Moral Development

Moral Development
- Concept of Moral Development
Morality is a system of beliefs about what is right and good compared to what is wrong or bad.
Moral development refers to changes in moral beliefs as a person grows older and gains
maturity. Moral beliefs are related to, but not identical with, moral behavior: it is possible to
know the right thing to do, but not actually do it. It is also not the same as knowledge of social
conventions, which are arbitrary customs needed for the smooth operation of society.
1. Social Convention as Moral Element
Social conventions may have a moral element, but they have a primarily practical purpose.
Conventionally, for example, motor vehicles all keep to the same side of the street (to the right in
the United States, to the left in Great Britain). The convention allows for smooth, accident-free
flow of traffic. But following the convention also has a moral element, because an individual
who chooses to drive on the wrong side of the street can cause injuries or even death. In this
sense, choosing the wrong side of the street is wrong morally, though the choice is also
unconventional.
2. Moral Development in Schooling and Teaching
When it comes to schooling and teaching, moral choices are not restricted to occasional dramatic
incidents, but are woven into almost every aspect of classroom life. Imagine this simple example.
Suppose that you are teaching, reading to a small group of second-graders, and the students are
taking turns reading a story out loud. Should you give every student the same amount of time to
read, even though some might benefit from having additional time? Or should you give more
time to the students who need extra help, even if doing so bores classmates and deprives others
of equal shares of “floor time”? Which option is fairer, and which is more considerate? Simple
dilemmas like this happen every day at all grade levels simply because students are diverse, and
because class time and a teacher’s energy are finite.
Themes of Moral Development

Embedded in this rather ordinary example are moral themes about fairness or justice, on the one
hand, and about consideration or care on the other. It is important to keep both themes in mind
when thinking about how students develop beliefs about right or wrong.
1. Morality of justice is about human rights—or more specifically, about respect for
fairness, impartiality, equality, and individuals’ independence.
2. Morality of care, on the other hand, is about human responsibilities—more specifically,
about caring for others, showing consideration for individuals’ needs, and
interdependence among individuals. Students and teachers need both forms of morality.
In the next sections therefore, we explain a major example of each type of developmental
theory, beginning with the morality of justice.
Moral Domain Theory
Moral domain theory has proposed that individuals acquire moral concepts about fairness,
others’ welfare, and rights (the “moral” domain) beginning in early childhood, and that this
knowledge develops during childhood and adolescence.
In contrast to global stage theories outlined by Lawrence Kohlberg, in which morality is viewed
as a series of hierarchical stages, moral domain theory proposes that moral reasoning is distinct
from other forms of social knowledge, such as societal and psychological knowledge.
In his book “The Development of Social Knowledge: Morality and Convention (1983)”, Elliot
Turiel outlined three domains of knowledge:
1. The moral (principles of how individuals ought to treat one another)

2. The societal (regulations designed to promote the smooth functioning of social groups
and institutions)
3. The psychological (an understanding of self, others, and beliefs about autonomy and
individuality).
Beginning in early childhood, children construct moral, societal, and psychological concepts in
parallel, rather than in succession, as is proposed by global stage theory (in which children are
first selfish, then oriented to familial and societal regulation, and then formulating principled
morality in adolescence). According to moral domain theory, the morality includes concepts of
physical harm, psychological harm, the distribution of resources, freedoms, and rights.
Main Postulates of Moral Domain Theory
Its main postulates are following:
 children as young as 2 or 3 begin to make distinctions between domains

 researchers suggest that we are born with a rudimentary sense of justice
 a more sophisticated understanding of differences among the domains gradually develops
begin to realize that conventions are arbitrary and situation specific, which can lead to
questioning rules and regulations at home and school
 lines between domains depend on individuals’ interpretations.
Piaget’s Theory of Moral Development
Jean Piaget, a Swiss psychologist, explored how children developed moral reasoning. He
rejected the idea that children learn and internalize the rules and morals of society by being given
the rules and forced to adhere to them. Through his research on how children formed their
judgments about moral behavior, he recognized that children learn morality best by having to
deal with others in groups. He reasoned that there was a process by which children conform to
society's norms of what is right and wrong, and that the process was active rather than passive.
- Main Differences in Thoughts about Moral Behavior
Piaget found two main differences in how children thought about moral behavior.
1. Moral Realism with Objective Responsibility
Very young children's thinking is based on how actions affected them or what the results of
an action were. For example, young children will say that when trying to reach a forbidden
cookie jar, breaking 10 cups is worse than breaking one. They also recognize the sanctity of
rules. For example, they understand that they cannot make up new rules to a game; they have
to play by what the rule book says or what is commonly known to be the rules. Piaget called
this "moral realism with objective responsibility." It explains why young children are
concerned with outcomes rather than intentions.
2. Cooperative Decision-making and Problem-solving Events
Older children look at motives behind actions rather than consequences of actions. They are
also able to examine rules, determining whether they are fair or not, and apply these rules and
their modifications to situations requiring negotiation, assuring that everyone affected by the
rules is treated fairly. Piaget felt that the best moral learning came from these cooperative
decision-making and problem-solving events. He also believed that children developed moral
reasoning quickly and at an early age.
Division According to Responses
He found that children’s responses to moral problems could be divided into two broad stages
1. External Morality
Children view rules as fixed, permanent, and enforced by authority figures. Piaget believed
that parents and teachers who stress unquestioned adherence to adult authority retard moral
development and unintentionally encourage students to remain at this level.
2. Autonomous Morality
Children develop rational ideas of fairness and see justice as a reciprocal process of treating
others as they would want to be treated. Children begin to rely on themselves instead of
others to regulate moral behavior.

Moral Development

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Moral Development

- Concept of Moral Development

1. Social Convention as Moral Element

2. Moral Development in Schooling and Teaching

Themes of Moral Development

Moral Domain Theory

1. The moral (principles of how individuals ought to treat one another)

Main Postulates of Moral Domain Theory

Its main postulates are following:

 children as young as 2 or 3 begin to make distinctions between domains

Piaget’s Theory of Moral Development

- Main Differences in Thoughts about Moral Behavior

1. Moral Realism with Objective Responsibility

Division According to Responses

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