Moral Development Theory

FLORES, SHERRY LYN H.
MEM – A
EDUC 640 -FOUNDATIONS OF EDUCATION
Course Specialist: Dr. Adelia R. Roadilla
WRITTEN REPORT
MORAL DEVELOPMENT THEORY by Lawrence Kohlberg
Overview:
What id Moral Development?
 Moral development is the gradual development of an individual’s concept of

right or wrong conscious, religious values, social attitudes and certain behaviour.
Lawrence Kohlberg is best known for his model on the stages of moral
development. Kohlberg developed his six-stage theory on moral development while
working on his doctorate degree. His theory was inspired by the research of Jean Piaget
and has changed the way sociologists and psychologists look at moral development.
Kohlberg’s theory states that moral growth begins early in life and continues in
stages throughout childhood, adolescence, and adulthood. Kohlberg’s theory of the six
stages of moral development includes three levels of moral reasoning, which are further
broken down into six stages. Understanding Kohlberg’s theory of moral development
can help to teachers to guide the moral development of their students in the classroom.
Understanding Kohlberg's theory of moral development can help you to better

understand your students and help you to guide them in their moral development.
Elementary-aged students will typically remain in stages 1-3. Some students may reach
the higher stages of moral development more quickly than their peers, but you can
introduce your students to different classroom activities designed to help strengthen
their moral character at any age.
Discussion:
Kohlberg became interested in Jean Piaget's theories of moral development in

children and adolescents while studying for his doctorate degree. His research involved
studying American boys. Piaget's
two stages of moral development
were the basis for Kohlberg's six
stages (Bookrags). Kohlberg’s
model for moral development and
moral reasoning, while similar to
Piaget’s, is more complex.
Kohlberg’s theory includes three
levels of moral reasoning. The
three levels that Kohlberg
described are Level 1: Pre-
Conventional morality, Level 2:
Conventional Morality, and Level 3:
Post-Conventional
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KOHLBERG'S SIX STAGES
Level 1. Pre-conventional Morality
Stage 1 - Obedience and Punishment

The earliest stage of moral development is especially common in young
children, but adults are also capable of expressing this type of reasoning. At this
stage, children see rules as fixed and absolute. Obeying the rules is important
because it is a means to avoid punishment.
Kohlberg's stage 1 is similar to Piaget's first stage of moral thought. The
child assumes that powerful authorities hand down a fixed set of rules which he or
she must unquestioningly obey. To the Heinz dilemma, the child typically says
that Heinz was wrong to steal the drug because "It's against the law," or "It's bad
to steal," as if this were all there were to it. When asked to elaborate, the child
usually responds in terms of the consequences involved, explaining that stealing
is bad "because you'll get punished" (Kohlberg, 1958b).
Stage 2 - Individualism and Exchange

At this stage of moral development, children account for individual points
of view and judge actions based on how they serve individual needs. In the Heinz
dilemma, children argued that the best course of action was the choice that best-
served Heinz’s needs. Reciprocity is possible, but only if it serves one's own
interests.
Also in this stage children recognize that there is not just one right view
that is handed down by the authorities. Different individuals have different
viewpoints. "Heinz," they might point out, "might think its right to take the drug, the
druggist would not." Since everything is relative, each person is free to pursue his
or her individual interests.
Level 2. Conventional Morality
Stage 3 - Interpersonal Relationships

Often referred to as the "good boy-good girl" orientation, this stage of
moral development is focused on living up to social expectations and roles. There
is an emphasis on conformity, being "nice," and consideration of how choices
influence relationships.
At this stage children--who are by now usually entering their teens--see
morality as more than simple deals. They believe that people should live up to the
expectations of the family and community and behave in "good" ways. Good
behavior means having good motives and interpersonal feelings such as love,
empathy, trust, and concern for others.
Stage 4 - Maintaining Social Order

At this stage of moral development, people begin to consider society as a
whole when making judgments. The focus is on maintaining law and order by
following the rules, doing one’s duty and respecting authority.
At stage 4, in contrast, the respondent becomes more broadly concerned
with society as a whole. Now the emphasis is on obeying laws, respecting
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authority, and performing one's duties so that the social order is maintained. In
response to the Heinz story, many subjects say they understand that Heinz's
motives were good, but they cannot condone the theft. What would happen if we
all started breaking the laws whenever we felt we had a good reason? The result
would be chaos; society couldn't function.
Level 3. Post-conventional Morality
Stage 5 - Social Contract and Individual Rights

At this stage, people begin to account for the differing values, opinions
and beliefs of other people. Rules of law are important for maintaining a society,
but members of the society should agree upon these standards.
At stage 5, people begin to ask, "What makes for a good society?" They
begin to think about society in a very theoretical way, stepping back from their
own society and considering the rights and values that a society ought to uphold.
They then evaluate existing societies in terms of these prior considerations. They
are said to take a "prior-to-society" perspective (Colby and Kohlberg, 1983, p. 22).
Stage 6 - Universal Principles

Kolhberg’s final level of moral reasoning is based upon universal ethical
principles and abstract reasoning. At this stage, people follow these internalized
principles of justice, even if they conflict with laws and rules.
Kohlberg's conception of justice follows that of the philosophers Kant and
Rawls, as well as great moral leaders such as Gandhi and Martin Luther King.
According to these people, the principles of justice require us to treat the claims of
all parties in an impartial manner, respecting the basic dignity, of all people as
individuals. The principles of justice are therefore universal; they apply to all.
Thus, for example, we would not vote for a law that aids some people but hurts
others. The principles of justice guide us toward decisions based on an equal
respect for all.
Progress through Kohlberg's stages happens as a result of the

individual's increasing competence, psychologically and in balancing conflicting
social-value claims. The process of resolving conflicting claims to reach an
equilibrium is called "justice operation". Kohlberg identifies two of these justice
operations: "equality", which involves an impartial regard for persons and
"reciprocity", which means a regard for the role of personal merit. For Kohlberg,
the most adequate result of both operations is "reversibility", in which a moral or
dutiful act within a particular situation is evaluated in terms of whether or not the
act would be satisfactory even if particular persons were to switch roles within that
situation (also known colloquially as "moral musical chairs").
Knowledge and learning contribute to moral development.
Specifically important are the individual's "view of persons" and their "social
perspective level", each of which becomes more complex and mature with each
advancing stage. The "view of persons" can be understood as the individual's
grasp of the psychology of other persons; it may be pictured as a spectrum, with
stage one having no view of other persons at all, and stage six being entirely
socio-centric. The social perspective level involves the understanding of the social
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universe, differing from the view of persons in that it involves an appreciation of
social norms.
Kohlberg’s six stage model of moral development is an excellent tool for
understanding students at different stages of moral understanding. By
understanding this theory of moral development, teachers can help to guide the
moral characters of their students and help them to become the best that they can
be.
Understanding Kohlberg's theory of moral development can help you to
understand your students, and help you to guide them in their moral development.
Young students may be at different stages of moral development than their peers,
but you can have your students do different classroom activities to help
strengthen their moral character.
None of this, of course, will be easy. But it doesn't have to be yet another
task for schools already burdened with the hard work of improving instruction.
Much of the work can be done in the context of what schools should be doing
anyway to support new teachers and to promote good instruction, and much of
it—creating strong communities, helping teachers manage students with behavior
problems, increasing adults' capacity for reflection—will certainly serve academic
goals. Best of all, this approach, unlike so many current character education
efforts, stands a real chance of nurturing in children the qualities that they need to
become caring and responsible adults.
References:
 https://cdn.ymaws.com/www.naswaz.com/resource/resmgr/imported/EthicsKohlbe
rgMoralDevelopment.pdf
 https://owlcation.com/social-sciences/Lawrence-Kohlbergs-Six-Stages-of-Moral-
Development
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FLORES, SHERRY LYN H.

What id Moral Development?

 Moral development is the gradual development of an individual’s concept of

Understanding Kohlberg's theory of moral development can help you to better

Kohlberg became interested in Jean Piaget's theories of moral development in

Level 1. Pre-conventional Morality

Stage 1 - Obedience and Punishment

Stage 2 - Individualism and Exchange

Level 2. Conventional Morality

Stage 3 - Interpersonal Relationships

Stage 4 - Maintaining Social Order

Level 3. Post-conventional Morality

Stage 5 - Social Contract and Individual Rights

Stage 6 - Universal Principles

Progress through Kohlberg's stages happens as a result of the

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