In this article I examine the consequences of the dominance of intuitive thinking in moral judging and deciding for the role of moral reasoning in moral education. I argue that evidence for the reliability of moral intuitions is lacking. We cannot determine when we can trust our intuitive moral judgements. Deliberate and critical reasoning is…

In this article, the importance of conducting a religious and spiritual assessment in counseling is considered. Some essential dimensions of religion and spirituality to assess are described. The authors recommend assessment questions that can be asked during clinical interviews or included on written intake questionnaires. They also briefly…

In this conceptual paper, we provide a heuristic that organizes dispositions in a manner that is useful for prospective teachers and teacher educators. The heuristic is organized around three domains of dispositions--intellectual, cultural, and moral. We use a small sample of teacher candidate journal entries to ground the discussion of each…

The present study tested the hypothesis of the cognitively competent but morally insensitive bully. On the basis of teacher and peer ratings, 212 young elementary school children were selected and categorized as bullies, bully-victims, victims, and prosocial children. Children's perspective-taking skills were assessed using theory-of-mind tasks,…

Ethical issues regarding children with disabilities have long involved their treatment after they are born. These issues remain important, but children may be deliberately created with or without characteristics that are usually thought of as disabilities. Preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) and related technologies that involve human…

At a brisk pace, research findings focused on children's play are finally reaching the light of day in popular media. No longer left sitting in archives of academic journals, the benefits of play to lifelong success have been touted in radio, television, magazines, and newspapers. It gives early childhood professionals a powerful, credible…

As teachers are increasingly being asked and expected to teach across cultural differences and work toward social justice in their classrooms, teacher educators must seriously consider how university course work impacts students in their own classrooms. This article present a four-year qualitative case study investigating the meaning-making of two…

This study is a part of a larger study that examined using socioscientific issues (SSI) as a form of effective science teaching. The purpose was to investigate how teaching a year-long curriculum using SSI affects science learning outcomes. In this report, we examine the effects of a SSI-driven curriculum on the development of students' moral…

Equity and justice are human constructs; the inventions of human imagination. They exist nowhere in nature, in which inequality--the root cause of inequity and injustice--is essential for survival. Our history as a race traces back some two million years, when survival had to trump justice, the latter being an historically recent conception. Music…

The Common School should promote a sense of the distinctive worth of all human beings. How is the respect thus owed to every individual to be properly understood? This familiar question is explored by discussing "lookism", a form of discrimination on the grounds of appearance. The treatment is located within a wider analysis of stereotyping.…

"Contemporary Debates in Childhood Education and Development" is a unique resource and reference work that brings together leading international researchers and thinkers, with divergent points of view, to discuss contemporary problems and questions in childhood education and developmental psychology. Through an innovative format whereby leading…

The intent of this article is to illustrate the effectiveness of using the tenets described in the "Ways of Knowing Through the Realms of Meaning" by Dr. William Allan Kritsonis (2007) to improve ethical conduct. Ten recommendations to implement the "Ways of Knowing Through the Realms of Meaning" (2007) for the improvement of ethical conduct are…

Sensation (noun) is emergent in joint acts of sensing (verb). To sense, in other words, is to make sense, and sense making entails what we call "somatic work." We investigate these dynamics in the context of olfaction, highlighting how olfaction intersects with social, cultural, and moral order--thus compelling reflexive forms of somatic…

This article examines the culture wars in the United States and considers their impact on the field of art education. Stretching across virtually ever facet of contemporary culture, these ideologically charged battles over opposing moral values and fundamental belief systems are an intrinsic part of the ongoing struggle to define and control U.S.…

This article examines the links between prosocial moral education, educational innovations and concerns of school system personnel during an innovation's implementation process. The role of social innovations in promoting prosocial moral education is discussed with attention given to the challenges and processes associated with implementing such…