Children's moral development is affected not only by their family and friends but also by their school experiences. As a teacher, whether or not you intend to, you will undoubtedly be teaching your students moral values and behaviors as well as academic content. With this in mind:

Question

a. Describe the types of experiences that, according to researchers and theorists, are likely to facilitate or promote youngsters' moral development. Within your discussion, identify three different factors that are apt to be involved.
b. Identify a moral issue that may arise either within a specific content area you will be teaching or within the general classroom situation. Explain what you, as a teacher, might specifically do to promote moral growth as you deal with the moral issue you just identified.

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Responses to the two parts of the question are as follows:
a. Experiences that facilitate or promote moral development include these (the response should describe at least three):
- General cognitive development (a necessary but insufficient condition for advanced moral reasoning)
- Development of guilt, shame, empathy, sympathy
- Interactions with peers (e.g., experiencing and resolving interpersonal conflicts)
- Exposure to diverse perspectives about issues
- Use of reasons and rationales (e.g., induction)
- Moral issues and dilemmas that create disequilibrium
- Incorporating a commitment to moral values into one's overall sense of self
- Participation in community service activities
b. Responses in this section will vary considerably. The response should identify a specific issue that might arise within an instructional setting. It should also describe a specific strategy for promoting moral development that is consistent with one of the bulleted items in part a above.