The major premise of this paper is that the values clarification approach to moral issues is a form of doublespeak based on flawed thinking. Following an examination of examples of doublespeak, the paper discusses the concept of subjectivity in "Teaching As a Subversive Activity," by N. Postman and C. Weingartner, arguing that their…

Reviews current approaches to moral education that seem most applicable to higher education: Durkheim's and Dewey's noncognitive approaches; Kohlberg's cognitive-developmental approach; British moral educators' rational-analytic approaches; and Feinberg's and Polyani's comprehensive perspectives. Includes a discussion of some existing U.S.…

This study examined the role of schooling in shaping student values, examining how teachers' cultural, religious, and other personal values influenced their teaching practice and how supervisors and mentors of preservice and inservice teachers needed to help them uncover their individual values and biases. The study involved 12 inservice and…

Limitations in defining the academic profession are examined, and values potentially in conflict with the profession are identified. The role of the individual faculty member in understanding and dealing with these conflicts is explored. The focus is on ethical conflicts in teaching and service rather than research. (MSE)

Presents a model that can be used by social scientists to formulate and test choice alternatives to select the most ethical course of action when values are in conflict. Graduate students in psychology, education, and medicine have used the model to recognize and resolve ethical problems. (RM)

In this position paper, the authors respond to the frequent criticisms and charges that values clarification is value free, relativistic, superficial, and without a cogent theoretical or research base. The authors first examine values clarification as theory. As originally developed by Raths, values education is a theory based on the thinking of…

Contends that students must understand the foundations of ethical reasoning in order to develop the ability to think critically about ethical issues. Discusses three foundations upon which all ethical reasoning must rest: (1) a sound understanding of ethical concepts and principles; (2) the knowledge that ethics is different from other domains of…

Recent trends and strategies in reforming moral education in higher education are traced and critiqued, including such approaches as values clarification, Kohlberg's moral development theory, and applied ethics. Traditional moral education is supported as the means to serving students best. (MSE)

With use of information technology in colleges, dilemmas concerning ethics and values arise, and policies are needed to guide administrative decision making. The University of Michigan has developed a "proper use" policy to encourage values definition and clarification and a "think about it" implementation campaign to extend…

During American colleges' current process of reexamining their commitment to fostering moral development in students, questions have arisen: What is the place of values education in higher education? Does the study of ethics improve moral character? Is it possible to teach values without indoctrinating students? What are the best methods for…

Examines four problems associated with developing character in college students: two concerned with moral cognition, or knowing what is right, and two concerned with moral action. It then reviews educational programs concerned with moral action, and provides suggestions for designing character development strategies. (Author/TE)

The role of the university in moral and value issues are discussed in a 1987 inaugural address by the president of Indiana University. He suggests that a college education should include values through both intellectual inquiry and example. Liberty to speak and write is an essential value if faculty and students are to achieve their academic…

Decisions about what a teacher finds to be acceptable classroom behavior vs. unacceptable classroom behavior are value decisions. Unless a teacher has identified and delineated personal beliefs, attitudes, and feelings about discipline, and shaped them into a system of responses which are consistent with his or her personal teaching style, a…

Describes a college-level course that uses classic texts, such as Plato's "The Republic" and Thomas More's "Utopia," to consider concepts related to the "good society." Expands this initial approach to include consideration of a postmodernist perspective. This perspective encourages consideration of texts and ideas…

This digest addresses the importance to professional practice of ethics and shared values, focusing on the fields of health, physical education, recreation, and dance (HPRD). Practitioners in these fields routinely deal with situations that call upon moral reasoning and the articulation of values such as instruction about personal health, sexual…