics course and subsequent practical training. A total of 113 accounting students from six Malaysian universities participated in a longitudinal study…

This study explored the moral reasoning and scientific argumentation skills of 31 gifted Finnish adolescents participating in a science program at the University of Helsinki. Students were given the Defining Issues Test (DIT) to determine their level of moral reasoning and the Raven test to evaluate their scientific reasoning. The argumentation…

Among Koreans tested on Rest's Defining Issues Test, females, urban people, and older subjects showed significantly more responses demonstrating principled morality than did males, rural people, and younger subjects. Comparisons with American results showed greater age differences in stages of moral development among Americans. Both groups showed…

Reports on a study of the influence of age and formal education on the development of moral reasoning among 215 Spanish citizens ranging in age from 12 to 48. Finds that moral development is highly related to both variables, although more so with formal education than with age. Includes five tables of illustrative data. (CFR)

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)