In this document, one of a series of papers commissioned by Foundations (a development project designed to examine the career development needs of students entering the National Technical Institute for the Deaf), the processes of moral development in persons with hearing impairments are examined. The work of J. Piaget is first reviewed, followed by a discussion of L. Kohlberg's six hierarchical stages of moral reasoning and a review of a responsibilities vs. rights orientation of morality. Research on moral development in hearing impaired students is reviewed, suggesting a delay in psychosocial development among the hearing impaired. Studies are then reviewed in terms of the effects of three factors on moral growth: cognitive development, liberation from the coercive constraint of adult authority, and social interaction. It is concluded that special efforts should be made to provide opportunities for dialogue within two broad types of social experience: those promoting a rights orientation through participation in governance and challenging intellectual study, and those promoting a responsibility orientation through more personal work with others. (CL)