ERIC Number: ED157815
Record Type: RIE
Publication Date: 1978
Pages: 23
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Developments in Kohlberg's Theory and Scoring of Moral Dilemmas. Occasional Paper No. 6.
Kuhmerker, Lisa
Methodology related to Lawrence Kohlberg's theory of moral development has been continuously refined by creation and evaluation of additional research instruments. Instruments have been tested at summer scoring workshops presented by Kohlberg and his staff at the Center for Moral Education, Harvard University, in 1972, 1973, and 1976. Instruments include: (1) a standard-form scoring system to redefine the stages of moral development at a structural level and distinguish more clearly between issues and concerns; (2) a structural interviewing system which penetrates beyond a subject's opinions, attitudes, and beliefs to basic reasoning or justification patterns; and (3) a standard moral-interview format, which directs the subject to make the choice at the beginning of each dilemma. Many problems related to interviewer misperception of values placed by the subject on a particular issue have been alleviated by asking the subject to weight the values. Other problems encountered by participants at scoring workshops relate to dominant-issue scoring. Participants should have fewer problems with scoring if they refer to Kohlberg's 1977 manual, average across elements within the governing norm, and consider unsolicited reasoning responses by the subject during the interview. The conclusion is that Kohlberg's moral development theory is constantly being improved as Kohlberg and other scholars work to make it more relevant to moral dilemmas. (Author/DB)
Descriptors: Attitudes, Data Analysis, Decision Making, Decision Making Skills, Educational Improvement, Educational Practices, Educational Psychology, Educational Trends, Moral Development, Research Methodology, Research Tools, Scoring Formulas, State of the Art Reviews, Summer Programs, Theories, Values, Workshops
Research for Better Schools, Inc., 1700 Market Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103 ($2.00 paperbound)
Publication Type: Books
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: N/A
Sponsor: Hazen Foundation, New Haven, CT.; Office of Education (DHEW), Washington, DC.
Authoring Institution: Research for Better Schools, Inc., Philadelphia, PA.
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A