Ethics

• Morality


  A system of beliefs about what is right and good compared to what is wrong or bad
• Moral beliefs are related to, but not identical with, moral behavior
• Social conventions may have a moral element, but they have a primarily practical purpose
• Following social conventions

  Allows for smooth, accident-free flow of traffic
• Moral beliefs are not the same as knowledge of social conventions
• Morality of justice


  About human rights, respect for fairness, impartiality, equality, and individuals' independence
• Students and teachers need both forms of morality
• Moral choices are woven into almost every aspect of classroom life
• Moral stages according to Kohlberg

  • Preconventional Level: Stage 1 - Obedience and punishment, Stage 2 - Market exchange; Conventional Level: Stage 3 - Peer opinion, Stage 4 - Law and order; Postconventional Level: Stage 5 - Social contract, Stage 6 - Universal principles
• At the preconventional level, the child is relatively self-centered and insensitive to the moral effects of actions on others
• Choosing to drive on the wrong side of the street

  Can cause injuries or even death
• Example of a social convention


  • Motor vehicles all keep to the same side of the street (to the right in the United States, to the left in Great Britain)
• Simple dilemmas in teaching involve moral themes about fairness, justice, and consideration
• Social conventions

  Arbitrary customs needed for the smooth operation of society
• Moral development


  Changes in moral beliefs as a person grows older and gains maturity
• Kohlberg's morality of justice

  Proposed six stages of moral development grouped into three levels: preconventional, conventional, postconventional
• Morality of care


  About human responsibilities, caring for others, showing consideration for individuals' needs, and interdependence among individuals
• It is possible to know the right thing to do, but not actually do it
• Preconventional justice: obedience and mutual advantage


  Child adopts an ethics of obedience and punishment initially, determining rightness and wrongness based on rewards or punishments by authorities
• Preconventional justice coincides with the preschool period of life and with Piaget's preoperational period of thinking
• At Stage 2 of moral development


  Actions are considered good if they favor both the child and another person directly involved
• Moral development stages according to Kohlberg


  Stage 1: Actions are determined by whether they are rewarded or punished by authorities such as parents or teachers. Children at this stage are incapable of considering reasons for actions even if offered by adults.

  Stage 2: Ethics of market exchange where actions are considered good if they favor both the child and another person directly involved.

  Stage 3: Conventional morality based on conformity to peers and society, where beliefs are based on what a larger array of people agree on.

  Stage 4: Ethics of law and order, where moral beliefs are framed in terms of what the majority of society believes, leading to more stable principles.

  Stage 5: Ethics of social contract, focusing on fair, democratic processes that respect the rights of the people affected in determining moral goodness
• At Stage 4 of moral development


  Moral beliefs are framed in terms of what the majority of society believes, leading to ethics of law and order
• At Stage 1 of moral development

  Actions are determined by whether they are rewarded or punished by authorities such as parents or teachers
• At Stage 5 of moral development


  Actions, beliefs, or practices are considered morally good if they have been created through fair, democratic processes that respect the rights of the people affected, focusing on the ethics of social contract
• At Stage 3 of moral development


  Beliefs are based on what a larger array of people agree on, leading to conventional morality
• Stages of moral development according to Gilligan

  1. Position 1: Survival orientation - Action that considers one’s personal needs only

  2. Position 2: Conventional care - Action that considers others’ needs or preferences, but not one’s own

  3. Position 3: Integrated care - Action that attempts to coordinate one’s own personal needs with those of others
• A survival orientation is not satisfactory for classrooms on a widespread scale as it focuses solely on personal needs without considering responsibilities to others
• Survival orientation is the most basic kind of caring, where a person is concerned primarily with his or her own welfare
• Position 1: There are situations where focusing primarily on oneself is a sign of good mental health and relevant to teachers, such as when a child who has been bullied or abused speaks out about their experience
• Position 3: Integrated caring involves coordinating personal needs and values with those of others, including oneself, leading to more comprehensive moral beliefs
• A woman's decision-making process regarding abortion

  • Position 1: Focuses primarily on oneself, disregarding responsibilities to others such as the baby, the father, or family
  • Position 2: Considers others' preferences and aims to please them, neglecting personal needs
  • Position 3: Coordinates personal needs and values with those of others, including oneself, leading to more comprehensive moral beliefs
• Position 3: In classrooms, integrated caring is most likely to surface when teachers give students wide, sustained freedom to make choices, posing moral challenges that require students to make value judgments and consider personal and others' needs and values
• Position 2: Ethically and intellectually demanding as it requires coordinating several persons' needs and values, but can be morally insufficient as it may ignore the self
• Position 2: In classrooms, students operating from Position 2 can be eager to please, considerate, and good at working cooperatively with others, qualities that are usually welcome but may neglect personal development
• Position 1: A survival orientation may not be satisfactory for classrooms on a widespread scale as it focuses solely on oneself
• Position 3: Integrated caring is prone to dilemmas as it considers the widest possible range of individuals, including oneself
• Position 2: Caring for others involves considering others' happiness and welfare, often at the expense of neglecting one's own needs
• American psychologist Lawrence Kohlberg developed a theory exploring moral reasoning
• Kohlberg's theory proposes that moral development is a continual process that occurs throughout the lifespan