Moral education: Cognitive Development & Care Ethics

9 important questions on Moral education: Cognitive Development & Care Ethics

What are the features (or suppositions) of LIBERAL/DEMOCRATIC SOCIETIES?

Liberal democracies are neutral
• They do not favour one conception of the good life
> Range of lifestyles, pirorities, roles and life plans

This presupposes moral and political values
• Individual liberty, equal rights, rationality

It excludes certain values
• Prejudice, intolerance, injustice, repression

Halstead & Pike, (2006) p. 28

(PARTIAL) OVERLAP between democratic citizenship education and Moral education.

Democratic citizenship education has moral core ,* but
• Moral education is broader than citizenship education
• Citizenship education is broader than moral education

Missing from citizenship account of morality**
• How should one live one’s life/what sort of person should one be?

Citizenship eduation
Moral education
Partial overlap: Moral core of citizenship education

* Althof & Berkowitz ( 2006)**Halstead & Pike (2006)

Objection to moral education?

• Why do I have to be educated in order to live a good life?
• Thought experiment: all parents gone
• But what about schools?
- Historical argument
- Required by law
- Teachers, students and parents want it*
- It’s inevitable

* ResearchNed (2016). Peiling Onderwijs 2032.
  • Higher grades + faster learning
  • Never study anything twice
  • 100% sure, 100% understanding
Discover Study Smart

Theories of moral education

This module focuses on 20th century, since WWII
• Cognitive development
• Values clarification
• Care ethics
• Character education

Why these?
• Theoretically distinct
• Influential in education
• International orientation (US)

Stages of moral development

What are the Moral Education methods of Snarey and Samuelson?

Three ‘methods’*
• Moral exemplars
• Dilemma discussions
• Just community schools

JCS provided school wide democratic citizenship education.

*Snarey & Samuelson (2008).

COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT CRITIZISED

Issues mentioned by Snarey & Samuelson (2008).
• Moral functioning is broader than reasoning
• No attention paid to moral content
• Male bias
• Discussing hypothetical dilemmas are not effective
• Last stages are not universal
• Cognitive development theory changed beyond recognition

What does moral education look like from a care ethics persepective?

Moral education is instilling and developing students toward a
caring life, primarily by modelling caring relationships

Through:
• Modelling
• Practice
• Confirmation
• Dialogue

Nguyen (2016), p. 287

GILLIGAN KOHLBERG DEBATE (1980S)

Care ethics
Human condition:
- Relational
- Dependency and vulnerability
- Natural care for others
Ethics
- Care, love, responsibility
- Partiality
Moral knowledge
- Emotions (e.g. empathy)- Concrete cases
Women
- Self-caring

Cognitive development

Human condition:
- Individualistic
- Autonomy
- Self-interest
Ethics
- Justice, human dignity
- Impartiality
Moral knowledge
- Rational judgment
- Hypothetical dilemmas
Women
- Selfless

The question on the page originate from the summary of the following study material:

  • A unique study and practice tool
  • Never study anything twice again
  • Get the grades you hope for
  • 100% sure, 100% understanding
Remember faster, study better. Scientifically proven.
Trustpilot Logo