Compulsory moral education has been included in the Japanese national curriculum since 1872. Recent demographic trends have created an unstable society, and with the increase in heinous juvenile crimes, urgent demands are being made for a more effective program. Japan's Education Reform Plan for the 21st Century has as its second major strategy…

Two children's conversations with adults were examined for reference to moral issues using transcripts of archived at-home family talk from the Child Language Data Exchange System (CHILDES) database (MacWhinney, 2000). Through target words (e.g., good, wrong, mean) in transcripts of two children between ages 2.5 and 5.0 years, 1,333 moral…

This article analyzes the epistemological aims and justification of character education legislation passed by the North Carolina General Assembly. I take this specific state law as representative of the broader national trends in the character education movement. I primarily use the work of Richard Rorty as the theoretical lens for the analysis…

People face four fundamental dilemmas, which are essentially moral choices: (1) alleviating poverty; (2) removing the gap between rich and poor; (3) controlling the use of violence for political ends; and (4) changing the patterns of production and consumption and achieving the transition to sustainability. The world in which future generations…

There has been an observable rise in the prevalence of use of psychoactive substances in Russia. Of particular concern is use by children, adolescents, and young people, because it poses a serious threat to their health and life and to public safety. Deviant behavior consists of deviations from the norms that are accepted in a given society,…

This article examines the resurgence in popularity of character education in the USA and Canada. It links this renewed interest to insecurities about academic achievement, economic competitiveness, civic engagement, personal safety, moral decline, and the loss of a common culture. Conceptualising policy as rhetoric, the article shows how character…

This paper explores moral reasoning within the framework of contemporary cultural theory, in which moral functioning is action mediated by tools (such as socially available discourses) within a social and cultural context. This cultural model of a "dialogic moral self" challenges many of the assumptions inherent in the individualistic Kantian…

Implicit in most comparative ethical studies is the assumption that cultural and religious differences between countries are the major reasons behind the variations in ethical beliefs and business practice across nations. This article examines research on the international ethical issues and the common moral concerns that permeate differing…

In this chapter, we present a brief review of the developmental literature linking healthy adjustment to five core competencies: (1) positive sense of self, (2) self-control, (3) decision-making skills, (4) a moral system of belief, and (5) prosocial connectedness. A central premise of this chapter and the rest of the volume is that promoting…

Sexual health is a controversial science topic that has received little attention in the field of science education, despite its direct relevance to students' lives and communities. Moreover, research from other fields indicates that a great deal remains to be learned about how to make school learning about sexual health influence the real-life…

This article explores some of the legal and law-related challenges educators face in designing, implementing, and sustaining globally networked learning environments (GNLEs) in the context of conflicting international laws on intellectual property and censorship/free speech. By discussing cases and areas involving such legal issues, the article…

What is the most important moral problem faced by journalists and photographers when they document people's lives? The answer rests in knowing why, how, and when to observe other people. The process of professional observation can be explored by examining photographic books such as Richard Avedon's "In the American West," Bill…

Author presented a detailed philosophical consideration of the problems involved in defining the point at which life begins, and discussed the moral and legal implications of various definitions. (Editor/RK)

General criteria for assessing the varieties of expertise involved in morality were sketched. (Author/RK)

This position paper considers the recent success of the abortion "reform" movement in the United States. A review of the arguments and data pro-abortionists have utilized to establish present policy suggests that this rather extreme solution to personal and social problems has been adopted without adequate evidence. (Author)