People desire to have positive self-esteem. Research by Crocker, Luhtanen, Cooper, & Bouvrette (2003) has demonstrated that late adolescents buttress their sense of self-worth through at least seven different means. Focusing primarily on two such contingencies (seeking to support self-esteem through virtuous behavior and through competitive…

In this article, we introduce the four component model (FCM), which describes both the internal processes that play distinct roles in the production of moral behavior and their associated sets of relevant, teachable skills. We use this model as an analytic framework to examine college students' moral character experiences reported in the Wabash…

Twenty-first century transformations have taken place within the framework of globalisation of the economy, the spread of information technology and global migration resulting in increased cultural diversity in many societies. This qualitative study investigated perspective transformation in 18 research students, from Australia, Hong Kong SAR, and…

The purpose of this qualitative study intends to understand the concepts of self-authorship and the influence of masculinity upon self-authorship in the lived experiences of Christian men who attend a faith-based, liberal arts institution of higher education. Marcia Baxter Magolda's (2008) study on self-authorship shaped the conceptual framework…

"Future life perspective" and "present action," whose interaction affects how one's current activity affects later life, offer a critical crossroads for young adults in Japan as stable career paths have become more uncertain. Past generations benefited from stable institutional pathways, but recent generations must forge their…

This article explores what it means to flourish in and through education and why we should position such flourishing as an issue of morality. We draw on the capabilities approach (CA) advanced by Amartya Sen and Martha Nussbaum and locate the argument in the practical context of higher education (HE) in unequal societies. We use qualitative data…

In these workshop materials, Perry's scheme of intellectual and ethical development is graphically portrayed. This is followed by: (1) an epistemological overview of positions two to five of the Perry scheme (what to learn, how to learn, how to think, and how to judge in context); (2) an overview of Perry scheme instrumentation; (3) Perry rating…

After discussing with his students the widely reported view of many college students that financial security is their overriding goal, a business professor conducted a survey of the students' opinions on the subject. Of specific interest were: (1) the extent to which students believed their awareness of ethics had been altered; (2) the extent to…

This article explores the impact of conflict and war on children's moral education, taking the case of Palestine as an example. It begins by giving a brief background to the emergency situation in Palestine and the impact this has on children. The second section reports research findings about the attitudes of Palestinian teachers, parents and…

The development of values clarification in education can open the door to growth and self-fulfillment for the individual. (JD)

Investigated the relationships among gender, age, and self-image of adolescents attending three secondary schools in Jamaica. Results revealed statistically significant effects for both gender and age. Gender significantly influenced morals, while age differences affected six other dimensions. Some results contradicted past research. (RJM)

This action research project implemented strategies for effectively promoting attitude and values to elicit good character in children. The targeted population consisted of first and third grade students in three schools in a middle class community in northern Illinois. The lack of respect and poor moral values contributed to the data that are…

Suggests that real life can be depressing enough without subjecting teenagers to a steady diet of reading assignments whose content is largely negative. Laments that a search has turned up so few examples of "good" literature and asks for suggestions. (RBW)

Students' written responses to open-ended moral questions were studied by having 61 eighth graders, 73 eleventh graders, and 52 college sophomores respond to hypothetical dilemmas and describe their own moral reasoning. Mature moral reasoning is associated with noncontextual, nonemotional reasoning. Feminine moral concerns are important to all…

Whether classics or contemporary works of literature would most affect the declared attitudes of high school seniors in urban areas towards certain moral values was the subject of this experiment in New York City. Two teachers each taught one course in contemporary literature and one in the classics. The students taking the classics course read…