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**Pathfinder Title: Teaching Moral Development**

 * Introduction:** One of my interests in the realm of Educational Psychology is moral development. I am fascinated by why we chose to behave the way we do, and at what cost to others. I figure if I ever get the opportunity to teach a class on moral development, a web pathfinder might be one of my first steps during my preparation. This purpose of this pathfinder is to provide some preliminary resources that aide in the teaching of moral development.


 * Key Terms:** “moral development”, “character development”, “teaching morality”, “teaching character”, “moral education”, “character education”, Kohlberg, Piaget, “Carol Gilligan”, “teaching moral development”, “teaching character development”, “teaching ethics”


 * Search Strategy:** After plugging the above terms into both Google and ixquick, I narrowed the search down using Boolean operators such as AND, OR, and NOT. Some of the searches brought up books or references to books. When that is the case, I used a search on www.amazon.com to find that additional resource. Since my subject matter is relatively academic, I also searched ERIC, PsycArticles, and ProQuest with the above terms.


 * Resources:** Below I have listed a series of webpages that deal with teaching moral development. I separated the academic entries because they are peer-reviewed journal articles, and I wanted to cite them properly.

__Web Search Engine Results__

[|http://tigger.uic.edu/~lnucci/MoralEd/overview.html] This site, created by professors at the University of Illinois – Chicago, provides an introduction to the main perspectives guiding current work on moral development and education. Readers interested in gaining an in-depth and up-to-date understanding of research and scholarship in the field may do so by returning to this web site each month and selecting “Featured Articles.”

[|http://chiron.valdosta.edu/whuitt/col/morchr/morchr.html] Good site with information and links on moral/character development and education. Bill Huitt, of Valdosta State University, feels character development, along with drive, is the most important thing in the lives of young people today.

[|http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kohlberg%27s_stages_of_moral_development] This is the Wikipedia entry for Kohlberg’s stages of moral development. Linked here, is information about the man himself and his other theories. Being the father of moral development, it would be silly not to include him in any discussion on the subject.

http://www.haverford.edu/psych/ddavis/p109g/kohlberg.dilemmas.html Written by Doug Davis, of Haverford College, this site lists four examples of Kohlbergian moral dilemmas that could be used for class discussion or assignment.

http://www.selfhelpmagazine.com/articles/moral-development-of-children.php Relatively shallow article with regards to moral development’s role in raising children. Seventeen opinions are better than one when it comes to gathering information.

http://www.amazon.com/Moral-Development-Reality-Theories-Kohlberg/dp/0761923896/ref=pd_cp_b_0?pf_rd_p=413864201&pf_rd_s=center-41&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=0205595243&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=1RV77BEHEHJBS6J4HDTZ This textbook might be a good start if teaching a class on moral development. It covers past and current theory while offering constructive commentary.

http://www.amazon.com/Nice-Not-Enough-Facilitating-Development/dp/0131886517/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1234824835&sr=1-1 This book not only discusses moral development theory, but gives instructions on actually applying it in a concrete fashion in the classroom.

http://www.character.org/ A nonprofit, nonpartisan, nonsectarian coalition of organizations and individuals committed to fostering effective character education in K-12 schools. Includes a newly written letter to the president.

http://www.duke.edu/jscope/paplutz.htm An interesting paper from David Lutz at Duke about moral philosophy versus empirical science.

http://www.iep.utm.edu/m/moraldev.htm Extensive bit on moral development from the Internet Dictionary of Philosophy.

http://www.hope.edu/academic/psychology/335/webrep/moraldev.html A summary of recent research in the realm of moral development.

__Academic Results__

Blum, L. (1999). Race, community and moral education: Kohlberg and Spielberg as civic educators. //Journal of Moral Education//, 28, 125-143.

Denton, K.L. & Krebs, D.L. (1990) From the scene to the crime: the effect of alcohol and social context on moral judgment. //Journal of Personality and Social Psychology//, 59, 242–248.

Grunwald, H. E. & Mayhew, M. J. (2008). Using propensity scores for estimating causal effects: A study in the development of moral reasoning. //Research in Higher Education//, 49, 758-775.

Haviv, S. & Leman, P. J. (2002). Moral decision-making in real life: Factors affecting moral orientation and behavior justification. //Journal of Moral Education//, 31, 121-140.

Narvaez, D. & Vaydich, J. L. (2008). Moral development and behavior under the spotlight of the neurobiological sciences. //Journal of Moral Education//, 37, 289-312.

Semerci, Q. (2006). The opinions of medicine faculty students regarding cheating in relation to Kohlberg’s moral development concept. //Social Behavior and Personality//, 34, 41-50.

Thomas, E. F. & McGarty, C. A. (2009). The role of efficacy and moral outrage norms in creating the potential for international development activism through group-based interaction. //The British Journal Of Social Psychology,// 48, 115-134.