This paper addresses the pros and cons educators may encounter if they are involved in a character education program. Those supporting a character education program offer the following reasons: (1) decline of a traditional family structure; (2) erosion of the values system of key institutions; (3) the position of schools as the second most…

Research on interpersonal forgiveness has blossomed in counseling and moral education. The impact of receiving interpersonal forgiveness from another--the foreswearing of revenge and resentment toward a person who has hurt us--is examined here. Most theory and research in developmental, counseling, and educational psychology suggest that the…

This paper argues that at the heart of administration, there lie moral dilemmas in need of resolution. In the field of educational administration, no graduation requirement exists for completion of an ethics course. This paper describes an ethics course designed for doctoral cohorts in educational administration. It is argued that educational…

The notion of "Personal Writing" has come under sustained attack from several different directions and for a variety of reasons, yet it is a concept that still retains usefulness for writing instructors. One problem with personal writing is that frequently students do not like it or feel it invades their privacy, despite the traditional…

As Martha Nussbaum argues, narratives, and especially novels, provide a way of reflecting on what it means to live well morally, and the emotional responses that stories evoke are crucial to the ability to formulate complex moral judgments. An important aspect of the moral nature of literature is the reader's "empathetic imagination," or…

This essay examines ethical considerations in the nurse patient relationship, in particular the relationship between "professional morality" and the nurse's professional identity in the role of advocate for doctors, patients, and hospitals. A discussion of ethics and professionals explores professional ethics, the need for such ethics,…

This program guide on the right to die provides policy issue information where ethical concerns have a prominent place. Three positions about the right to die are presented: (1) mercy killing and assisted suicide should be legally permitted in certain cases; (2) legal status should be given to living wills and other advance directives that would…

This study collected and described the verbal comments made during 102 editions of ESPN's Sportscenter, a sports news program. Comments made by the programs anchors, news journalists, players, coaches, owners, etc., believed to potentially convey to viewers what was normative or inappropriate behavior for sports participants, were recorded. A…

Social scientists and educators who favor the developmental approach to values acquisition focus on the individual and his or her own psychological growth as the means to acquiring a healthy set of values. On the other hand, those who favor the transmission approach to values acquisition focus on the instillation of societal and group norms in the…

R. G. Brockett in two recent articles (1988, 1990) has proposed a model for helping adult educators think about their decision making relative to ethical issues. This model describes a process that allows adult educators to draw upon their basic values in making practice decisions. The model's three interrelated dimensions or levels of ethical…

Intended for use by individuals, groups of administrators, boards of trustees, parent groups, community service directors, and teachers, the articles presented in this volume are organized around four topics: values, faith, pluralism, and service. The articles include: "Maintaining the Moral Climate of the School" (G. Stern); "Schools as Families"…

This book shows how creating a new leadership practice--one with a moral dimension based on purpose, values, and beliefs--can transform a school from an organization to a community. Chapter 1 critiques traditional views of leadership and presents an alternative view of leadership that expands its values. Chapter 2 examines what motivates and…

In recent years, concern in several Southeast Asian nations about the deterioration of values within their societies has resulted in renewed efforts to teach values by means of special courses in the schools. This paper compares the current programs of values education in four of the nations: Indonesia, Malaysia, the Phillipines, and Singapore.…

This paper describes the history of moral education in the American public school system. The philosophies of moral education, as advocated by the Puritans, Thomas Mann, Noah Webster, and John Dewey, are examined first. The controversial values education of the 1960s and 70s, which has been replaced by more traditional forms within the last…

Decentralization of school systems is based on certain assumptions concerning the teaching profession. In the Swedish reform debate one assumption is put forth as a chief condition for successfully giving teachers more responsibility and power: there must be a common ground of professional norms, especially concerning internal and social values…