Examined role of age and education in adult moral reasoning. Interviewed 195 adults between ages of 19 and 82 using standard Kohlberg moral dilemmas. Subjects' education levels ranged from 3 to 25 years. Found no overall significant effect for age, no significant effect for gender, and significant effect for education. (Author/NB)

States that the concept of developmental stages is going through a revival. Compares developmental stages from three points of view: (1) Piaget's original formulation, (2) cognitive development, and (3) socio-moral development. Outlines reasons for maintaining a hard-structural stage model by the Kohlbergian theorists. (GG)

Examines the moral orientations of 212 male and female characters in 50 works of fiction for school-aged children using a modified version of Lyon's coding scheme. Findings confirm sex role stereotypic characterizations that could influence development of moral decision-making. (FMW)

Reports two studies of a method for classifying justifications of moral judgments and suggests its use in demonstrating developmental trends during adolescence. Argues that this method distinguishes content of moral judgments from justifications for them, analyzes justifications relative to both abstraction and reflection, and assigns…

Reports on the activities of the Josephson Institute for the Advancement of Ethics which was created to promote ethical principles. Points out that the Institute's program focuses on the movement from judgment to action and attracts professionals in decision-making positions. Provides a description of a workshop and an address for obtaining…

Presents an assignment where students are asked to read, speak, role play, and write on ethical questions, which sharpens and strengthens the research paper component of English composition, while setting the student free in the world of ideas. (RAE)

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)

To assist counselors who face difficult situations, the helping professions have generated both ethical codes and decision-making models. Because the process of decision making seems to be related to cognitive-moral development, this article details ethical codes and decision models and speculates on how counselor level of development may…

Examined children's reasoning about mixed-domain events containing both conventional and moral components--violating a conventional rule and negatively affecting others. Found that older children were able to identify the moral components of mixed-domain events and combined moral and conventional issues in their reasoning. Younger children were…

Presents 14 questions and answers that deal with moral education and character formation in particular schools and classrooms. Suggests that schools which move in a "for character" direction are moving toward the "hallowed goal" of school community, so widely praised by educational reformers. (RS)

Examined whether a relationship exists between family adaptability and cohesion and principled moral reasoning. The moral reasoning level of 131 adolescents was measured using the Defining Issues Test, and levels of perceived family adaptability and cohesion were measured using Family and Adaptability and Cohesion Scales. No significant…

Investigated moral judgment delay in adolescent delinquents based on sex differences and specific moral value areas. Found that delinquents of both sexes were, on average, developmentally delayed in moral judgment, particularly on values related to the law. However, they rated values such as promise keeping, helping others, and saving life as…

This article examines Vygotsky's and Bakhtin's work as it relates to moral reflection. A sociocultural approach based on Vygotsky's and Bakhtin's work provides the theoretical underpinnings for engaging children in authentic, critical, and reflective discourse. It is through such communicative exchanges that teachers help children develop…

The mental capacity of 120 children aged 10 to 16 years was measured with 2 visual information-processing tasks, and their level of moral development was assessed with the Sociomoral Reflection Measure. Results suggest that mental capacity is a necessary but not sufficient condition for moral developmental growth. (LB)

Advocates defining cultural literacy to recognize the mass media's role in transmitting and maintaining cultural stereotypes and shaping values and beliefs. Distinguishes between ideational and material aspects of culture. Advocates teaching critical thinking and respect for persons in light of questionable moral perspectives in certain media…