Essay on the Moral Development of Children, Through the Ages and Stages; Referring to Kohlberg and Lickona.
As educators, we need to understand the moral devel¬opment of our students. Why? The answer is, as a classroom teacher, we are confronted with hundreds of issues pertaining to our students’ moral reasoning each day.
These may range from decisions they make about whether to cheat on a test to whether to be tolerant toward a classmate who is being picked on by others. Every day, our students make hundreds of comments and decisions that involve moral reasoning. Knowing how and when to respond, requires the teacher to understand the theory and principles underlying the process of moral development.
There are several theories and principles by psychologists related to the process of moral development. Freud, a social theorist, proposed a psychoanalytic theory where children form a conscience or superego through identification with the same sex parent (Cole & Cole, 1996). A child would behave morally in order to avoid guilt and criticism from the internalized superego. The conscience was considered developed by age 6, with reinforcement during middle childhood. Erickson, another social theorist, modified Freudian theory by extending the idea that moral development continued into adulthood (Berk, 1994). The superego was viewed more positively with behavior motivated by ideals versus sanctions. In contrast, Bandura's social learning theory (1991) outlines moral development as a consequence of modeling, where children observe and imitate the moral behavior of the adults in their world. The model's characteristics are important as children tend to imitate those who are perceived to be caring, competent, and consistent. Damon constructed a theory whereby morality emerged from social experiences with parents and peers (Cole & Cole, 1996). Changes in reasoning after the age of eight reflect a child's increasing sophistication at logically examining a situation, while also taking into account empathy and emotional feeling in their evaluations as well.
Piaget developed a
These may range from decisions they make about whether to cheat on a test to whether to be tolerant toward a classmate who is being picked on by others. Every day, our students make hundreds of comments and decisions that involve moral reasoning. Knowing how and when to respond, requires the teacher to understand the theory and principles underlying the process of moral development.
There are several theories and principles by psychologists related to the process of moral development. Freud, a social theorist, proposed a psychoanalytic theory where children form a conscience or superego through identification with the same sex parent (Cole & Cole, 1996). A child would behave morally in order to avoid guilt and criticism from the internalized superego. The conscience was considered developed by age 6, with reinforcement during middle childhood. Erickson, another social theorist, modified Freudian theory by extending the idea that moral development continued into adulthood (Berk, 1994). The superego was viewed more positively with behavior motivated by ideals versus sanctions. In contrast, Bandura's social learning theory (1991) outlines moral development as a consequence of modeling, where children observe and imitate the moral behavior of the adults in their world. The model's characteristics are important as children tend to imitate those who are perceived to be caring, competent, and consistent. Damon constructed a theory whereby morality emerged from social experiences with parents and peers (Cole & Cole, 1996). Changes in reasoning after the age of eight reflect a child's increasing sophistication at logically examining a situation, while also taking into account empathy and emotional feeling in their evaluations as well.
Piaget developed a
References: 1. Lickona, T. (1991) Education for character: how our schools can teach respect and responsibility. New York: Bantam Books 2. Coopersmith, S. (1967). The antecedents of self-esteem. San Francisco: Freeman 3. Berk, L. (1994). Child Development (3rd Edition). Boston: Allyn & Bacon 4. Cole, M., & Cole, S. (1996). The development of children (3rd Edition). New York: W.H. Freeman & Co. 5. Santrock, J. (1998). Adolescence (7th Edition). Boston: McGraw-Hill 6. Kohlberg, L., Levine, C., & Hewer, A. (1983). Moral stages: A current formulation and a response to critics. Basel: Karger. 7. Bandura, A. (1991). Social cognitive theory of moral thought and action. In W. Kurtines & J. Gewirtz (Eds.), Handbook of moral behavior and development (Vol. 1, pp. 45-103). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum