Past and present discussions on education all too frequently neglect the role that silence plays in learning. In this article I set out to demonstrate that silence is the very foundation of learning. My claim is that we must find ways of freeing silence in our pedagogical practices so that our discourse does not denigrate into mere empty words,…

Nel Noddings is arguably one of the premier philosophers of moral education in the English-speaking world today. Although she is outside the mainstream theory, research, and practice traditions of cognitive-developmentalism (the Kohlberg legacy) and of character education (which is in public ascendancy), her body of work is unrivalled for…

The authors criticize the central place of belief-desire psychology in the theories-of-mind enterprise. They detail the merits of adopting a more agentive framework for conceptualizing human action and demonstrate how children's growing understanding of epistemic agency relates to advances in moral reasoning. (Contains 4 tables and 2 figures.)

We suggest that there is a need for those who seek to explore issues associated with the implementation of citizenship education in England to clarify its specific nature. This can be done, at least in part, through a process of comparison. To that end we review some of the connections and disjunctions between "character education" and…

Psychologists tend to proclaim that their favored theoretical approach is the wave of the future that will replace existing paradigms. Typically, these proclamations, dating back to the early part of the 20th century, include the assertion that the new ideas will be resisted. However, opposing perspectives are often proclaimed to be the wave of…

Despite the affirmation below from a chapter entitled "The Moral Self" in his "Ethics" (1932), Dewey seems not to have used the term "moral self" outside that context. Perhaps he didn't think it that crucial in his overall philosophy. I argue, on the contrary, that the concept of the moral self is fundamental to Deweyan moral psychology and that…

The neuropsychological bases of cognitive, social, and moral development are minimally understood, with a seemingly wide chasm between developmental theories and brain maturation models. As one approach to bridging ideas in these areas, we review 10 cases of early prefrontal cortex damage from the clinical literature, highlighting overall clinical…

Choices in science--allocation of research funds, selection of research topics, interaction with research subjects (animals, environment, other humans), etc.--often, if not always, include some ethical considerations. Future scientists need skills to deal with and discuss ethical problems, and for that reason we have developed and evaluated one…

Using a historical and biographical, then developmental, approach, this article examines William James's spiritual family history by reviewing key events in the life of his father, Henry James, Sr. It pays particular attention to Henry Sr's tumultuous relationship with his own father, William James of Albany, and Henry Sr's subsequent conversion…

These days, problems of relations between the church and the schools are at the focus of attention of sociologists. In present-day Russia, religion, particularly the Orthodox religion, is acknowledged to have the right to contribute to the formation of the Russian state and culture. According to the findings of recent sociological surveys, many…

This study investigates the impact of ethics instruction in communication courses on students' moral reasoning competence. Using a quasi-experiment, participants in interpersonal conflict courses and communication ethics courses were exposed to different levels of ethics instruction through a variety of instructional methods. Results indicate that…

Research on moral behavior in children is sorely lacking in the behavioral literature. Yet, behavioral research documenting effective treatment of children with behavioral and emotional problems has often failed to generalize or to focus on moral behavior. Developmental psychologists have researched moral behavior and have provided models of moral…

Randy Shilts (1987), author of "And the Band Played On: Politics, People and the AIDS Epidemic," uses the analogy of the sinking ship and the "band playing on" to draw attention to America's false sense of security in the midst of the growing AIDS crisis. We describe a doctoral curriculum in which students examine the conflicts inherent in their…

Debating whether or not teachers should teach values addresses the wrong question. Education already is a values-infused enterprise. The larger question is how to train teachers for positive character formation. Two teacher education strategies are presented in this article. A "minimalist" strategy requires teacher educators to make explicit the…

Background: The mission of our education service as stated by the Ministry of Education (MOE) in Singapore: "is to mould the future of the nation, by moulding the people who will decide the future of the nation. The aim is to provide our children with a balanced and well-rounded education, develop them to their full potential, and nurture…