This report discusses the outcomes of a study that examined the beliefs concerning the moral and religious development of individuals with mental retardation. Forty-four individuals who met the criteria of professionals who provide direct care to, or had administrative responsibility for, individuals with mental retardation participated in the…

Ethical development was investigated in a cross-cultural context by examining both the cognitive structure of ethical reasoning and the content of perceived moral norms in black Carib boys of British Honduras in the framework of stage theory. (Author/JM)

A theory put forward by Reginald Archambault is that moral education can be fostered through the study of other subjects - he suggested history and literature. Article examined this theory in relation to art. (Author/RK)

A sample of nuclear families is drawn to test hypothesis that role-taking is a function of the interactive effects of value similarity and affect. Support is found for the position that, in certain conditions, value similarity, regardless of the level of affect, is strongly related to role-taking accuracy. (RP)

Seven-year olds (N=55) were administered cognitive measures of communicative egocentrism and moral judgment and were provided with two opportunities to display altruistic behavior; (1) to donate candy to poor children, and (2) to help a younger child complete a task. Success on the two cognitive measures was positively correlated with the…

Article explores the idea that exposure to fictional characters on the motion picture screen or on television causes the viewer, expecially young people, to identify with one or more of the characters involved. Suggestions for improvements in research into mass communications are offered. (Author/RK)

Experiment designed to test the hypotheses that children's moral judgments are dependent upon sanctions; that independence of sanctions increases with age; that the dependent upon sanctions is determined by the content in the story problem and the type of sanction employed. (Authors/CB)

In delineating a program of moral education for the schools, the question must be asked whether a framework of moral education can be provided that is constructive and responsible, and that does not simply impose a set of authoritarian values, yet give a child some guidance. (Author)

Given our present moral knowledge and human needs, a new discipline of Life Values Education, and particularly of Life Values guidance and counseling, is both a possibility and necessity. (Author)

Presents findings from a three-year study of a volunteer service program at a college-preparatory Catholic high school. Reveals that students with service experience showed significantly higher rates of moral growth than those without this experience. Adds that faculty involvement and student reflection and discussion were also essential for…

This paper reports the development and standardization of the Moral Development Scale (MDS), an individually-administered set of tasks designed to assess the overall level of moral reasoning within a Piagetian framework. Data are presented on the scale's reliability and validity as well as norms derived from the cross-validation sample. (Author/BW)

Provides an overview of Kohlberg's five stages of moral reasoning and Damon's levels of positive justice. Argues that a conditioning approach to moral development is inadequate, suggesting teaching methods for facilitating moral development based on helping children understand principles and reasons. (RH)

A study of fourth-year dental students evaluated the possible relationship between the level of moral reasoning and clinical academic achievement. No correlation was found. One reason may be that the structure of the clinical program precludes autonomous decision making by students. (MSE)

The cognitive-developmental theory of moral development of the handicapped--i.e., a stage-like progress of moral reasoning with age--is only partially confirmed. While there is a development from the less to the more mature forms of moral reasoning, that course of development is not entirely such as the theory assumes. (Author/RM)