Growth and advancement in educational systems are the most important characteristics of the present societies. This phenomenon, especially in recent decades, has become an important and sensitive issue in developing countries. The role of educational systems in the process of growth and persistent advancement of countries is accepted by everybody…

Liberal arts approaches to university education and many theories of counseling share as a goal the development of critical thinking in the individuals served. Such thinking requires the ability to consider the context within which one is working and the context within which the events and ideas under consideration occur. William Perry has…

Argues that a coherent program of moral education should be a part of the school's total effort to provide opportunities that foster the development of intelligent behavior and that the skills of critical reading may be used in this endeavor. (FL)

A values analysis course, developed to improve critical thinking, is described. Included in the report is an evaluation of the students' reaction to the class which revealed a general work-play conflict inherent in the course and in college life itself. (JMD)

A study is reported in which curriculum consultants exposed to moral development theory were tested to determine whether they would use Kohlbergian labels of stage content or actual moral reasoning when required to make assessments. Suggestions are put forward as to how moral development theory can be more closely linked to education. (Editor/RK)

R.S. Peters coined the term "paradox of moral education". In this article, the author identifies two subordinate paradoxes: how habituated reason is psychologically possible and how heteronomously formed autonomy is morally/politically possible and justifiable. He sketches possible Aristotelian solutions of those paradoxes and argues that for…

This article summarizes Habermas' critical theory of education, examines relevant features of the development of children's capacity to enter into rational argumentation, and examines the significance of this development for a critical theory of schooling. (IAH)

Four experiments were conducted to explore issues in the development and modification of both moral choices and judgments of achievement using concepts and data from a social judgment perspective. In the first experiment, college students functioning at different reasoning levels indicated on a 20-point scale their strength of belief that an…

Three dimensions of education--development of knowledge, training of mental abilities, and development of character--and their implications for social and individual good are discussed in this paper. Education is described as the process that prepares young people for their social inheritance through the transmission of societal values. A…

Outlines an instructional approach for teaching moral thinking, based on considering consequences of alternative options. Discusses R. M. Hare's two-level theory of moral thinking, and cautions against relying solely on critical thinking for moral education. Suggests students must learn open-minded thinking, be aware of the consequences of their…

Sex differences on Perry's stages of epistemological development were investigated in a study of 100 freshmen (50 men and 50 women) at a large midwestern university. A semi-structured interview probed six domains related to Perry's theory, including the role of the learner, instructor, and peers in the learning situation, the question of…

This argument for process analysis in moral education focuses primarily on social developmental processes and educational processes that influence the development of moral reasoning structures. The descriptive-developmental approach, the developmental-ethical approach, and the developmental-process approach to moral discourse are briefly…

A brief summary of social studies research from 1976 to 1983 is divided into five parts. "Cognitive Thinking and Cognitive Process Research" presents a definition of critical thinking, recommendations for cognitive process instruction, and results of cognitive process research concerning the relationship between learning style and…

This study investigated 394 participants in the 1987 Arkansas Governor's School (AGS) and a comparison group of 60 AGS alternates on selected measures of cognitive development and personal/social acceptance. The AGS is a 6-week intensive residential program for talented high school students who had finished their junior year. Information was…

"Preparing for Tomorrow's World" (PTW) is an interdisciplinary, future-oriented program incorporating information from the sciences/social sciences and addressing societal concerns which interface science/technology/society. The program promotes responsible citizenry with increased abilities in critical thinking, problem-solving,…