Data from four separate case studies examining socialization and moral education in the elementary schools of Jamaica, Argentina, Uruguay, and Venezuela are compared and analyzed. The analysis is intended to help national officials, university personnel, and community leaders interpret what is happening in relation to moral values and the educational process. Part 1, which comprises about 30% of the publication, contains the comparative analysis. Parts 2, 3, 4, and 5 contain the case studies for the four countries. Data show that the educational systems in all four countries explicitly define the ground rules of moral conduct in their aims, content, and activities (excluding methods of teaching, teacher behavior, and school organization). With the exception of social studies courses in Jamaica, the development of critical consciousness and autonomous moral judgments concerning social issues is not included in the curricula. Family, communication media, church, and other social groups are also sources of socialization which reinforce traditional values and the status quo in these highly stratified and elitist countries, rather than the development of moral consciousness. (RM)