Introduces an interpretation of intrinsic moral value, drawing from Mahayana Buddhist teachings to forestall anticipated objections to that interpretation and indicating some implications of that interpretation for the practice of moral education. The paper draws from Alasdair MacIntyre's meta-ethics in its discussion of the debate on moral…

Using the Measure of Moral Orientation and the Student Developmental Task and Lifestyle Assessment, the effect of moral orientation and gender on traditional-aged college students' psychosocial development was investigated. Limitations and implications of the study are discussed. (Author/GCP)

Examined 6-, 8-, and 10-year olds' conceptions of flags as social conventions and their understandings of the symbolic and psychological consequences associated with transgressions toward flags. Found that despite age-related increases in understanding of flags as meaningful collective symbols, children at all ages considered transgressions to be…

Moral (rather than "corporate") accountability in education is essential; so is a human-centered leadership approach. Findings from an Australian study that investigated elementary principals' responsiveness to teachers' learning show how these leaders exercised their moral, professional, and contractual accountability to support a…

Discusses the importance of values education, focusing on: the primary moral concerns of values education; varieties of values education (law, culture, and morality); varieties of values education (cultural diversity); value and evaluation (some conceptual problems); the grounds of value objectivity; Aristotle, virtue, and value; and general…

Describes the invention of the CIVA Charter High School, a 4-year school that began in 1997. Its curriculum emphasizes the development of character and personal integrity. It was founded by public educators collaborating with the teachers' union and community members in order to create a school that built on the best of public education while…

Alfie Kohn's article in the February 1997 "Kappan," which questioned the world views informing character education, was disappointing. His criticisms of habit formation were misdirected, and he failed to reconcile the various world views held by parents and children. Character, like other human endeavors, requires vigorous training in…

Raphi Amram, the late director of Israel's Society for Excellence Through Education, founded the Ethics in Science and Humanities Program operating in Israel and five other countries. Though the ethics program currently operates only in high schools serving high-achieving or gifted students, founders emphasize the universality of its appeal.…

Discusses the relevance and importance of seriousness in education, explaining that schools do not coherently teach the kind of monitoring and personal engagement required of a serious student, probably because the nature and need for it is not recognized. The paper suggests that no type of moral or serious education is possible without a basis of…

Presents a proactive, nonjudgmental strategy for encouraging students to reflect on the development of moral character by developing physical education skills. The strategy involves a working conception of character as habit; good habits for moral behavior; understanding why doing good can seem so difficult; and developing personal character that…

Distinguishes between character/morals and ethics/professionalism. Describes techniques for teaching professional ethics to prospective teachers, including a systematic reflective case-debriefing method. (SK)

Despite the Soviet emphasis on character education, communist "vospitanie" had little lasting influence once political enforcement was removed. Between 1988-92, the juvenile crime rate rose 50 percent. American educators should be cautious about promoting lists of virtues that serve a political agenda or are justified primarily on…

Examines the philosophical foundations of Freire's view of liberation education, outlining a more consistent historicist interpretation that retains the liberating power of modernism and its critique of dehumanization. Recognizes the malleability and contradictions of identity, embraces epistemic uncertainties and varieties of reason in knowledge,…

Presents a view of ethics and morality as they may relate to the field of professional education. Defines ethics (identifiable values of individuals) and morals (identifiable values of social and culture-specific groups) as distinguishable but not separate and mutually exclusive normative theories of human conduct. (MLF)

A survey of 188 Saskatchewan educational administrators and 20 interviews examined administrators' a priori definitions of "ethical." Definitions focused on external versus internal sources of ethical authority and on behavioral versus rational constructs and were often concerned with the reflection and alignment of community values and…