This study examined the issue of how groups of students attempting to solve problems can be taught to consider moral aspects of the problem at a mature level. Classes in Swiss cantons (N=42) were given one of three different moral problems. Each class was divided into eight groups. The three treatments were: (1) provision of additional background…

Noting that Lawrence Kohlberg has written extensively in the fields of education and psychology regarding moral development in adolescents and adults, this paper argues that Kohlberg's approach offers a viable addition to levels of understanding of rhetorical discourse. The paper first offers a discussion of the Kohlbergian theory of moral…

The paper investigated the relationship between how people reason about moral matters and how they act. Moral reasoning is defined as degree of maturity of judgment relating to moral matters. Moral behavior is interpreted to include behaving in ways which are helpful to others in need or distress and refraining from behavior which is physically or…

The effects of self-oriented and other-oriented questions on moral reasoning scores for two moral dilemmas involving stealing and school cheating were investigated. The reasoning scores of elementary school-aged children increased on other-oriented questions by the fifth grade. Females' scores showed consistent reasoning on self-oriented and…

Moral desperation has traditionally been defined as an individual's lack of social adjustment patterns in regard to his/her particular stage of cognitive development. Based on the assumption that the overall behavior patterns of adolescents differ in different social class settings, moral desperation was hypothesized to be a complex,…

The author contends that a comprehensive approach to differentiating instruction for the gifted must involve values, feelings, personal growth, and interpersonal relations so the gifted child is free to realize his optimum potential. The paper describes some of the major adjustment problems faced by the gifted as well as some approaches to…

There is proof that caring can be taught and, that it can be programmed into the curriculum, with teacher training and administrative support, on a structured daily basis. Teaching children to care and raising the "CQ" or "Caring Quality" belongs in all education. Teaching children to care involves a number of techniques. These can be classified…

Attempts by the faculty at Baker University to introduce American undergraduates to the history of the Western tradition as part of their general education are described. The strengths and weaknesses of the Western civilization course and of the core curriculum formerly offered by the college are analyzed. The rationale for the interdisciplinary…

This paper describes research which involved (1) the study of children's moral reasoning about their own spontaneous prosocial behavior and (2) an examination of the early development of such reasoning. Prosocial moral reasoning is defined as reasoning about conflicts in which the individual must choose between satisfying his or her own wants,…

This collection contains lessons in 4 subjects related to learning: (1) visual perception; (2) learning; (3) cognitive growth; and (4) moral development. Activities dominate each lesson and students are expected to do some experimentation outside the classroom. Each of the 20 lessons presents: (1) a synopsis; (2) objectives; (3) necessary…

The document contains a paper on the values theorists' approach to moral/citizenship education and three critiques of the paper. The paper discusses the common goal of values education approaches which is to help individuals lead personally satisfying lives and become constructive members of society. Values clarification, moral development, and…

The author purports the need to treat moral education as a serious academic subject and suggests ways educators can manage it in an intellectually defensible way. Ethical education must avoid indoctrination, yet it should not be a mere training in philosophical ethics. The domain of moral education should include four partially interdependent…

The task group report presented in this publication is one of a series prepared by eminent psychologists who have served as consultants in the U.S. Office of Education-sponsored grant study to conduct a Critical Appraisal of the Personality-Emotions-Motivation Domain. In order to achieve the goal of identifying important problems and areas for new…

An experiment designed to study the relationship between moral behavior and level of moral development is described. Subjects in the experiment were faced with the choice of either remaining uninvolved observers or intervening to help another student. Their choice was affected by the presence of an authority figure which discouraged any…

Research examining students' moral attitudes toward Watergate is described. Three hundred and seventy-eight junior high and high school students from both metropolitan public and private schools in a mid-Southern state participated in the survey. Students judged the degree of rightness and wrongness of six motivations for the break-in. The results…