ERIC Number: ED184692
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 1975
Pages: 103
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Concepts of Justice Among Children in an Appalachian Community.
Taylor, Carol Goodwin
Responses to Piagetian-type stories were gathered from seven Appalachian children ranging in age from 7-14 years. Their responses were examined in two ways: (1) individually, in order to see whether each child's sense of justice had evolved in accord with the age findings of Piaget; and (2) collectively, in order to determine similarities and differences among the children concerning beliefs about several justice-related issues. Data on individual concepts of justice pointed to significant delays in the development of two children. Both subjects were functioning at a level of conceptualizing about justice that was far below the age findings of Piaget. Examined collectively, the data on justice-related issues revealed that the subjects varied widely in their notions about the nature and purpose of punishment; that they held equality to be more important than authority but less important than obedience; that they relied heavily on authority figures to resolve conflicts between children; and that they universally rejected the concept of collective responsibility. In sum, the data revealed evidence for the existence of some delay in subjects' senses of justice, especially as regards the issues of authority and obedience; however, the evidence was felt to be insubstantial as regards attributing these delays entirely to the restrictive atmosphere of Appalachia. (Author/JMB)
Descriptors: Adolescents, Children, Concept Formation, Justice, Literature Reviews, Moral Development
Publication Type: Dissertations/Theses - Masters Theses; Reports - Research; Information Analyses
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A