Results of this study reveal that professionals have a higher level of moral development, and counselor training has no effect on moral development. (Author)

This paper addresses the pros and cons educators may encounter if they are involved in a character education program. Those supporting a character education program offer the following reasons: (1) decline of a traditional family structure; (2) erosion of the values system of key institutions; (3) the position of schools as the second most…

This paper offers suggestions for structural changes needed in the classroom to develop the moral side of students' lives. Curriculum designs often do not translate into moral behavior. A more systemic and philosophically pedagogical interest in moral development must begin to pervade classrooms in order to make them places where student ethical…

This paper describes guiding principles of educational reform founded upon character education. The signatories of the declaration recognize the following precepts for character education: (1) Education in its fullest sense is inescapably a moral enterprise; (2) We strongly affirm parents as the primary moral educators of their children and…

This paper examines the research literature on character education and advocates its inclusion in the public school curriculum. Research indicates a connection between a lack of moral and ethical development and destructive behavior among children. Sections of the paper include: (1) Introduction; (2) "The American Moral Heritage"; (3)…

Presents the basics of intellectual development that are needed to comprehend college students' ethical development. Discusses character development, tolerance for diversity, and intellectual development. Profiles a model of morality. Explores interpretative systems for determining the moral ideal, and provides case studies that illustrate the…

This paper reports on a study to investigate measurement of moral reasoning with respect to age. Additional potential influencing factors, including ethnicity, gender, and influence of early environmental factors, also have been included for analysis in this study. Twenty-seven nontraditional students participating in a new student orientation…

This report outlines a K-12 social justice curriculum combining interdisciplinary instruction, guided and broadly-based research, and teamwork with teachers and students. Students also have opportunities to develop contacts with the media and other agencies at many levels outside the school, to research and support personal viewpoints, to study…

As violence within American communities has become an increasingly common problem, the developmental and psychological consequences of exposure to community violence have become issues of import. Conditions of pervasive violence have deleterious effects on the development of moral reasoning, as they offer limited environmental opportunities for…

This responsibility education activity book for grades 5-10 offers a set of materials that reflect students' interests and motivation for values education. The book is built around three moral principles: (1) "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you" (Confucius, 513 B.C.); (2) "The end does not justify the means" (Immanuel Kant, "The…

The nine essays in this book present perspectives on what is needed in character education from kindergarten to college. Two main themes run through the volume. The first is a consensus among the authors that fundamental moral standards must be passed along to the young and that educators at all levels bear the obligation to transmit these core…

Examined teachers' understanding of the moral development of middle level students via prediction of student responses to the behavior of fictitious students in ethical dilemma situations. Found that teachers were able to predict characters which students admired least, but were unable to predict characters the students most admired. (Author)

Noting that we are raising our children in a morally ambiguous world and we have to do more than just discipline them and hope for the best, this book is a manual for raising children who are emotionally and intellectually capable and confident, by means of play activities that imbue a sense of right and wrong. Each chapter of the manual begins…