Exam 7: Self and Moral Development: Middle Childhood Through Early Adolescence

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Character education programs are not a new idea.In 1917,W.J.Hutchins published the Children's Code of Morals for Elementary Schools,emphasizing "ten laws of right living": self-control,good health,kindness,sportsmanship,self-reliance,duty,reliability,truth,good workmanship,and teamwork.In addition to curriculum reform,character education was incorporated into daily school activities with lessons in right living and by initiating student clubs in which moral behavior could be practiced.A massive study by Hartshorne and May in the late 1920s revealed that moral training had little impact on children's moral behavior.In the mid-1960s,a "values clarification approach" to moral education was implemented in school programs in which students were encouraged to examine their own thinking about morality and to come to their own conclusions.Teachers were trained to not impose any code or value system on students.Researchers found some limited evidence that peer discussions,skillfully facilitated by teachers,can help children and adolescents advance to higher levels of moral reasoning.However,teachers struggled with the facilitation of such discussions,and they were concerned some of their efforts might lead children to rationalize unacceptable behavior.Many contemporary programs emphasize widely accepted,even universal,standards of conduct.They typically aim to help children understand why certain standards are important and encouraging behavior consistent with these standards.One of the challenges related to character education is that school personal must whether to develop their own character education program or use one of the many packaged programs available to teachers.One of the more widely used and studied packed programs is the "Child Development Project" Developmental Studies Center,1996),which is designed for kindergarten through sixth grade.The program focuses on four core values fairness,concern and respect for others,helpfulness,and responsibility),is implemented school-wide,and includes a home program as well.Leming 1997)found the program effects the following child characteristics: a)self-esteem,b)sensitivity and consideration of others' needs,c)spontaneous prosocial behavior,d)interpersonal harmoniousness,e)preference for democratic values,and f)conflict resolution skills.Is seems that character education that has clear goals and specifies sound techniques for implementing those goals can be effective in encouraging some aspects of moral thinking,feeling,and behavior.Critics,however,have raised concerns about at least some programs,worrying that children may be indoctrinated,drilled in specific behaviors rather than being encouraged to engage in critical reflection about how to behave.The debate surrounding the efficacy of outcome education programs centers around the extent to which they bring change in behaviors.Outcome research on character education programs have revealed mixed results,even given their primary goal of stimulating students' level of moral reasoning.A further criticism of character education programs is that they tend to treat children and adolescents as if they were homogeneous moral thinkers.One of the potential "cons" of character education programs is that many parents and community leaders have come to expect schools to address problems of rising crime and increasing conduct problems in the schools.