The goals of higher education often entail the development of students' character. Rarely, however, are these character development goals connected to the unique design and delivery of distance education programs. Additionally, the research literature that explores the character development aspects of distance education is sparse. Thus the purpose…

In this paper, I argue that it is quite useful, both theoretically and empirically, to adopt a socio-cultural approach to the study of moral development. This entails viewing "moral functioning" as a form of mediated action, and moral development as the process by which persons gradually appropriate a variety of "moral mediational means". Mediated…

This paper reports a study designed to increase the moral reasoning and multicultural competence of White students in a counselling internship. An intervention was conducted to determine the effectiveness of using a deliberate psychological education (DPE) approach that incorporated issues of cultural competence, oppression and diversity. This…

In Sweden the compulsory school curriculum prescribes that education should promote learning in different subjects while simultaneously assisting students to develop into citizens of good character. To achieve these goals students need to cultivate such character strengths as respect and responsibility, so that they can create positive…

Research in moral development from a cognitive-developmental model has been greatly influenced by the Piagetian stage theory of Lawrence Kohlberg. Based on the assumption of inherent cognitive development of internal structures, Kohlberg's theory maintains that the stages are universal across cultures and persons. As a primarily organismic theory,…

The future of the civilized world may depend on the effectiveness with which moral and spiritual values are taught. (RC)

The moral behavior, moral judgment and moral affect of 120 preadolescent boys were examined and teacher ratings of moral behaviors and feelings were also obtained. Factor analysis of data indicated no support for a trait of morality. (GO)

This study used both verbal and videotape presentation techniques to assess the role of cognitive conflict in children's moral judgments. The results indicated that the children presented problems via videotape based their moral judgments on intentions, while verbal presentation increased the number of moral judgments based on damage. (JMB)

The purpose of this paper is to offer a rationale for the teaching of moral education in the schools. (Author)

The special role of words in the formation of moral consciousness and behavior is explored. (KM)

The contemporary view of ethical communication has come full circle, returning to the approach of Aristotle. Almost every public speaking textbook includes discussion of the basic concepts of what Aristotle called ethos, pathos, and logos. Of particular significance is Aristotle's conception of ethos, as elaborated in his work, "The…

An analysis of four foundational issues in the study of moral development is provided. The four issues involve: (1) the definition of morality; (2) individual or cultural moral variation; (3) moral ontogeny; and (4) moral epistemology. The first section of the paper describes each issue. The second section is based on the argument that the four…

Richard Mitchell, the "Underground Grammarian," has been dismissed by many in the academic community as a pop-culture grammar-basher. This is unfortunate, since Mitchell has linked literacy to the capacity for moral behavior. This connection between moral capacity and literacy is often avoided by the way in which literacy is defined. In…

Family theorists have considered the idea of boundary in terms of the concepts of disengagement and enmeshment. Disengaged families are those having rigid, well-delineated boundaries that are often impermeable. Alternately, enmeshed families have diffuse ego boundaries, acting as if all are part of each other, and are likely to produce an…

The paper examines the development of moral judgment in learning disabled children and adolescents and proposes three teaching strategies to encourage higher level moral reasoning: (1) moral dilemma discussions, (2) use of the consequence grid, and (3) role playing. The six stages of moral development proposed by L. Kohlberg are explained.…