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Application
on: Well, in the John Dewey sense, it means that we need to deliberately promote
more adequate moral reasoning through the process of schooling. Some research
indi- cates that if there is not a certain percentage of post-conventional reasoning
present bythe time a pupil leaves high school, it is un- likely that growth toward
stage 5 and 6 rea- soning will take hold after this time. Less than a third of adults
appear to develop post-con- ventional forms of moral reasoning. Today, educational
researchers have preliminary evidence that it is possible to promote struc- tural
change in moral judgment through di- rect instructional methods. This could have
tremendous significance for the extension of rights and responsibilities among
persons in the next generation.
Elements: Issues of fairness, reciprocity, and of equal sharing are always
presenschool community. These issues often in- volve genuine moral conflicts that
affect classroom members or even the school as a whole. Much of the current moral
develop- ment research has been done using class- room discussions to stimulate
cognitive con- flict. The teacher, using moral dilemma ex- amples drawn from
history, literature, sci- ence, family studies, or possibly the class- room interaction
itself: -helps the students recognize genuine moral dilemmas confronting them and
the specific issues of competing rights and responsibilities involved; -facilitates
explorations of alternative solu- tions of justice; -encourages examination of the
alternatives to make a decision on the best resolution
such that fairness is extended in the most adequate way. Thus, by providing an
environment forex- amining conflict in ways which encourage students to take the
perspective of others, the teacher encourages the "stretching and searching
process" which seems necessary for cognitive restructuring to occur
the relationship between rea- soning and behavior on moral issues has some sound
theoretical bridges, but has not yet been satisfactorily researched. Dr. Kohl- berg
stresses that principled moral judgement is a necessary but not a sufficient
condition for principled moral action to occur. Other variables, such as ego strength
and emotion, come into the picture. However, some studies do indicate that persons
at a pre-conven- tional level are more apt to act in a self-serv- ing way, and persons
at a post-conventional level of moral judgment are more likely to act in a pro-social
way. If wewantto bridge moral reasoning to action through education in our schools,
it seems certain we will need to make our schools more moral institutions. Schools
are usually maintained at a punishment/ obedience or a law-and-order level of
moral- ity. If we want our students to have experi- ence using principled ways of
settling inter- personal issues we educators must move out of the power orientation.
Dr. Kohlberg's de- velopment and research of a just community school model in
Cambridge offers a promis- ing direction for examining this reasoning to behavior
issue because he involves students in responsible action in making the rules of the
school.