| CODE | EDE5008 | ||||||||||||||||
| TITLE | Moral Development, Values and Social Understanding in Young Children and Adolescents | ||||||||||||||||
| UM LEVEL | 05 - Postgraduate Modular Diploma or Degree Course | ||||||||||||||||
| MQF LEVEL | 7 | ||||||||||||||||
| ECTS CREDITS | 5 | ||||||||||||||||
| DEPARTMENT | Education Studies | ||||||||||||||||
| DESCRIPTION | Moral Education covers character and morality, the individual and the community and blends academic content with an exploration of character and ethics. This study-unit discusses the importance of morality and ethical behaviour during various stages of childhood and adolescence. The study-unit imparts knowledge about cognitive-developmental theories and distinguishes how moral development has been conceptualised within a psychological discourse. It compares and combines insights from different discourses to develop a conceptual framework for articulating the meaning, role, and process of moral reasoning and decision-making. The main theoretical perspectives adopted in this study-unit comprise the traditionally studied theories, including but not limited to prominent theories with influential contributions from the early psychologists such as Freud and Piaget, to the latter ones such as Kohlberg, Selman, Gilligan, and Noddings. These theories propose stages and processes through which children develop their moral beliefs, perspectives, and actions, providing valuable insights into the complex journey of moral growth during childhood. By examining these theories, one gains a deeper understanding of the nuanced development of moral reasoning in young individuals. This ultimately contributes to understanding human nature and the foundations of ethical behaviour. Practical issues and applications are drawn from the current ethics syllabus, which is the applied embodiment of this study-unit. Such practical elements as fairness, affection, social justice, kindness and solidarity, equality and appreciation, empathy, integrity (making honest choices), children鈥檚 rights, human rights, cultures and diversity, tolerance of and respect towards others are elaborated on, and developed within a teaching context. The practical element in this study-unit encourages teachers to develop their ability to teach ethics and ethical analysis away from traditional religious and denominational constraints. It provides a framework for understanding morality and moral development, including understanding the human person and the community lived in. Emphasis is placed on enabling educators to engender moral formation and provide a foundational understanding of morality and ethics. Study-Unit Aims: This study-unit reflects UNESCO鈥檚 four pillars: learning to know, learning to do, learning to live together and learning to be. This notion is also evident in the subject area鈥檚 LOF. This study-unit aims to achieve the following: 鈥� Explore how moral development has been conceptualised within psychological discourse. 鈥� Study moral growth and development theories and their bearing on thought, behaviour, affect, and personality. 鈥� Study contexts of moral development, including families, schools, and social and religious groups. 鈥� Develop in course participants a more comprehensive understanding of how moral choices permeate all our actions in daily life. Learning Outcomes: 1. Knowledge & Understanding: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - Critically evaluate psychological approaches to moral development; - Identify the values and assumptions underlying the psychological theories of moral development; - Recognise the contexts of moral development (religious, cultural and social) and their influences; - Formulate a conceptual framework for articulating moral reasoning and decision making; - Creatively apply the framework of moral development to chosen case studies; - Connect the concepts developed during this study unit with specific teaching contexts in their roles as subject teachers; - Discern ethical issues and discuss them in class with peers and lecturers. 2. Skills: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - Engage critically (reading and discussing critically) with a substantial volume of scholarly literature; - Evaluate competing scholarly approaches; - Present coherently and intelligently their views and the views of others; - Work collaboratively as a group member in a way that allows everyone to contribute effectively; - Communicate in an appropriate written style using a library and IT resources; - Work independently and in a disciplined way; - Link ethical reflection on cognitive theories within psychology and other areas of study showing independence of thoughts and critical self-awareness; - Simulate specific class-based situations in the teaching of the subject matter. Main Text/s and any supplementary readings: Main Texts: - Directorate for Quality and Standards in Education. (2015). Learning Outcomes Framework - Ethics. - Kurtines, W.M., & Gewirtz, J.L. (Eds.) (1995). Moral Development: An Introduction. Boston: Allyn & Bacon. - De Caroli, M. E. & Sagone, E. (2014). Mechanisms Of Moral Disengagement: An Analysis From Early Adolescence To Youth. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 140, 312 鈥� 317. Supplementary Readings: - Bandura, A. (1977). A Social Learning Theory. New Jersey: Prentice Hall. - Garrod, A. (ed.) (1993). Approaches to Moral Development: New Research and Emerging Themes. New York: Teachers College Press. - Gibbs, J.C. (2003). Moral development and reality: Beyond the theories of Kohlberg and Hoffman. Thousand Oaks, California: Sage Publishers. - Gilligan, C. (1982). In a Different Voice: Psychological theory and women's development. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. - Gilligan, C. (1982). Mapping the moral domain: A contribution of women's thinking to psychological theory and education. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. - Hoffman, M.L. (2000). Empathy and moral development: Implications for caring and justice. New York: Cambridge University Press. - Killen, M., & Smetana, J. (2006). Handbook of Moral Development. New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Publishers. - Kohlberg, L. (1981). The Philosophy of Moral Development: Moral Stages and the Idea of Justice. New York: Harper & Row Pub. - Kohlberg, L. (1984). Essays on moral development Volume II. The psychology of moral development: The nature and validity of moral stages. San Francisco: Harper & Row. - Kohlberg, L. (1984). The Relationship of Moral Judgment to Moral Action. In Urtinez & Gerwitz (Eds.), Morality, Moral Behavior and Moral Development: Basic Issues in Theory and Research, New York: John Wiley & Sons. - Kohlberg, L. (1989). Lawrence Kohlberg's approach to moral education. New York: Columbia University Press. - Kuhmerker, L. (1991). The Kohlberg Legacy for the Helping Professions. Birmingham: R.E.P. Books. - Lickona, T. (2004). Character matters: How to help our children develop good judgment, integrity, and other essential virtues. New York: Simon and Schuster. - McNeel, S. (1994). College Teaching and Student Moral Development, in J. Rest & D. Narvaez (Eds) Moral Development in the Professions: Psychology and Applied Ethics, pp. 26-47. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. - Moshman David (2005) Adolescent Psychological Development: Rationality, Morality, and Identity). NJ.:Lawrence Erlbaum. - Narvaez, D. (2004). Moral development in the professions: Psychology and applied ethics. Mahwah, New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. - Narvaez, D. (2004). Moral development, self, and identity. Mahwah, New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. - Noddings, N. (1984). Caring, a feminine approach to ethics and moral education. Berkeley, California: University of California Press. - Noddings, N. (2002). Educating moral people: A caring alternative to character education. New York: Teachers College Press. - Piaget, J. (1965). The moral judgment of the child. New York: Free Press. - Power, F.C., Higgins, A., & Kohlberg, L. (1989). Lawrence Kohlberg鈥檚 Approach to Moral Education. New York: Columbia University Press. - Reimer, J., Paolitto, D.P., & Hersh, R.H. (1983). Promoting Moral Growth from Piaget to Kohlberg. (2nd ed). Prospect Heights, IL: Waveland Press. - Rest, J. (1986). Moral Development: Advances in Research and Theory. New York: Praeger Pub. Co. - Rest, J. R. (1979). Developing in Judging Moral Issues. Center for the Study of Ethical Development, Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press. - Rest, J. R. (1979). The Defining Issues Test. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press. - Rest, J. R. (1979). Development in Judging Moral Issues. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press. - Rest, J.R. (1973). The Hierarchical Nature of Moral Judgment. Journal of Personality, 41, 86-109. - Rest, James, R. and Narv谩ez, Darcia (1994) Moral Development in the Professions: Psychology and Applied Ethics. NJ.:Lawrence Erlbaum. - Vozzola, Elizabeth C. (2014) Moral Development: Theory and Applications. Hove, Sussex: Routledge. |
||||||||||||||||
| STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Lecture | ||||||||||||||||
| METHOD OF ASSESSMENT |
|
||||||||||||||||
| LECTURER/S | Victor Martinelli Davina Schembri |
||||||||||||||||
|
The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints. Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice. It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2025/6. It may be subject to change in subsequent years. |
|||||||||||||||||