Moral Development and Education

Assignment Topic: Moral development and education. Krause et al (2003) mention several approaches explaining moral development and their interrelationship with both individual and environmental value systems (pp. 94-103). In this assignment we explore aspects of moral development and its implications for the learning process.

Moral development Interview a teacher on their views about moral development and education. In your report address theory related issues of ·         developmental aspects and milestones (e.g. the function of language on the development of morals) ·         links to any socio-cultural influences, differences and/or values Based on your reading of relevant literature and your analyses of the teacher interview, what kinds of inferences can you make about moral development and learning? Suggest any improvements to practice if necessary.

Broad Aims of this Research Assignment

To provide you with experience in:

·         working within 'real-life' research settings

·         performing educational research, including conducting a literature review, collecting data from a small sample of participants, interpreting and making inferences from the findings, discussing these in relation to existing research on the subject, and drawing conclusions regarding implications of your research for educators

• considering relevant theories and their application in education

Your Participant:

Recruit one teacher for your interview. The teacher can be a friend or a relative. In such case, assume a role of a professional researcher to minimise eventual bias of results.

In order to conduct your research, you will need to find one participant and write a research report according to the guidelines in the Appendix.

Note 1: this includes providing a verbatim transcript of your teacher interview Note 2: you will need to use the consent form and proforma for this assignment. Click the following link to download the proforma. Copy this document onto a new page in your report and call it Appendix 1, then type out your comments in each category. Click the following link to download the consent form. NB: The consent form is a confidential document. You should get a consent signature from your participant and keep the form in a safe place until you receive your Assessment 2 mark through the Mail module in this course. Note 3: limit your task to one individual unless you negotiate an alternative with your tutor or Unit Convener. An alternative to the task must be communicated in writing (eg. attach email or letter of explanantion to assignment)

The Participants (or subjects)

·         It is your responsibility to find your own participants. It is acceptable to interview relatives if necessary for your Education assignments.

·         The interviewee should be a qualified teacher

·         Ensure that you obtain informed consent from your participant. Download and use the consent form (available from the link above). Make a second copy to leave with your participant. They must be used in order to meet the ethical requirements of research conducted with human subjects. Ensure that you use the appropriate consent form and photocopy more as needed. Remember to keep the form in a safe place until you receive your Assessment 2 mark through the Mail module in this course.

The Questions and Background Reading

·         Do plenty of background reading on the subject so that you are prepared to ask appropriate questions.

• You should tailor your reading and literature review to suit the subjects of your study if necessary. In other words, if your teacher talks about problem behaviour, your literature review might make some reference to research in this area of (educational) psychology.

Example of interview questions:

1.      How do you think children develop morally? Describe some milestones of moral develpment that you have observed or are aware of.

2.      What would be the major influences on children's develpment of morals and values? (probe questions: How do you think social and cultural influences impact on moral development? How do you think language impacts on moral development?)

3.      How might you implement these in your teaching?

4.      Could you give me some typical case examples, classroom observations or anecdotes?

5.      Can you give examples of developmental variation (e.g. levels of maturity) in moral development among your students?

6.      How do you account for such variation? (e.g. co-operative learning examples and/or peer learning activities)

I am now going to ask you about some philosophical considerations of moral development and education.

         i.            What kind of influence do you believe education has or should have on children's development of morals and values?

       ii.            Is there something specific that comes to mind, for example, in relation to this school and its teaching and learning philosophies?

      iii.            Is there anything else you would like to add?

The Activity

·         Devise a list of questions before your session with the participant. It is important to be well prepared!

·         Before you start the session, take some time to get to know your participant (if necessary). Make sure they feel comfortable. Asssure them there are no right or wrong answers and that they are under no obligation to answer any question. The purpose of the task is to find out about their thoughts on the development of morals and values.

·         Avoid any distractions during the session. Use a tape recorder, to record the talk. this will be vital in preparing your transcript. Make sure your taping equipment is set up so that you are able to concentrate on the interview itself.

·         Try not to talk too much. Encourage the participants to talk. You may need to think of some prompts (e.g. "can you tell me more aobut ...?"; or "what do you mean exactly?").

The Verbatim Transcript

A transcript is a written record of what has been said in the interview. Transcribe the recording as quickly as possible. These must be verbatim (word for word) transcripts. There is no need to include 'ums' and 'aahs', but you should note any breaks or extended pauses in the interview. Body language or gestures may be noted in brackets if appropriate. The transcript is included as an Appendix to the report. Ensure that your transcript does not contain the name/s of any schools or teachers. When participants mention names, you may include the first names only or make up pseudonyms. It is vital to maintain confidentiality throughout the report.

Writing the Report

This assignment is intended to give you experience in the research process. An important part of this involves writing the report. The style you need to use is similar to that of a research journal article. You are expected to adopt this style, outlined on the next three pages.

Readings

You need to include the compulsory reading (Krause et.al. 2003), one or two readings from Group 1, and as many as you like from Group 2.

Additional to this, you must find one professional journal article through an independent data base search (using your library skills).

Suggested References for Major Assignment

Note 1: The following references have been placed on e-reserve in the Library. However, there are plenty of other sources on this topic these are simply suggestions to help you to start on your reading. You are not expected to consult all these references. You are expected to refer to a minimum of four references in your report excluding the Krause text. The compulsory reading for the major assignment is Krause et al (2003), pp. 94 – 101. Note 2: I have grouped references in order to provide you with a model of how you might conduct your literature search in the library.

Group 1: General educational psychology texts to provide you with background reading. These are similar to your Unit textbook and will be useful starter references. Consult no more than two of these texts here.

Group 2: Content-Specific References. Once you’ve done some background reading, you should look at one or two specific references on your research topic.

You must have a minimum of four (4) references for this assignment excluding the Krause text.

You should conduct a search of professional/ journal publications for this (use your library skills here). Often these references add greater depth to your understanding of the topic. They cite other research studies which may be helpful.

Be very selective in your reading here and differentiate between social / policy perspectives and psychological perspectives. The social and policy issues are addressed in EDU120. You are only aiming to select one or two key points from your reading of such sources.

Note 3: Audio-visual materials Try to access the following videos for a general introduction on the topic. These are not compulsory. Moral Development. Video recording 58 mins. Adolescent Cognitive and Moral Development. Video recording, 30 mins.

Group 1 References: Educational Psychology

References

Note Include no more than two references from this group

Berk, L. (2003). Child Development. Boston: Allyn & Bacon. Chapter on Moral Development. [HQ767.9 .B464 2003]

DeHart, G.B., Sroufe, L.A., Cooper, R.C. (1999). Child Development. [HQ767.9 .D44/2000]

McInerney, D. M., & McInerney, V. (2001). Educational psychology: Constructing learning (2nd ed.). Sydney: Prentice Hall. [LB1051 .M214/2002].

Santrock, J. W. (2002). Child Development. Boston: Mc Graw Hill. [BF713 .S257 2002]

Slavin, R. (1997). Educational psychology: Theory and practice (5th ed.). Boston: Allyn and Bacon. [LB1051.S615]

Woolfolk, A. (2003). Educational Psychology. Boston: Pearson and Allyn & Bacon. [LB1051 .W74 2003]

Group 2 References

Note Include as many as needed from this group. The entries in group 2 are not compulsory readings. You may find other relevant literature for your report.

Media article

Note This media article expresses public opinion on the issue of moral behaviour and may provide some food for thought as you begin to think about your assignment. Keep in mind that this article is written in a semi-informal style which is not a preferred format for educational psychology generally. You should also think critically about the opinions raised and evaluate these in relation to further reading of refereed journal papers.

Begley, S., Kalb, C. (2000). Learning Right from Wrong. Newsweek, 135, 11, pp. 30-34.

Books

For browsing

Berk, L. E. (2001) Awakening Children’s Minds: How Parents and Teachers can make a Difference. London: Oxford University Press. [HQ767.9 .B465/2001]

DeVries, R., Zan, B. (1994). Moral classrooms, moral children: creating a constructivist atmosphere in early education. New York: Teachers College Press [LB1139.35.M67].

Kurtines, W. M.; Gewirtz, J. L. (Eds). (1991). Handbook of moral behaviour and development. Hillsdale, NJ, England: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. [BF723.M54 .H35/1991]

Langford, P. (1995). Approaches to the development of moral reasoning. Hove: Earlbaum. [BF723.M54.L36].

Journal articles on e-Reserve

Note Some of these may appear somewhat advanced. You are welcome to search the databases for less advanced articles. As you read the below texts, please ignore the statistical data analyses.

Day, J.M. (1991). Role-taking revisited: Narrative and cognitive-developmental interpretations of moral growth. Journal of Moral Education, 20, 305.

Eisenberg, N. (1991). Promoting Morality in the Schools: Kohlberg’s Just Approach. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 12, 491-494. Book review article.

Manning, M.A., Bear, G.G. (2002). Are Children’s Concerns about punishment related to their aggression? Journal of School Psychology, 40, 6, pp. 523-539.

Prentice, A., Helwig, C.C. 2002). The development of reasoning about the teaching of values in school and family contexts. Child Development, 73, pp 841-856.

Rique, J., Lins-Dyer, M. T. (2003). Teachers’ views of forgiveness for the resolution of conflicts between students in school. Journal of Moral Education, 32, 3, pp.233-250.

The below article is for those wishing to advance their knowledge of moral development.

Arnold, M.L. (2000). Stage, sequence, and sequels: changing conceptions of morality, post-Kohlberg. Educational Psychology Review, 12, 4, 365-383.

Important Note Additional to these references you should find at least one relevant professional journal article (see journal titles in unit outline). You should use a minimum of four (4) references for your report excluding the Krause et.al. (2003) text.

Other readings can be found on the Reading page in this Study Guide.

In completing your assignment, please follow the guidelines under Assessment in this Study Guide.

 

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