Modifications of Kohlberg's theory have been proposed by Carol Gilligan and Nel Noddings. Describe what sets the ideas of each apart from those of Kohlberg

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Carol Gilligan argued that because Kohlberg's research on stages of moral development was based on male subjects, his theory has a clear male bias that is not necessarily consistent with the moral development of females. Females, Gilligan argues, place a higher priority on the conventional stage values of helping and cooperating with others than the higher postconventional stage values of justice and individual's rights.
Nel Noddings' work focuses on the development of a caring attitude and the formation of caring relationships as prerequisites for moral behavior. The difference between a caring attitude and a caring relationship is like the difference between thought and action. Once can have great empathy for students and work hard to provide them with high quality instruction, but in the absence of overt comments and actions from the teacher, students may believe that teachers don't care about them and thus be less motivated to learn.