Moral Education Through the Development of the Moral Atmosphere of the School

Abstract

There are at the present time two major approaches to moral education which have arisen out of the theory and research of KohIberg and his colleagues. The firs t to appear, the moral discuss ion approach , began as a result of the efforts of Moshe Blatt , a doctoral student of Kohlberg's who attempted to stimulate development through the discuss ion of hypothetical dilemmas in his Sunday School class . The second , the just community approach, originated in a women's correctional institution and was later applied to high school settings. The moral discussion approach clearly grew out of Kohlberg 's psychological investigations into moral development. The very dilemmas which Kohlberg used to assess an individual's moral stage were appropriated for classroom use in order lo stimulate stage development. The just community approach while drawing in part from Kohlberg's psychological research represents other important theoretical considerations , considerations which have important implications for future research in moral development and education.