Moral Worlds of Education

Moral Worlds of EducationM. Kallay & M. Mooney ED 503Dr. Barger McBride

Moral EducationEducators believe in creating a processYoung people learn to:Recognize valuesEngage in actionsAppreciate ethical and compassionate conductThese worlds do not exist in isolation

Seven Worlds Of Moral Education

Schooling can shape the behavior of young peopleStudents need opportunities to do good deedsCharacter educators believe in strong incentivesThe Book of Virtues by William BennettCharacter Counts, six pillars of characterKent City SchoolsUnanswered critical questions

Character Education

-Schooling can shape the behavior of young people by inculcating in them the proper virtues.-Children need clear directions and good role models. -Schools should be responsible for providing good role models and families do not.-Advocates recommend that students be given numerous opportunities to do good deeds. Strong incentives are also encouraged.-The Book of Virtues by William Bennett influences character education programs describes self-discipline, compassion, responsibility, friendship, work, courage, perseverance, honesty, loyalty, and faith.-Character Counts, a coalition that posits six pillars of character. 1. be honest 2. treat others with respect 3. do what you are supposed to do 4. play by the rules 5. be kind 6. do your share and make your school community better.-Some communities even establish their own sets of traits.-Modeling virtuous behavior is a key component.-Positive reinforcement of good character traits is crucial.-Schools may emphasize a different character trait each month. Kent City Schools, November is compassion month and December is self-control.-Educators believe that it is their responsibility to form character rather than remain indifferent.-Many unanswered critical questions such as: Are behavioral traits in fact the same as moral character? Do displays of virtues or desired traits truly encourage moral behavior? Do the values chosen by character educators reflect the status quo and encourage compliance with it?

3Spheres of school, home, and communityParents, elders, and cultural leaders educateCultural traditions and valuesAfrocentric schoolsNative American schoolsContinuity between home culture and schoolCannot be imposed on a communityCultural Heritage

-Values are emphasized.-Drawn from traditions.-No underlying assumptions that schools have better values than families/communities.-Parents, elders and cultural leaders educate outside school walls through a deep understanding and participation.-Afrocentric schools focus on reconnecting African American families to cultural heritage, spirituality, and history.-Native American schools teach language, customs, and history. Parents and elders are present throughout the school.-Cultural heritage schools are committed to sustenance of cultures.-Continuity between home culture and school allow for moral instruction using familiar patterns of communication.-Moral learning is embedded within academic scholarship.-Cultural heritage cannot be imposed on a community, but it should be offered is the community desires so.

4Emphasizes the ethic of careFocuses on social and emotional health of membersSchools image is that of a homeNurturing peer relationshipsService learning projectsInclusivenessEmotional well-being is the catalystCaring Community

-Ethic of care-nurturing, closeness, emotional attachment, and respectful supportive relationships.-The schools institutional image is replaced by that of a home.-Educators moral influence stems from caring relationships with students, parents, and one another.-Students are not rewarded for individual empathetic actions, they are the norm.-Classes are small and nurturing peer relationships develop through informal and planned activities.-The theme of caring is presented through service learning projects and the study of literature through interpersonal and intercultural understanding.-Schools welcome and nurture diverse populations, including students with special needs.-The classroom environment features discussions and activities defined by how the students feel about one another.-Families and school personnel communicate with one another about academics, social development and emotional health.-Children educated in such schools perceive their classrooms as fair, safe, caring places. The emotional well-being is the catalyst for moral development in the caring community.-Difficulties occur with large class size, disruptive pull out programs, and history of not welcoming families.-Students and teachers may feel uncared for when environment is hostile.

5An ethic of care beyond the classroomValuing and befriending the EarthComponents of peace educationMaria MontessoriA belief that all lives and actions matterNourishes desire for personal meaningStimulating curriculum covering all disciplinesPeace Education

-Moral commitments include valuing and befriending the Earth, living in harmony with the natural world, recognizing the interrelatedness of all human and natural life, preventing violence toward the Earth and all its peoples, and learning how to create and live in a culture of peace.-The components of peace education include: -conflict resolution -peace studies -environmental education -global education -human rights education-Maria Montessori believed that education can contribute to world peace. One World Montessori School has a K-8 peace curriculum.-Peace educators believe that all lives and actions matter and that students are connected to all of life through a vision of peace, harmony, and Earth stewardship.-Peace education nourishes a students desire for personal meaning in increasingly violent times.-Stimulating curriculum across all disciples.-An integrated peace education curriculum is difficult within a traditional education system in which content is taught in discrete disciplines. -There is potential for conflict with community values.6Values of justice and compassionStudents are empathetic being and social agentsIdealism for bringing about a better worldLearning resources outside of schoolNova Alternative High SchoolIntegrated curriculumStudents as moral agents

Social Action

-The values of justice and compassion guide a curriculum focused on the political nature of society.-Educators believe that students are empathetic human beings and social agents capable of effecting change by critically examining unjust situations and participating in political processes.-Teachers encourage students to ask, What should I be paying attention to in my world?-The social action approach taps students idealism for bringing about a better world-to heal, repair, and transform the world.-Students are encouraged to generate ideas, negotiate subject matter, and find learning resources outside of the school setting. The venture into the community to gather documents, conduct interviews, and make observations. -Teachers believe that their role is to confront students ignorance or prejudices by helping the students understand both privilege and oppression and by cultivating a critical consciousness.-Nova Alternative High School in Seattle- A junior who works with a human rights group shared with he classmates about the difficult situation in East Timor. In response, students began meeting to study about East Timor. They worked to raise money for a small high school in Manatuto which was burned to the ground in the late 1990s.-A highlight of the social action world is its integrated curriculum-rich in academic, social, and political knowledge-which reflects the moral concerns of children and adolescents. -Through involvement in social settings, students see themselves as moral agents.

7Democratic settingsCommunity building through moral deliberationsLawrence KohlbergStudents influence their own moral developmentPablo Neruda Academy and Scarsdale Alternative SchoolUnequivocal naming of justiceFocus is on the school itself

Just Community

-In the just community moral world, classrooms and schools become democratic settings that provide students with opportunities to deliberate about moral dilemmas and to participate in cooperative decision making.-Students, teachers, and administrators openly discuss and address matters of mutual concern.-Community building involves students gaining perspective on the principles of justice and fairness by experiencing moral deliberations and by applying the principles to real and specific problems in the school community.-The just community model is based on the ideas of Lawrence Kohlberg, who holds that the goal of moral education is the enhancement of students development from lower to higher stages of moral reasoning.-Students influence their own moral development by deliberating about and seeking to resolve moral conflicts.-Pablo Neruda Academy for Architecture and World Studies and Scarsdale Alternative School-emphasize students deliberation about moral dilemmas within real word situations-freedom, combined with responsibility, cooperation over competition, and how to balance the needs of individuals with those of the community are present.-An advantage is the unequivocal naming of justice as a safeguard of individuals rights and the communitys well-being.- The ideal of democracy is a moral standard and a guiding light, raising awareness of good citizenship with a moral context.-Students learn that their actions make a difference because their moral inquiries do not seek to resolve hypothetical questions or to prepare them for life outside of school.

8Moral conversationDeliberation promotes moral developmentIntegrated into entire curriculumMoral identity development (empathy)Teachers are role modelsDemocratic citizenship

Ethical Inquiry

Deliberation: teachers invite students to investigate values or actions and to imagine alternatives: within respectful, egalitarian and carefully facilitated discussions, students consider: how human beings should act, lifes meaning and the human place in the world, friendship, love, beauty- discussions: Moral, immoral, and amoral actions effect self and others

empathy; appreciate others viewpoints and perspectives a mile in someone elses shoesTeachers guide inquiry not define or advocate a particular moral standardMoral Identity: identity development is the goal by bringing in others perspectives and viewpoints into their own deliberations makes them a Democratic citizenDemocratic citizen: 9J. Stewart, Principal at Twin Pines SchoolCase study 18: Amanda JacksonCharacter ed: shape behaviorCultural heritage: Caring community: social/emotional health of members, emotional well beingPeace edu: all lives and actions matter, care beyond the classroomSocial action: resources outside the school, moral agentsJust community: moral standard and a guiding light, students learn their views and actions make a difference b/c taught to seek resolution not just on hypotheticals but in the school itselfEthical inquiry: students learn the effects that moral, immoral, and amoral actions have on themselves and others, learn to reason morally- identity development thru inquiry

10Bolotin Joseph, P. & Efron S. (March 2005). Seven worlds of moral education. Phi Delta Kappan. 86 (7) 525-533.Sadker, D.M. & Zittleman, K.R. (2010). Amanda Jackson. Teachers, schools, and society reader. (9th ed.) New York: McGraw HillReferences