Explain kohlberg's theory of moral development

Kohlberg's theory of moral development Keep in mind that the school child’s head is not where yours is. It is not just a matter of physical growth-it is perhaps more a matter of intellectual change their heads may be closer to the clouds. kohlberg's theory of moral development And perhaps that’s why they see magic more clearly than we adults do. Lefrançois 20013. In this unit we discuss four dimensions of development in middle childhood, that is cognitive development, social development, emotional development and moral development. “The elementary school years are the years 6 through 12 in a child’s life, and are sometimes referred to as the latency period. theory of moral development in many areas of development, these years are actually action packed, not latent at all. They are filled with both motion and emotion as the child confronts the diverse demands of school; and entry into a rule bound society .

Extending the idea of moral development proposed by Jean Piaget, Lawrence Kohlberg worked throughout his life to develop a complete theory of moral development. kohlberg's theory of moral development Using story telling technique, he conducted many studies on children. The stories of his studies usually revolve around some kind of moral dilemmas. At the end of every story, he used to ask some questions from his participants (children) and analysed their answers for underlining reasoning. Based on his studies, he proposed that moral development consist of six stages and these six stages can be further grouped into three levels. These three levels are as follows:

·      Pre-conventional Morality It consists of first two levels of moral development. Here morality is judged based on the standards of adults and consequence of an action. Stage I (Obedience and Punishment Orientation An action is immoral if it is punished by the authority. Stage II (Individualism and Exchange This stage is self-interest driven and children understood for the first time that different individual may have different viewpoints. An action is considered morally correct if it is in the best interest of the individual.

·   Conventional Morality This level consists of stage three and four. During this level, children start internalising the value of the society to judge morality. Good Interpersonal Relationship Intention of the actor is more important in terms of judging the moral values. If the intention is to gain the consensus of others or approval of the society then the actor will be judged morally right. Post Conventional Morality The last level consist of stage five and six of moral development. According to Kohlberg, very few people are able to reach at this level. Here, individual perspective is given more importance over social rule and order. kohlberg's theory of moral development

·         Individual judge morality based on basic human rights and justice.

·   Social Contract and Individual Rights) – In this stage, individual or child understands that different people and community may hold different views and laws. Laws of the society are not rigid edicts and should be change with the change in the time and need of the society.

·   Universal Principles  Individual judge morality of the actor based on some universal principles that transcends beyond the society’s rules and regulations.

Lawrence Kohlberg sought to refine and extend the ideas of Piaget and the pioneering work of James M. Baldwin (1894) by creating a comprehensive three-stage theory. Kohlberg studied moral development by posing moral dilemmas to groups of children as well as adolescents and adults. kohlberg's theory of moral development These dilemmas take the form of stories, one of Kohlberg’s best known dilemmas involves a man named Heinz, who must choose between stealing medicine and letting his wife die. In Europe, a woman was near death from a special kind of cancer. There was one drug that the doctors thought might save her. It was a form of radium that a druggist in the same town had recently discovered. The drug was expensive to make, but the druggist was charging ten times what the drug cost him to make. He paid $200 for the radium and charged 2000 for a small dose of the drug. The sick woman’s husband, Heinz, went to everyone he knew to borrow the money, but he could only get together about $1000, which was half of what it cost. He told the druggist that his wife was dying and asked him to sell it cheaper or let him pay later. But the druggist said, “No, I discovered the drug and I’m going to make money from it. Heinz got desperate and considered breaking into the man’s store to steal the drug for his wife. theory of moral development Should Heinz steal the radium .

Moral reasoning of preschool children was influenced by a concern for obedience and punishment and for satisfying personal needs. When children enter the stage of concrete operations, they are able to turn away from their egocentric thinking, growing more concerned about appearing ‘good’. According to Kohlberg (1969, 1976) this shift in focus is characteristic of conventional level of moral reasoning. Concern with law and order is an important aspect of conventional reasoning moral development Rule breaking is considered to be inherently immoral because it creates chaos in a stable social system. Reasoning at this level fits what many societies consider to be acceptable moral rules .

In a classic study of 10,000 children, Hugh Hartshorn and Mark May (1928- 1930)16 found that students who support rigid moral standards don’t necessarily behave in ethical and desirable ways. Nine to eleven year old children are quick to 31 find excuses to justify their own rule infractions. Solving moral dilemmas involves trying to coordinate several sets of conflicting needs and motives, including the laws of the culture, the morality of peers, parents’ and teachers’ guidelines and selfinterest. theory of moral development The third and fourth grader may be able to identify moral of a story but may not be able to apply it. Moral decision making benefits from practice and maturity and from specific instruction on how to generalise moral principles to life.

Together with the development of cognition and social skills, children develop along the dimension of the moral values and reasoning. kohlberg's theory of moral development They learn the rules for right and wrong and understand other laws and rules. In this section, we will examine Jean Piaget and Lawrence Kohlberg’s theories of moral development during school years.