Montessori's writing, and particularly her underlying principles, requires study and discussion. It is hard work to understand the depth of carefully sequenced lessons and experiences that she designed to create a genuine experience for the child. This work avoids simple answers. It evades black-and-white opinions. It frowns on bullet points.…

Erickson and Thompson articulate and defend reasonableness as an important civic educational aim for early childhood education. In this response, I argue that further clarity regarding the nature and scope of "reasonableness" as an educational concept or idea is needed. Is such a concept fundamentally political, or does it capture a…

This article provides an interview transcript between David Kahn and Mario Montessori (1898-1982), son of Dr. Maria Montessori. Mario Montessori dedicated his life to the preservation, dissemination and application of Montessori's works. Herein Kahn asks Montessori about his time living in the hills of Kodaikanal, India. Montessori touches upon…

This article addresses the question of why the emotions children and adolescents anticipate in the context of hypothetical scenarios have been repeatedly found to predict actual (im)moral behavior. It argues that a common motivational account of this relationship is insufficient. Instead, three links are proposed that connect cognitive…

Lawrence Kohlberg first published details of his research on the development of moral judgments in "Vita Humana" (later titled "Human Development"). Along with a series of other articles and essays, he greatly influenced research on moral development. He was instrumental in moving the field out of the narrow confines of analyses of psychological…

Views school-age children living in five distinct worlds, each with their own operational modes. Discusses the negative repercussions of failing to recognize the child's worlds. Reviews Lawrence Kohlberg's, Eliot Turiel's, and Carol Gilligan's positions concerning moral education. Recommends a broad definition of morality, including justice and…

Suggests that the formation of habits is the basis of character and morality. Supports this suggestion with citations from Henry James and other writers, and with examples of intellectual diligence from the lives of Helen Keller and Anne Frank. (HTH)

Proposes that the self is constituted in narrative and that development can be seen as the self's effort at rewriting its account of the world. (LB)

Makes a case for rereading the fact-value dichotomy that currently divides the contemporaneous literatures dealing with children's moral reasoning development and their evolving theories of mind. Presents findings from two research programs, in which children's beliefs about truth and rightness are combined, to illustrate the natural…

This issue of "Children in Contemporary Society" focuses on the theme of moral education for young children and addresses the following topics: the historical background of interest in and conceptualization of moral education; aspects of child development that affect the young child's judgment and conduct on moral issues; the…

Examined is whether a liberal state can concede parents the right to bring up their children in a given religion and whether a liberal parent (one committed to a range of liberal values) can consistently and in good conscience claim such a right. (RM)

Music can help create a good moral environment if it is music that can be shared, that channels emotions and shapes the soul, that has stood the test of time, and that tells a story. Today's rock music all too often plays a destructive role in leading youth away from virtue. (SLD)

Discusses the process by which individuals come to claim authority and assume responsibility for their moral thoughts, feelings, and actions. Examines links between narrative and moral experience. Suggests that the development of moral authority is enhanced when individuals make the words of others their own. (LB)

A focus on narrative as representation shows how individuals understand and make meaning of their actions. In this critical perspective on narrative approaches to moral development, it is argued that a focus on narrative as action is necessary to grasp what really happens in individuals' everyday moral lives. (LB)

This presentation: (1) outlines three educational approaches to moral development; (2) explains Piaget's stages of moral judgment; (3) reviews Piaget's ideas about the development of children's concepts of justice; and (4) discusses comments by contemporary educators concerning moral education and its implications. Outlined in Part I are character…