Level one and two of Kohlberg 's stages of moral development are present within the children and teachers of this case 's school and it has resulted in cheating and poor administrative decisions. Having most of the students at lower levels is harming the learning environment for the students and this needs to be resolved through activities and workshops for both the teachers and the students. Through the examples of actions taken at the school it is clear that the majority of the students and teachers are within the first two levels and this is negatively impacting the atmosphere with cheating and poor administrative decisions. Stage one is seen in two students with them only fearing repercussions from their actions and not whether they are …show more content…
First, both Truman and Elsa are pre-conventional level one stage one. This is clear due to their actions and moral reasoning being solely based off direct consequences and punishment. Elsa states after being asked if she would cheat again "it depends what the consequences are" (Case Study Description, 2016, Case 2). Here we can see that Elsa relates good and bad directly to punishment and consequences and this is directly representative of stage one. Truman, who also cheated, states a similar reason thinking he wouldn 't get caught. This is another clear example of level one stage one moral decision. These are pre-conventional stage one reasoning as their actions are punishment driven and cheating is only perceived as wrong if they are caught and punished. A key aspect of Kohlberg 's stages that differs from many other developmental systems is that there is no age restrictions on each stage. This is seen when both the principal and Mary are at level one stage two. Both Mary and the principal choose actions driven by self interest and does not consider outside groups and reputations. This is seen when Mary pays other students to do her homework. The principal if seen portraying stage two behavior when the case study describes the principal 's initiatives as being "in the personal interest of the principal rather than the students" (Case …show more content…
It would be necessary to workshop both the students and the administrative staff however this must be done separately to avoid embarrassment and keep the teachers being perceived as mentors. First the teachers should use the next personal development day to attend a workshop where they will participate in lessons and activities to learn Kohlberg 's stages of moral development. It is important to train the teachers first as they can then be good role models for the students and help them progress as well. After the teachers and the principal the next goal would be to help the students advance their moral development. If the students were younger in age I would suggest using more activities and childhood stories with messages behind them as they would be more receptive. Some stories that would help simulate moral discussion are "The Little Red Hen" or "The Little Engine That Could". These stories with themes of helping and deeper messages would be very useful in helping teach morals to younger children but would obviously be useless for older children. Another activity we learned that can help teach children 's morality is taking care of a class pet. This is because taking care of a fish or other pet requires students to pay attention and give care to something other than themselves and can help them get out of this first few stages. However, if the students were
Kohlberg’s Theory of Moral Development is three levels consisting of two stages in each. Kohlberg’s Theory explains how a human’s mind morally develops. Level one is typically common in younger children. The two stages in level one are pre-conventional stages. Stage one is obedience and punishment driven; one will judge an action by the consequences given. Stage two is out of self interest. Level two is mostly common in teenagers. The stages in this level
I noticed in Piaget stages of moral development Kevin is in the autonomous morality stage. Kevin has realized the rules at school and standards can be negotiated and or changed because his parents can get the school to change the rules or policies for his benefit. On Kohlberg’s stage Kevin, his behaviors can be related to the conventional level stage 4. Broderick and Blewitt describes Kohlberg’s conventional morality as “what is right depends on other’s approval or on the need to maintain social order” (pg. 261). Kevin’s peers react to his negative behaviors is effecting his moral
Rest, J., Narvaez, D., Thoma, S., & Bebeau, M. (1999). DIT2: Devising and testing a revised instrument of moral judgment. Journal of Educational Psychology, 91(4), 644-659.
The second stage children recognize that there is not just one right view that is handed down by the authorities. This comes to the ...
Lawrence Kohlberg is known for his Theory of Moral Development. The method that Kohlberg used was that of “moral dilemmas”. Kohlberg studied Piaget but developed his own theory. He would give individuals of different ages these dilemmas and survey their answers to see what the reasoning behind their answers were. An example of a dilemma is the “Heinz Dilemma”. In this dilemma there is a man whose wife is very sick and needs a certain type of medication. There is only one man who sells this drug in the area and he is charging more than the man can pay for. The husband of the wife decided to steal the drug in order to save his wife. At the end of this scenario, it asks if the husband should’ve stolen the medicine. This provides an example of how he went about creating these moral dilemmas. They are situations in which there are multiple answers and reasoning that could be provided. There was no “right” answer in the moral dilemma questions (as the answer to each question was solely based off of the individual’s opinion and moral reasoning). The reasoning that the individuals presented help develop levels of reasoning. These levels are also known as stages. In Kohlberg’s stages, sub stages are also included. The stages are: Preconventional, Conventional, and Postconventional. Each stages had two sub stages that helped determine what level of moral reasoning a person was at. In the preconvnetional stage the two sub stages are: Reward and punishment orientation and Naive reciprocity orientation. The preconventional stage begins at about age five and decreases with age. The sub stages in the conventional stage are: Good boy/girl Orientation and Authority and social order maintenance orientation. This stage increases ...
As a preschool teacher, one should be reminded that selfish- behavior is very typical at this age (Omrod, 2014). When this behavior emerges in the classroom, one should encourage prosocial behavior. For example, encourage students to comfort each other when one is feeling sad or angry. Another important rule of thumb should is to make sure classroom standards should be made very clear at the beginning of the school year. These standards should be posted somewhere clearly for everyone to see. If a student misbehaves in class, revisit the standards and give reasons as to why their behavior is unacceptable, also focus on why and how their behavior caused harm or distress to other students or the teacher. Another way to encourage moral and prosocial behavior in the classroom is to model it. Children are more apt to exhibit moral and prosocial behavior when they see others behaving in such a way. Literature is also a great resource for modeling these behaviors as well as giving example of unacceptable behavior. Fun and interactive ways to model and encourag...
Some very good ways to instill proper morals into children is to be a positive role model from the very beginning to them. Take the time out to show them what is considered right and what is considered wrong. Some methods of teaching children good and positive morals are being lost in this modern day and age, such as going to church, or sitting down together and sharing a meal. Why is this happening? Simple, parents of today are forced into having both parents work because it is no longer a one-paycheck life style. Mother's once were able to stay at home and tend to the family...
“Once a teacher has identified an opening in the curriculum for exploring a moral value, the next step is to plan an effective lesson or unit around that value. That means selecting good materials (Lickona, 1991, p. 170)”. I feel this book is exactly that, a riveting story that can expose students to great moral values.
In Kohlbergs moral stages five & six people begin to understand morals and social good then moral reasoning. Basic human rights become important as well as principles.
The combination of class and service learning provided a solid foundation on which to be a morally responsible leader. During class, all sorts of ideas are brought up and discussed as a group and critically analyzing from different perspectives and relating it to other ideas. This enables the students rectify their own beliefs and morals in constructive ways. From these developments, we begin to see how it fits in the world and try to apply ourselves and gain wisdom. Gaining knowledge, experience and wisdom, it becomes our understanding to find good in any aspect of our lives and work towards advancing that good in a way that benefits all.
"Moral thought, then, seems to behave like all other kinds of thought. Progress through the moral levels and stages is characterized by increasing differentiation and increasing integration, and hence is the same kind of progress that scientific theory represents." Quoted by Mr. Kohlberg himself. Kohlberg developed a set of stages on what he thought how man develops morally. Lawrence Kohlberg's reasoning for the stages of moral development stemmed from Swiss psychologist Jean Piaget; who was one of the first to study systematically moral reasoning in children. Lawrence was also influenced by Socrates, Immanuel Kant, & John Rawls. These were philosophers who preceded Kohlberg and what led him to make "Kohlberg's Stages of Moral Development." According to Kohlberg, although the specific content of moral codes can vary from culture to culture, what really distinguishes among cultures is what is only on the surface. He believed that humans, with the exceptions of sociopathic and severely impaired people, have an innate potential for development from the earlier to later stages of moral development. According to Lawrence, "each stage is distinct and reflects a level of moral judgment that is more complex than that of preceding stages." He compares his views of moral development as kind of like a "mathematical" solution to conflicts. Kohlberg's Stages of Moral development consists of three levels and within them six developmental stages; each more sufficient at responding to moral predicaments than its predecessor. Within his works he was predominantly concerned with justice. Level one: Pre-Conventional(early), which deals with the beginning two stages; the first being Punishment and Obedience( How can I elude punishment?) & the second ...
According to Kohlberg, individuals progress through a series of stages in the evolution of their sense of justice and in the kind of reasoning that they utilize to make moral judgments (Feldman, R., 2013, p. 426). His work modified and expanded from Jean Piaget’s previous work to form a theory of cognitive development that explained how pre-adolescent children develop moral reasoning (Cherry, K., 2014, October 12). Kohlberg’s theory of moral development focuses on children’s ability to distinguish right from wrong based on their perception. His theory claims that individuals progress through the levels morality in a fixed order and
In a society with a vast array of different beliefs and mediums through which these beliefs are presented, children can get lost in an overwhelming sea of influential ideas and concepts not necessarily intended for their eyes and ears. Character education is a concept that calls for teachers and school curriculums to guide students in learning what Edward F. DeRoche and Mary M. Williams (2001, p. 25) described as “core values held sacred by a democratic society.” Parents are generally considered the teachers of morals, but if values like sharing, compassion, and honesty are never enforced or addressed outside the home, these values may never be established as a stable foundation in the child’s mind. Character education’s purpose is to help children choose to be well-mannered, stable, cooperative individuals. Character education is not in every school system, but its support is growing along with the amount of research evidence increasing in its favor (Viadero, 2003). The teaching of values in education has evolved into character education, and today there are different studies, designs, and resources for character education programs in schools to foster moral growth and citizenship in children.
Part One:The criticisms of Kohlberg's moral development stages seem to center around three major points, his research methods, the "regression" of stage four, and finally his goals.The first criticism that I would like to address is that of his research methods. Kohlberg is often criticized for not only his subject selection, but also the methods by which he tries to extricate data from those subjects. His initial study consisted of school boys from a private institution in Chicago. The problem with this is fairly obvious, that this does not represent a significant portion of the population to allow for generalized conclusions. In other words, how can we test some boys from Chicago and ascertain that this is how all people develop worldwide?I believe that the answer to this criticism comes from the theory that it relates to.
Children are warned not to be dishonest throughout multiple aspects of life, and this ideal is consistently reminded throughout higher academic institutions and other professional settings. Academic dishonesty describes student behavior which is not in accordance with the ethical standards or ideas considered to be good in a specific culture (Muñoz-García & Aviles-Herrera, 2014). In one study related to academic dishonesty among children, experimenters concluded after the first test that there was a large rate of children who were engaging in academic dishonesty (Callender, Olson, Kerr, & Sameroff, 2010), however the reasoning behind the majority of children cheating can be due to the young age of the children and the innate disregard to follow