Explains R. W. Beardsmore's account of the nature of morality and moral behavior and examines the implications that it has for moral education at all levels. (Author/RK)

Explains that because we want children to be honest, strong-minded, bold, resist peer pressure, and speakout against wrongdoing, protection against hurt must sometimes give way to other priorities. Suggests benchmarks that should be incorporated into decision-making: the act itself, its consequences, the motives, and the personal history of the…

Addresses the issue of selective moral disengagement in the exercise of moral agency. Argues that moral functioning is governed by self-reactive selfhood rather than by dispassionate abstract reasoning. Concludes that the massive threats to human welfare stem mainly from deliberate acts of principle rather than from unrestrained acts of impulse.…

Traces the history of Minnesota's approach to moral judgment research. Claims this history can be subdivided into four phases, each with a different goal and theoretical consideration. Concludes the Minnesota approach has been a progressive force in the field. Argues that this approach reaffirms Lawrence Kohlberg's view that moral judgments are…

Provides a critical appraisal of two significant contributions of the Minnesota approach to moral development. Describes one contribution as the componential model that describes the four psychological components underlying moral behavior. Identifies the second contribution as the conceptual and methodological reformulations known as the…

Character education is a historical and fundamental objective of a sound physical education program. Excerpts from speeches by eminent American physical educators from 1885 to the present focus on the moral and ethical development of young people and instilling in them a sense of their potential for spiritual growth. (JD)

Moral judgments are an important aspect of social reasoning, not arbitrary products of social formations. Maintains that Gabennesch relegates moral concepts to reification, failing to account for the distinctions between conventionality and moral concepts. (BC)

Using Nel Noddings ethic of Care, contends that this model of empathy has elements in common with the type of empathy method actors employ. Discusses the agreements between Caring's empathy and dramatic empathy focusing on three skills method actors use and the three differences that possess moral implications. (CMK)

This research paper attempts to show that the country's dualistic views between perceived morals and practiced morals have confused youth to the point they have difficulty telling right from wrong. The paper advocates that schools should take a more active role in moral education before that role is thrust upon them by a decaying family structure.…

Forty-five undergraduates discussed a moral issue with a confederate who had the same opinion (no controversy) or opposite opinion (controversy). Subjects in the controversy conditions discussed within either a cooperative or a competitive context. Subjects in the controversy conditions indicated more conceptual conflict or uncertainty, engaged in…

One of the major purposes of values education is to help students develop more complex ways of reasoning--to facilitate cognitive development. The purpose of moral education in a cognitive developmental framework becomes the stimulation of the student's capacity for moral judgment. With this goal in mind, the teacher must first be prepared to…

Using the main proponents of contemporary moral philosophical positions, this article examines the fruitfulness of teaching ethics to children and youth and questions whether such study has practical consequences, and if this is a necessary consideration for the study of ethics. (Editor/RK)

This is the second of a two-part series on moral education. In the first, the author questioned the effectiveness of Lawrence Kohlberg's system as an educational design. Here she dissects the entire formalist tradition in moral education to return to John Dewey for what she sees as the most effective way to teach moral education. (Editor/RK)

Outlines four logical tests for determining the validity of a person's reasoning with respect to the issue of bussing for school integration. (Author/JG)