ERIC Number: ED324552
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 1988-Dec
Pages: 9
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Moral Decision Making--The Work of Lawrence Kohlberg. Information Bank Working Paper Number 2546A.
Turner, C. M.
Teaching moral behavior in schools is particularly difficult today because there is a diversity of standards reflecting the diverse elements of the culture. Even if consensus on morality could be assumed, however, past experience suggests that students would reject much of it, and neither arguing with them nor joining their rebellion is particularly constructive. A totally different way of looking at moral codes has been developed in the work of Lawrence Kohlberg. Kohlberg established two principles: (1) the process of thinking in reaching a moral decision is more important to educationists than the content of the decision; and (2) all people through childhood, adolescence, and adulthood develop through stages of moral decision making. He identified three levels of thinking, within each of which were two stages. The six stages progress from "obedience and punishment orientation" to "conscience or principle orientation." Awareness of the moral content of decision making is an important part of college life; the process should be taught to students and used by faculty in arriving at decisions for the college. (KC)
Publication Type: Opinion Papers
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: Further Education Staff Coll., Blagdon (England).
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A


