Moral Development: Key Points

Compiled by Adriana Murphy, 2007 (Working Draft)

Contributors: Susan Bauska, Dr. Beth Corrie, Scott Gartlan, Adriana Murphy, Mike Pardee, and Julie Stevens

Character/ Moral Development

…is not a constellation of virtues.

… is a set of understandings, skills, and dispositions to act in situations that call for action.

What is Moral Development?

Moral development is sometimes referred to as character education, ethical education, moral excellence, being “smart and good”, but fundamentally, it is comprehensive, and based on the understanding that there is a natural progression in moral understanding and reasoning that grows alongside other markers of child development (Kohlberg and Nucci).

It is not a program to be added to a full plate, it is the plate (Berkowitz).

Rationale (Lickona and Davidson)

Researchers shows that moral development/ character is the essential attribute required for success in school and life

Moral development/character helps individuals become both smart and good.

Performance character= excellence in achievements Moral character= being ethical in relationships and

citizenship It’s dangerous to be smart without being ethical and

useless to be ethical without being smart

Rationale (Berkowitz)

When moral development/character education has been addressed and implemented thoughtfully in schools…

Socio-moral cognition improved Pro-social behavior and attitudes improved Problem-solving skills improved Violence/aggression decreased Drug use decreased Emotional competency improved Attitudes toward risky behavior decreased (i.e., engaging in drinking) Overall school behavior improved Academic achievement improved Attachment to school/school pride improved—ownership, real buy-in

Some examples put in practice Acknowledge the virtues in your students. Instead of just saying

“Thank you”, say: “Thank you for your helpfulness.” Meet your students at the door Don’t cut in line; model what you want your students to do Focus on the moral issues in the texts you use to draw out

discussions Cross-grade collaboration Community service and service learning Add “kindness” as an official core value (Cannon School) Re-examine your school’s mission; do you do what you say and

say what you do?

Other Examples… Use “developmental discipline”: focus on harm

done to others, on how others are affected by our misbehavior, and on repairing the damage to the extent possible

Give students meaningful roles to play in school government and other aspects of school life

Engage teachers in an ongoing conversation regarding “how we can make this an even better school”

Know Thyself

Training for effective character education requires familiarizing oneself with the research and theory relating to moral development/character and the complex, comprehensive approach to moral development and character education.

Domain Theory: Larry Nucci

There are three domains under which human and knowledge interactions fall: moral, conventional, and personal.

Moral Domain: Actions that have effects on others; fairness, kindness, justice.

Conventional Domain: Rules that are set up to organize society.

Personal Domain: People define some things in terms of personal preference rather than right or wrong. Actions have consequences primarily for the actor, no one else.

Domain appropriate education allows for reflection on and analysis of social issues as being moral, conventional, personal or overlapping through discussion that is carefully guided by the teacher, adheres to specific rules, and is developmentally appropriate.

Kids often conflate the moral with the conventional as do adults, therefore, our understanding of morality is diminished when we make categorical mistakes.

Moral development and character education are more effective when students are taught to reason in the different domains than if they are given a list of values to inculcate.

Attachment Theory and Learning to Trust: Marilyn Watson

Children are “wired” to want to be cooperative and pro-social

Moral behavior results from creating an environment that supports moral behavior (having clear expectations, teaching requisite skills, stopping harmful behavior, adults behaving consistently) and where adults model moral behavior (treating all students/colleagues with care and respect, apologizing for mistakes)

Grounded in the belief that children internalize values when those values are made clear and when children’s basic human needs for autonomy, belonging, and competence, are met

Parenting and Children’s Moral Development: Judith Smetana

Parents and teachers are important for moral development, but they are not the only source, most of children’s interactions are happening at the peer level. *Parents and teachers are there to help children interpret those interactions.

Adolescents do not reject adults’ moral and conventional standards (although adults think they do)

Resistance is selective Parent-teen conflict occurs at the boundaries of parents’

conventional authority and adolescents’ personal jurisdiction Parents must recognize teens’ growing desires for independence and their

increasing competence to make decisions (while making sure they are safe) Moderate conflict in the context of warm, supportive family relationships can

be functional in transforming family relationships and developing autonomy

Smart and Good (Performance Character and Moral Character): Drs. Thomas

Lickona and Matthew Davidson

Character is what helps individuals become both smart and good.

According to Lickona and Davidson, there are six first steps in creating schools that exercise both intellectual and ethical muscles:

1. Develop a school-wide TOUCHSTONE

2. Engage faculty, staff, students and parents in developing a COMPACT FOR EXCELLENCE

3. Create a CULTURE OF EXCELLENCE

4. Collect and use DATA

5. Develop a participatory STUDENT GOVERNMENT and a strong HONOR CODE

6. Exercise the POWER OF ONE

Implementation1. Analysis of school mission, motto, philosophy2. Buy-in from Head and or other key administrators3. Develop language of moral development/ character from top

down 4. Buy-in from staff and give them a major role in defining what

“character” should look like in this school5. Highlighting moral development/character education

opportunities that already exist in the curriculum (e.g. various disciplines, could give examples)

6. Develop student government, honor code, advisory systems7. Buy-in from parents8. Parent education9. Buy in from students

*Students should be involved in all stages of planning and development

It Takes a Village

Recognize coaches, bus drivers, custodial staff, support staff, neighbors. Acknowledge them as models of character and people who also influence your students/children. It takes a village to raise a child.

Effective Strategies for Moral Development/Character

Education: Cooperative learning groups Moral dilemma discussions Role-playing, perspective-

taking activities Class meetings Guided advisory group

activities Present content dealing with

moral action/values drawn from historical, cultural, or literary sources

Provide background on moral exemplars

Provide opportunities for students to problem-solve and make decisions through student government, honor councils, and service programs

Interpersonal social skills, through awareness and self-management

Intrapersonal skills, through cooperation and mediation

Constructive and “culture of caring” critique

Opportunities to practice collective responsibility

Measurement of Success

Use surveys and collect data from students, staff, parents, community

Examine disciplinary cases and see if they have decreased

Retention CEP 11 Principles

CSEE Moral Development Advisory Board

Marvin Berkowitz, Ph.D.Matthew Davidson, Ph.D. Thomas Lickona, Ph.D.Larry Nucci, Ph.D.Judith Smetana, Ph. D.Elliott Turiel, Ph.D.Marilyn Watson Ph.D.

CSEE Moral Development Team

A dozen teachers and administrators from Independent Schools who have trained with the top researchers and moral development educators in North America.

The MDT is a resource to help Independent Schools:• define their specific needs for social, emotional, moral

development• set goals regarding the aspects of character they want

to work on• understand steps that can be taken to reach those

goals• understand how to implement those steps• evaluate and fine-tune a school’s specific program