This paper explores the issue of sex bias in a contemporary major theory of moral development, cognitive moral theory. It explains critical reactions by Carol Gilligan and others questioning whether cognitive moral theory adequately accounts for female moral reasoning and behavior in its theory and research procedures. Several general…

This document explores the way in which courage, as a central virtue, and friendship, as a valued human state, have a significant place within the view of the education of character. Education of character is determined to bridge the gap between moral judgment and moral action. This paper has five sections. First, the need for character education…

Two studies examined children's inferences of personality for actors engaging in different domains of behavior. In both studies, first, fourth, and seventh graders were given two descriptions of actors engaging in either moral or conventional transgressions. Findings indicated that children's concepts of persons were inferred from information…

Describes how various teachers in public and parochial schools have used CRP (Character Research Project Curriculum) materials to insert positive character training into their particular class situations. (DS)

Describes YMCA (Young Men's Christian Association) Leadership Schools and the effect of CRP (Character Research Project) materials on young delegates. (DS)

This book discusses the moral development theories of Piaget and Kohlberg and presents practical applications of these theories for teachers and parents. The author's purpose in writing the book is to present an exposition of the work of these men to the general reading public. Chapter titles are Introduction to Developmental Theories, presenting…

Describes the Child Development Project in California, which holds that academic and character education are equally important goals for schools. The project has been established to produce long-lasting effects on children's "prosocial" development. (MD)

Describes higher levels of morality by contrasting Kohlber's Cognitive Developmentalism and Dabrowski's Positive Disintegration. It argues that far from being a gift, high-level morality is a function of the whole person. It is something chosen and striven for, and the result of compassion and some kind of disintegration. (Author/CR)

This paper addresses the pros and cons educators may encounter if they are involved in a character education program. Those supporting a character education program offer the following reasons: (1) decline of a traditional family structure; (2) erosion of the values system of key institutions; (3) the position of schools as the second most…

As a background to the present research, preliminary discussion is focused on Piaget's formulation of moral development in the child and recent investigations based on that formulation. The objective of this research was to assess the interrelationships between level of moral judgment maturity and several other sectors of development. A moral…

This paper deals with two specific issues: the explanation of moral conduct and the structure of moral character. The purpose of the paper is to describe a new psychological perspective on moral conduct, and to discuss some empirical findings which follow from this perspective. Morality is regarded here as a natural phenomenon which considers…

Growing public concern with student discipline, increases in student suicide rates, homicides, and high pregnancy rates of teenage girls are causing educators to give renewed attention to the concept of "character development" in public education. (MD)

This paper offers suggestions for structural changes needed in the classroom to develop the moral side of students' lives. Curriculum designs often do not translate into moral behavior. A more systemic and philosophically pedagogical interest in moral development must begin to pervade classrooms in order to make them places where student ethical…

Discusses the role of conscience in moral decisions and several approaches to moral education. Indicates that moral development is an interactive process between children and their environment and that empathy, delayed gratification, and the courage to withstand social pressure must be encouraged in the moral education of youth. (MAB)