Presents a theoretical perspective for the psychological study of moral development which does not rely on the notion that different types of moral view have different logical structures and which provides a framework for specific predictions about moral content and moral reasoning, motivation, and behavior. (Author/RH)

Examines and dismantles both cognitive-developmental theory of moral education and development and the politically based radical criticisms against it. Considers the implications for moral education of Piagetian cognitive-developmental stage theory and Rawlsian ethical liberalism. Calls for a reconstructed theory based on a new, broader…

Supports teaching literature from a religious point of view. (JL)

Explores reasons for the current ineffectiveness of moral education and offers an alternative perspective on the proper purpose and methods for moral education. This ideal moral education is based primarily on the belief that social interactions during childhood are highly significant in the development of morality and on the functionalist…

Describes a study which showed that a transgressor's affective reactions significantly influenced children's moral judgments. Children in grades 1-3 told stories in which a transgressor acted out of good or bad intent, produced low or high levels of damage, and displayed various emotions because of the outcomes he produced. (RM)

Interviewed American, British, and German young people about their ideas regarding numerous political, social, and moral issues. Discusses the children's conceptions of community and of law, the growth of principles, and their understanding of human psychology and social reality. (Author/GC)

Advocates the application of L. Kohlberg's stages of moral reasoning to literary characters as a stimulus to generate insightful interpretations of characters' actions in literature. (HOD)

Compared the moral development of delinquent and nondelinquent adolescents. Subjects (N=249) were administered a morality test for children including the following measures: resistance to temptation, moral stage, feelings after offense, judgment about the severity of punishment, and confession. In most measures of moral development, nondelinquents…

Students (N=178) judged the adequacy of reasons presented in stage prototypic responses to moral dilemmas to provide a profile of the frequency and strength with which students rejected early stage reasons. Data indicated definite age trends in rejecting lower-stage reasoning. Higher-stage items produced no significant age differences. (RC)

Six factors related to cheating behavior are identified: stress, environment, intelligence, personality characteristics, definitions of cheating, and moral judgment and will. The results of a faculty-student survey on cheating are reported, revealing different perceptions of what constitutes cheating. Methods for countering academic cheating are…

The premise of "A Quest for Common Learning," which questioned the value of distribution requirements in 95 percent of U.S. colleges, is challenged. It is suggested that the varied academic disciplines demonstrate the pursuit of truth, and general education must immerse the student in a number of disciplines. (MLW)

An alternative social psychological model of moral development, proposed by Robert Hogan, is assessed. Five character-trait dimensions of moral character (moral knowledge, socialization, empathy, autonomy, and ethical attitudes) were used to predict a measure of rule-breaking behavior. Results indicate some support for Hogan's model. (Author)

Examines issues and problems related to moral education which have been raised and discussed by R.S. Peters. His essay, "Reason and Habit: The Paradox of Moral Education," suggests that if Peters and others who write on moral education would specify the particular paradox/difficulty they have in mind, scholars and educators would have a…

Questions child welfare policy of maintaining a child with natural parents at all costs. Research on the moral development of children in group homes indicated that placement in stable, democratic, and caring group homes was preferable to leaving the child in a severely disturbed family. (Author/DB)

A curriculum for counselor training was piloted with inservice counselors and teachers. Significant gains were achieved in counseling skills and moral reasoning, but shifts in ego and conceptual level failed to reach statistical significance. Implications for training are discussed. A case for a developmental perspective is made. (Author)