Moral Development

The elementary years can be considered as a crucial point when it comes to the character formation of a person. This is where he faces new things; knowledge and information that could greatly affect his life in the future. This is the time in the child’s life where he or she develops a concept about what’s good or bad. Because of this, adult intervention is necessary; parents as well as teachers should do their best in supervising every step of development their children undergoes. In Kohlberg’s theory, the time when children enter elementary school is his second in three broad levels of moral development (Boeree, 2003). This is the conventional morality level, wherein the definition of right and wrong would usually depend on â€Å"what the people would say† (Colman, 2001). This part is what requires most adult attention, since they are the ones the children look up to, being the basis of what they would follow in the future. This stage is further divided into two sub-stages. The first stage is the good boy/good girl stage, wherein children try to live up to what others expect them to be, as well as seek their approval in everything they do. It is important for adults to show them the â€Å"right things† because everything they do becomes a basis of the children’s actions. Another sub-stage is the law and order stage, where children now takes a perspective that involves the social system as well, taking into consideration the rules and laws of the society they are living in, as well as the authorities they have to follow. At these elementary years, we can address the teaching of moral development in schools by devising or structuring out what should be taught to these children (Nucci, 2002). At this stage, they should be already provided with the basic laws and regulations that they should follow as a â€Å"good citizen†. These could start by introducing the school laws and regulations and relating it to the laws of the society. Another concern also would be about their teacher. These children’s teacher should be a model they could look up to as a person, so that their concept of conventional morality would depend on what their teachers show them. References: Boeree, C. G. (2003). Moral Development.  Ã‚   Retrieved November 10, 2007, from http://webspace.ship.edu/cgboer/genpsymoraldev.html Colman, A. M. (2001). Conventional Morality. In A Dictionary of Psychology: Oxford University Press. Nucci, L. (2002). Moral Development and Moral Education: An Overview.  Ã‚   Retrieved November 10, 2007, from http://tigger.uic.edu/~lnucci/MoralEd/overview.html       Moral development According to the Social Learning Theory, our moral behavior is shaped by the reinforcement and punishment stimuli through the process of learning. It means that if a child was punished in the past for a certain behavior and is faced with such a situation again, he/she will avoid this behavior. As a social being, a person lives within a group or a community and â€Å"tends to perform actions and behave in a manner conducive to community approval†. The greatest criticism of this theory is that â€Å"it does not provide a proper overall personality assessment†. â€Å"It focuses more on the factors perceived as negative by the learner – it does not account for what may be considered positive.† (Social Learning Theory) According to Kohlberg’s theory of moral development, â€Å"there are six identifiable stages of moral development† which could be classified into three levels. (Kohlberg’s stages of moral development) The pre-conventional level. In stage 1, â€Å"people behave according to socially acceptable norms because they are told to do so by some authority figure†. â€Å"This obedience is compelled by the threat or application of punishment.† Stage 2 â€Å"is characterized by a view that right behavior means acting in one’s own best interests†. (Barger, Robert N. A Summary Of Lawrence Kohlberg’s Stages Of Moral Development) The conventional level. In stage 3 individuals â€Å"seek approval from other people’. Stage 4 is â€Å"oriented to abiding by the law and responding to the obligations of duty†. (Barger, Robert N. A) The post-conventional level. Stage 5 is â€Å"an understanding of social mutuality and a genuine interest in the welfare of others.† Stage 6 is â€Å"based on respect for universal principles and the demands of individual conscience.† (Barger, Robert N. A) It appears that people rarely reach stage 6 of this model and Kohlberg â€Å"had difficulty finding participants who use it†. (Kohlberg’s stages of moral development) â€Å"One criticism of Kohlberg’s theory is that it emphasizes justice to the exclusion of other values† and â€Å"may not adequately address the arguments of people who value other moral aspects of actions.† Carol Gilligan has argued that the theory is â€Å"male-centric† and â€Å"did not adequately describe the concerns of women†. (Kohlberg’s stages of moral development) Kohlberg claimed his  six stages are cultural-universal. Simpson (1974) argues that â€Å"Kohlberg’s interview employs analytic and theoretical modes of thought and language such as â€Å"justice, equality and reciprocity at a high level of abstraction† which are not valued by many cultures†. According to Bergling (1981), Kohlberg’s stages 1 – 4 are â€Å"empirically supported in western industrialized countries but findings from the Bahamas and British Honduras fail to support even a stage 4†. (Ma, King Keung Problems In The Cro ss-Cultural Study Of Moral Judgment Development) BIBLIOGRAPHY: 1. Barger, Robert N. A Summary Of Lawrence Kohlberg’s Stages Of Moral Development, (August, 23 2005) 2. Kohlberg’s stages of moral development,   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kohlberg's_stages_of_moral_development (August, 23 2005) 3. Ma, King Keung Problems In The Cross-Cultural Study Of Moral Judgment Development, http://66.249.93.104/search?q=cache:LAHMEA0UqdAJ:sunzi1.lib.hku.hk/hkjo/view/33/3300251.pdf+weak+points+in+Kohlberg%60s+moral+development+theory+&hl=uk (August, 23 2005) 4. Social Learning Theory, http://www.termpapergenie.com/SocialLearningTheory.html (August, 24 2005)                Moral development According to the Social Learning Theory, our moral behavior is shaped by the reinforcement and punishment stimuli through the process of learning. It means that if a child was punished in the past for a certain behavior and is faced with such a situation again, he/she will avoid this behavior. As a social being, a person lives within a group or a community and â€Å"tends to perform actions and behave in a manner conducive to community approval†. The greatest criticism of this theory is that â€Å"it does not provide a proper overall personality assessment†. â€Å"It focuses more on the factors perceived as negative by the learner – it does not account for what may be considered positive.† (Social Learning Theory) According to Kohlberg’s theory of moral development, â€Å"there are six identifiable stages of moral development† which could be classified into three levels. (Kohlberg’s stages of moral development) The pre-conventional level. In stage 1, â€Å"people behave according to socially acceptable norms because they are told to do so by some authority figure†. â€Å"This obedience is compelled by the threat or application of punishment.† Stage 2 â€Å"is characterized by a view that right behavior means acting in one’s own best interests†. (Barger, Robert N. A Summary Of Lawrence Kohlberg’s Stages Of Moral Development) The conventional level. In stage 3 individuals â€Å"seek approval from other people’. Stage 4 is â€Å"oriented to abiding by the law and responding to the obligations of duty†. (Barger, Robert N. A) The post-conventional level. Stage 5 is â€Å"an understanding of social mutuality and a genuine interest in the welfare of others.† Stage 6 is â€Å"based on respect for universal principles and the demands of individual conscience.† (Barger, Robert N. A) It appears that people rarely reach stage 6 of this model and Kohlberg â€Å"had difficulty finding participants who use it†. (Kohlberg’s stages of moral development) â€Å"One criticism of Kohlberg’s theory is that it emphasizes justice to the exclusion of other values† and â€Å"may not adequately address the arguments of people who value other moral aspects of actions.† Carol Gilligan has argued that the theory is â€Å"male-centric† and â€Å"did not adequately describe the concerns of women†. (Kohlberg’s stages of moral development) Kohlberg claimed his  six stages are cultural-universal. Simpson (1974) argues that â€Å"Kohlberg’s interview employs analytic and theoretical modes of thought and language such as â€Å"justice, equality and reciprocity at a high level of abstraction† which are not valued by many cultures†. According to Bergling (1981), Kohlberg’s stages 1 – 4 are â€Å"empirically supported in western industrialized countries but findings from the Bahamas and British Honduras fail to support even a stage 4†. (Ma, King Keung Problems In The Cro ss-Cultural Study Of Moral Judgment Development) BIBLIOGRAPHY: 1. Barger, Robert N. A Summary Of Lawrence Kohlberg’s Stages Of Moral Development, (August, 23 2005) 2. Kohlberg’s stages of moral development,   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kohlberg's_stages_of_moral_development (August, 23 2005) 3. Ma, King Keung Problems In The Cross-Cultural Study Of Moral Judgment Development, http://66.249.93.104/search?q=cache:LAHMEA0UqdAJ:sunzi1.lib.hku.hk/hkjo/view/33/3300251.pdf+weak+points+in+Kohlberg%60s+moral+development+theory+&hl=uk (August, 23 2005) 4. Social Learning Theory, http://www.termpapergenie.com/SocialLearningTheory.html (August, 24 2005)