An examination of the relationship of faculty levels of moral reasoning to that of students at various stages of a teacher education program revealed that no group of students (including graduate level) exhibited faculty members' abilities to recognize principled moral judgments and that the student groups did not differ from each other in such…

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…

Undergraduates discussed a moral issue with a confederate who had the same opinion (no controversy) or opposite opinion (controversy) within either a cooperative or a competitive context. Subjects in the controversy conditions indicated more conceptual conflict, engaged in more information seeking, and were more accurate in taking the cognitive…

The moral reasoning of teachers enrolled in education courses was examined through an administration of the Defining Issues Test. Teachers were found to be at a generally comparable level to most other adults, but below many college graduates. (JKS)

Many indicators point to a crisis of confidence and credibility in the role of the teacher as a professional and moral leader. In response, many educational researchers are recommending that reflective teachers examine the moral and ethical issues embedded in their everyday thinking and behavior. A study was conducted, therefore, to identify and…

The Defining Issues Test (DIT) has been subjected to construct validation in a number of studies relating it to the development of moral judgment and to measures of cognitive development and political attitudes. The DIT has been found to have significant positive correlations with the Comprehension of Social-Moral Concepts Test for a variety of…