This article calls for research on the expertise of youth development practitioners. We argue for studies focused on understanding youth practice from practitioners' points of view--as they experience and enact it--with the aim of contributing findings and frameworks that are helpful to their work and learning. To improve youth programs, first, it…

This paper is the synthesis of Elizabeth Henke's four years of work from 2009-2013: three years at the high school and one year at the University for Peace. She summarizes, "A Montessori high school education should reveal to the adolescent a pathway to peace that is built on positive human relations and should provide opportunities for…

Which moral principles should guide us in evaluating sexual contacts of adolescents? This paper tries to answer this question by taking two steps. First, the implications of a liberal sexual ethics for adolescence are spelled out, assessed and refuted. The core principle of the liberal ethical view, the principle of valid consent, takes competence…

Assesses the moral reasoning of Hawaiian youths. Findings challenge C. Gilligan's theoretical proposition that gender differences exist in moral development. Implications for counseling theory, research, and practice are discussed. (Author)

Claims that the motivation to act on moral judgments is dependent, in part, on one's conception of the good life. Argues that the interest in acting morally may be particularly salient in adolescence and ethical behavior and may be established at that time. Suggests focusing on moral action in educational programs. (KO)

Adolescents nowadays socialize, network, and sort out their friendships and relationships online. As such, it is assumed that adolescents' experiences in the online world will influence their experiences in the face-to-face world and will play an important role in their development of social and moral knowledge. In this article, the author…

Explores the question: Is there development in morality, in terms of improvement from one age level to the next, or is there simply change? Argues that the best way to approach moral education is to assume moral equality among children, adolescents, and adults and to strive for the improvement of society in general. (GG)

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…

The research described in this paper is from the fifth year of a 6-year longitudinal study investigating psychosocial and demographic factors associated with a wide range of behaviors among adolescents. The present analyses investigate the relationship between students' participation in extracurricular activities (athletic teams, musical groups,…

Argues that the middle school philosophy must address physical, psychological, intellectual, social, moral, and ethical needs of young adolescents. Presents 10 different methods of instruction that teachers can utilize to meet students' needs in order to make learning more productive and to balance student-centered and subject-centered…