UNDERSTANDING AND PROMOTING STUDENT MORAL DEVELOPMENT

Paul Lewis & Tanya Sharon

What We Know About Undergraduate Moral Development:

1.      College is a time of real, but modest development in moral reasoning

·         Whereas freshman typically recognize that moral authorities differ and may embrace the view that all perspectives are valid, seniors begin to make tentative commitments in an ambiguous world, although those commitments typically have not become central to personal identity by this time (William Perry, Forms of Ethical and Intellectual Development in College, 1999)

·         The Defining Issues Test, the most widely-used tool for assessing moral reasoning, shows that college students have an average P-score (a measure of principled or post-conventional moral reasoning) of 42.3, whereas high school seniors have an average P-score of 31.8.  These results suggest that educational level contributes to development in moral reasoning (James Rest, “Research on Moral Judgment in College Students” in Approaches to Moral Development:  New Research and Emerging Themes, 1993).

2.      Factors in student moral development (ranked in order of importance; Rest, “Research”)

· Personality of students: they love to learn, seek new challenges, enjoy stimulating intellectual environments, take responsibility for themselves and their environments, etc.

· Institutional culture/ethos:  the college experience needs to be not only intellectually stimulating, but also socially rich, and with a healthy general atmosphere.

· Formal instruction in ethics:  its impact is small but real.

3.      Moral development entails more than reasoning (Darcia Narvaez, “Integral Ethical Education,” in Handbook of Moral Development):

• Ethical sensitivity/perception:  connecting to others, responding to diversity, interpreting situations, communicating effectively

• Ethical judgment:  using context-specific codes of conduct; coping and resiliency;

understanding consequences; reflecting on the process and outcome

• Ethical focus:  respecting others, cultivating conscience, acting responsibly, helping others, finding meaning in life, valuing traditions and institutions, developing ethical identity and integrity
• Ethical action:  resolving conflicts and problems, asserting self respectfully, taking initiative as a leader, planning to implement decisions, cultivating courage, persevering

 (Note:  Cognitive maturity, by virtually all measures, does not occur until late the 20’s or early 30’s)

Activities that Foster Cognitive Development (Principled Moral Reasoning): (Pascarella,and Terenzini, How College Affects Students, 2005): 

1.      Dilemma discussions, especially when combined with instruction in philosophical methods of ethical analysis and information about personality development

2.      Integrate ethics across the curriculum (both vertically and horizontally)

3.      Participation in extracurricular activities that involve diverse peoples

4.      Participation in off-campus study (including but not limited to study abroad)

5.      Interaction with faculty outside of class

Activities that Foster Other Dimensions of Moral Development:

1.      Service Learning

·         Correlates with increased civic engagement (How College Affects Students)

·         Correlates with moral discernment (preliminary findings of Sharon/Lewis):

In a survey of 238 Mercer undergraduates, students who perform some

community service are more likely to agree that their Mercer education has

made them more morally discerning.

2.      Novice to expert pedagogy (Narvaez, “The Psychological Foundations of Everyday Morality and Moral Expertise,” in Character Psychology and Character Education, 2005).

·         Immerse students in examples

·         Call attention to details so as to help students make important distinctions

·         Practice procedures for problem-solving

·         Apply skills to new problems in multiple contexts

3.      Procedures that promote the development of wisdom (Robert Sternberg, “Why Schools Should Teach for Wisdom:  The Balance Theory of Wisdom in Educational Settings,” Educational Psychologist 36/4 [2001])

·         Read classics in literature and philosophy (not just western classics).

·         Encourage students to explore how to apply knowledge to their own lives—especially by viewing problems from multiple and evolving points of view (i.e., promote dialogical and dialectical thinking).

·         Study values as well as “truth.”

·         Put critical, creative, and practical thinking into the service of good ends (ends that benefit more people than the individual).

·         Explore how knowledge can be used for both better or worse ends.

·         Model behaviors for students.