The article “Beyond Kohlberg: Ethical Learning for Coherence between Judgement, Feelings and Moral Actions”, written in Catalan by Dr. Amèlia Tey and Dr. Maria Rosa Buxarrais, has recently been published in the Anuari de Psicologia de la Societat Valenciana de Psicologia.
Abstract
Moral development is still a matter of concern within the educational community. Different education agents devote time and effort to a topic that currently shows a clear separation between theory and practice, between reasoning and moral actions. The objectives and intentions of schools and families are laudable, but children and teenagers act too impulsively and find it difficult to acquire certain behaviours.
Kohlberg’s approach, focuse don’t hedevelopment of judgement and moral reasoning, seems to provide students with formal discursive elements. However, there is not enough of the deep reflection that would make students adopt his approach as part of their own personalities. In other words, the evolution of the approach to analyse value-laden situations has no direct correlation with a real capability to take decisions at the same level.
Based on this analysis, we propose an inclusive view of the person in order to enhance their moral development. Ethical learning, like any other type of learning, implies a transformation of theway of interpreting and reacting to all that happens in the world. This transformation must take place in the superior psychological processes and in motivation, based on sensitivity and interiority, to promote awareness of the consequences of actions and their real scope.
The article is available to download in the article section.
