Argues that Piaget did not consider social factors to be important in his developmental theory and considers some of the practical educational implications of Piaget's social theory. Piaget's notion of the role of social factors is reviewed, and the educational implications of the cooperative context favoring operational development with reference…

Outlines character education from the constructivist perspective, discussing Piaget's research on children's reasoning about moral rules, which offers a framework for examining education. Examines parallel teacher/child relationships, which affect moral development, and presents examples of how teachers can create cooperative interpersonal…

This manual was developed in order to study the sociomoral atmospheres of three kindergarten classrooms. Previous research by Robert Selman et al. conceptualized developmental levels of interpersonal understanding in terms of two types of experiences: negotiation, where the developmental goal is identity separate from others; and shared…

This study examined the interactions between teachers and children in three kindergarten classrooms. Programs used in the classrooms were: a direct-instruction (DI) program, representing a cultural transmission paradigm; a contructivist program (CON), representing the cognitive-developmental paradigm; and an eclectic program (ECL), combining…

Uses transcripts to present two very different approaches to helping children remember rules, reflecting very different sociomoral atmospheres that will influence children's development positively or negatively. Explores grouptime, decision making, and conflict resolution as they occur in constructivist classrooms characterized by mutual respect…

Discusses a study of the sociomoral atmosphere of three kindergarten classrooms and the sociomoral development of students. Reports that children were observed interacting as they played a board game. Concludes that the higher the level of interpersonal understanding enacted by the teacher, the higher the level enacted by children. (SG)

A microanalytic description of teachers' interactions with children suggests that the sociomoral atmospheres of three types of classrooms differ considerably. Children in the direct-instruction classroom experience an almost totally unilateral relationship with the teacher; in the constructivist classroom, there is more reciprocity and intimacy;…

Results of a study on the relationship between children's sociomoral development and the sociomoral atmospheres of three types of kindergarten classrooms suggest the possibility that heavily academic, teacher-centered programs hinder children's development of interpersonal understanding and their broader social-cognitive and moral development. (LB)