Lawrence Kohlberg's theory of stages of moral development and their demonstration are refuted. At the same time, the controversy over what constitutes a demonstration of a theory is considered. (JMF)

Evaluates the differing perspectives of Kohlberg and Turiel on moral reasoning. Both perspectives use stage displacement models to depict moral development and assume that as ontogenesis proceeds, the role played by earleir acquired moral stages becomes increasingly insignificant in comparison with the role played by more advanced stages. The…

Kohlberg's findings that morality is a developmental process and that moral growth occurs in proportion to the individual's participating in moral problem solving make it necessary for the educator to understand the child's level of moral growth and to help facilitate this growth. Suggests some ways to aid in this growth. (Author/RK)

Investigates the gap between human impulse and moral action and the thesis of this research is that within that gap there is an intervening variable of the human will which must be reckoned with before moral education can result in social improvements. (Author/RK)

Third and fourth grade pupils saw a slide story with taped dialog and listened to a second story on audiotape. The research question was whether the form of the story would affect the children's moral judgments. (Author)

This study of 20 children (ages 6-9) with autism found that the children were able to make a distinction between moral and conventional transgressions in their judgments, and that their level of ability on false belief tasks was not associated with the tendency to distinguish moral and conventional transgressions. (CR)

Liberal-humanist conceptions of subjectivity in the moral development of social workers are inadequate and outdated. They rely on a flawed concept of identity and the unity of the self, instead of viewing the self as a social position in a particular historical and cultural concept. (SK)

The ethics of the influential psychologist and ethicist Lawrence Kohlberg are analyzed from a communitarian perspective. Kohlberg's conception of morality is described as not as formal and universal as claimed, and it is suggested that it is, in fact, a monological ethic. (SLD)

Undergraduate (n=996) and graduate (n=294) business students in Hong Kong and China completed measures of moral development and conflict handling styles. A significant association between moral development stage and integrating style was found. Despite common Chinese cultural heritage, Hong Kong students had significantly lower moral development…

Articulates Kohlberg's position that moral understanding and moral reasoning provide motivation for moral action, contrasting it with traditional conceptions of motivation. (Author/BB)

Examines the development of the "New England pedagogy." Finds that it began in response to the materialism and ambition of Jacksonian America. It sought to cultivate the capacity for individual self-government and to counter the commercialization of the classroom. (DM)

Discusses the impact of the traditional folklore theme of good versus evil on children's development and analyzes the development of this theme using magical and supernatural situations in the work of Isaac Bashevis Singer. A selected bibliography of work by and literary criticisms of Singer's writings is provided. (five references) (CLB)

A study conducted within the Windham School System of the Texas Department of Corrections suggests that moral education might be accomplished through teaching style rather than a specific educational program. The responsibility for moral education would then be shifted from curriculum to staff development. (Author)

A two-part study examined children's conceptions of the linkages between sociomoral events and emotional consequences for several event participants. Results of the first study indicated that children's conceptions were highly differentiated. The second study found children able to match affective information to events likely to cause emotional…

Claims that contemporary moral development theory follows pathways laid down by Kant. Defines formalists and altruists, claiming that both interpret the moral domain too narrowly. Proposes a character-based redefinition that reintegrates moral development with the development of the self (Eudaimonism, or "human flourishing") and of…