Effects of self-esteem and values-clarification strategies on value awareness were assessed in an hour values-clarification workshop. Subjects participating in the workshop showed significantly greater gains in value awareness than nonparticipants, confirming that values-clarification strategies are valid means for clarifying personal values of…

This article points out that aggression has had a positive value throughout American history and continues to be an important part of the culture and value system. The author traces the forms that aggression takes and suggests ways of incorporating values of peace and cooperation into the schools. (NG)

Topics from a September, 1976, symposium on the "Origins of Human Cancer" are cited to illustrate the author's contention that what is needed at such meetings is the scientists' own assessment of the uses to which their work is put in the context of ethics. Their own public commitment is needed to influence public policy. (LBH)

While the general trend was toward greater tolerance, the moderation in attitudes among parents complying with the court order was largely confined to the more conservative parents. (Author)

This study examines the effects of three levels of motives (avoid failure, nonspecific, and gain) and two levels of consequences (individual versus collective) on attribution of moral responsibility. (Author/AM)

"Caught in the Crossfire" reveals how the United States has been gradually changing from a society that celebrates childhood into one that is hostile to and afraid of its own children. Today kids are often seen as a threat to our social and moral values. In schools, some behavior is criminalized, and growing numbers of kids find…

This digest addresses two components in the moral and ethical preparation of teachers: identification and assessment of professional ethical concepts and structures in teacher education, and foundations and specific models for the preservice training of teachers of character. A teacher's first moral obligation is to provide excellent instruction.…

A comparative study of value orientations among Finnish and Chinese adolescents was conducted focusing on how secondary school students in these two cultures understand the purpose and meaningfulness of their lives and the value purposes they foresee in the future. The survey took place in the comprehensive schools of suburban towns in Finland and…

In today's environment of unrelenting economic and social pressures, the writer makes the case that the professions need their educational centers more than ever as resources and as rallying points for renewal. Breakdowns in institutional reliability and professional self-policing, as revealed in waves of scandals in business, accounting,…

While national progress on aspects of academic excellence (the achievement gap, end-of-grade testing, standardized college placement exams, and so on) is a main feature of today's education agenda, character education is never far from commensurate policy attention. Because the notion of character is value-laden, it can be difficult to craft a…

This paper offers suggestions for structural changes needed in the classroom to develop the moral side of students' lives. Curriculum designs often do not translate into moral behavior. A more systemic and philosophically pedagogical interest in moral development must begin to pervade classrooms in order to make them places where student ethical…

This paper considers what has kept textbooks around so long. The paper reviews changes in pedagogy and values manifested in nineteenth century textbooks to better understand the role of textbooks in the classroom. It suggests that textbooks are a highly adaptable literary genre (with always changing writing styles), concluding that as classroom…

For moral education to be effective, it must take into account the cultural, philosophical, and religious factors that influence moral development. The way growing children think and feel about right and wrong depends to a great extent on society's dominant culture, as expressed through mass communication media. These media promote values,…

This study examined the role of schooling in shaping student values, examining how teachers' cultural, religious, and other personal values influenced their teaching practice and how supervisors and mentors of preservice and inservice teachers needed to help them uncover their individual values and biases. The study involved 12 inservice and…

Until very recently, ethical issues were given little attention in administrator-preparation programs. This digest in Spanish outlines the ethical responsibilities of school leaders and the dilemmas that they face. It offers the following suggestions for resolving ethical dilemmas: (1) Leaders should have and be willing to act on a definite sense…