One common paradigm used to study moral reasoning involves assessing the reasoning leading to choices among alternative actions, each with moral implications. Preconventional reasoning emphasizes external rewards and punishments, conventional reasoning centers on acceptance of societal rules and expectations, and postconventional reasoning is…

The hypothesized central role of cognitive development in resolving moral dilemmas was examined in sixth grade and college-age females. Results indicated that sophisticated cognitive operations are a prerequisite to advanced moral judgments. (ST)

This study explored the relationship between children's sense of justice for a criminal offender and their cognitive level. Subjects were 60 children, 10 boys and 10 girls at each of the following developmental or cognitive levels: preoperational, concrete operational, and formal operational. Each child was individually pretested for cognitive…

This issue focuses on values-clarification techniques for the elementary and secondary school classroom. A variety of articles provides general discussions of values clarification, as well as specific classroom activities related to literature, composition, and discussion. A selected list of books related to values clarification is included. (AA)

Before considering the portrayal of values in children's dramaturgy, this paper discusses definitions of values, examines the way in which children learn values and the confusion about values that contemporary children may feel, and reviews books that deal with the role of children's literature in values education. It then identifies five…

This monograph critically examines the growth metaphor advanced by Lawrence Kohlberg as it relates to the development of a moral ideology. Kohlberg's stage theory is viewed as an ideology--that is, as a "style of thinking." Much of the critique in this study is informed by a perspective called "critical social theory." While…

This paper describes the rationale for the Defining Issues Test (DIT), an objective test of moral judgment which attempts to improve upon three aspects of Kohlberg's research: data collection, categorization of moral judgments (the scoring system), and method of indexing a subject's progress in a developmental sequence. In each case, the way in…

Reported research uses stepwise multiple regression analyses to generate regression equations for 60 school age subjects with choice of right action and stage of moral reasoning on moral dilemmas as the dependent variables. Age, IQ, socioeconomic status, awareness of consequences, empathy, and mean moral maturity scores were used as predictor…

This paper attempts to find some similiarities among different theories of moral development, presenting a literature review of research and a comparative analysis of results on three questions. The questions considered are: (1) What is the role of cognitive competence in moral development and what optimizes the cognitive aspects of moral growth?…

In this study, reading textbooks were analyzed for moral content. From the findings of this analysis the extent of the use of Lawrence Kohlberg's stages of moral development in the textbooks was determined. The greatest amount of attention in one series was given to the category of helpfulness, while little attention was given to the categories of…

This paper deals with one view of cognitive social learning and its applications to the psychological analysis of moral competence and moral conduct. The concept of cognitive and behavioral construction competencies is explained and cognitive competencies are said to be among the very best predictors of "honesty" in conduct. Moral…

Eight to twelve year old children are at an ideal age in terms of influencing moral development because of the cognitive and social changes they go through at this stage. Their interest in group activities makes team sports attractive. It is important to determine whether competition in athletic programs detracts from moral behavior. If it does,…

This document is written to describe a model which will enable teachers to incorporate values clarification and moral development within content-centered learning episodes. It also attempts to explain to teachers what the processes of values clarification and moral development are and to train teachers to recognize student verbal behaviors…

This booklet examines various problems involving the moral content and implications of education and discusses some of the difficulties school officials face in trying to accommodate the diverse moral values of different segments of American society. The author argues that, because unintentional moral training takes place in all schools through…

This study was designed empirically to determine the relationship between student's perception of the humanism, traditionalism, and strict control of the high school environment and their moral reasoning. The subjects, seniors at nine parochial high schools located in four midwestern states, completed an opinion survey and Kohlberg's Moral…