Be it metaphysics, theology, or some other unifying framework, humans have long sought to determine "first principles" underlying knowledge. Larry Arnhart continues in this vein, positing a Darwinian web of genetic, cultural, and cognitive evolution to explain our social behavior in terms of human nature as governed by biology. He leaves it to us…

The United States Military Academy (USMA) provides cadets with a liberal education designed to develop versatile and critical thinkers who can adapt to the professional and ethical challenges they will confront. Cadets' moral development is integrated throughout their West Point experience, to the point of being included as one of the USMA's…

How do people help youth develop ethics in this complex world? What do they know about how young people think about right and wrong? Where and when are the teachable moments? One community in the southwestern United States decided to ask youth about their ideas, values, behavior, and aspirations--in essence, put themselves in the shoes of the…

The field of moral development has moved toward an identity-based model suggesting that moral action stems not only from moral reasoning but from a desire to act in ways consistent with one's self-concept. Moral identity, in turn, is rooted in social relationships. This idea, that one's sense of self drives moral behavior and that this identity is…

Purpose: A 34-item Likert-type survey instrument, The Reflective, Ethical, and Moral Assessment Survey (REMAS), measuring perceptions of use of reflective, ethical and moral dispositions and leadership practices was developed. Items, component factors, and results of the self-assessment of graduates from an educational leadership preparation…

In the new curriculum reform in China, moral education and values education have been defined from the angles of the integrity and conformity of curriculum functions. Accordingly, a new education concept based on complete/integral curriculum functions is established. By discussing the essences of the curriculum, the basis of moral and values…

Thirty-six children (half 6-8 years old and half 10-12) in Northeast Brazil heard three hypothetical dilemmas featuring a choice between telling the truth and keeping a promise. Each dilemma was initiated by a different kind of lie: an exculpable pro-social lie (teasing), a lie in the personal domain (hiding) and a lie in the service of an…

The author introduces this article by saying that there is a very intimate relationship between how caring the teacher is and the knowledge that students gain. Actually, it is not limited to student-teacher relationships only but also student-student relationships. Knowledge is something people acquire as they build relationships and have…

Judith Butler's philosophical writings on identity have provided inspiring, if occasionally "troubling", ways of rethinking gender. A key contribution has been the challenge to conventional social constructionist ideas and thinking on subjectivity. In developing a paradigm of performativity, Butler's work takes us beyond the territory of identity…

In this much-needed volume, Nel Noddings uses her extensive experience at every level of schooling to challenge the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). Noddings invites readers to think critically about the ideas underlying NCLB, the reform movement that shaped it, and the processes it has put into play. She considers such questions as: Is money the…

This book, the first volume of the paperback versions of the "The SAGE Handbook of Qualitative Research, Third Edition," takes a look at the field from a broadly theoretical perspective, and is composed of the Handbook's Parts I ("Locating the Field"), II ("Major Paradigms and Perspectives"), and VI ("The Future of Qualitative Research"). "The…

Talking about religion in public middle schools has moved from taboo to necessity during the past few years. Although some middle schoolers hold knowledge of their own religion, most remain uninformed about any of the world's religions, including, for many, their own. The purpose of this article is to make the case for religious literacy--the…

This paper questions the applicability of current moral development theories to the Chicano population. The stage theories of Piaget and Kohlberg that emphasize the "universality" of psychological aspects of moral development may be culturally biased. Research indicates that the rate and terminus of moral development is highly variable…

This study investigated children's moral and ecological conceptions and values about an actual, environmentally destructive accident, the large oil spill that occurred in Prince William Sound, Alaska in 1989. Sixty children from second, fifth, and eighth grades were interviewed on children's reasoning and understandings about the oil spill which…

Career education in the Netherlands is a regular part of the curriculum and provides students the opportunity to collect information about different professions and studies. The policy of the Dutch administration is to stimulate the creation of secondary schools with both vocational and academic tracks. Career education is designed to balance…