Moral Development and Values Education

Sue Walker

Moral development

How and when do children develop an understanding of standards and of right and wrong?

How do interactions with parents and siblings in the family contribute to moral understanding?

How do interactions with teachers and peers contribute to moral understanding?

What can parents and teachers do to nurture children’s moral development?

Sense of Morality

Distinguish right from wrong (cognitive component)

Prepared to act accordingly (behavioural component)

How we feel about it (affective component)

It is not just prosocial behaviour – sharing, helpingIt is not just habits of politeness – please, thank youIt is not just certain character traits – honesty, generosity

Factors affecting moral development

Cognitive development Interactions with peers Use of reasons and rationales Moral issues and dilemmas Sense of self

Morality in preschool interaction

What moral values and norms do teachers encourage children to develop?

How do teachers attend to the values that children express in their daily interaction with teachers and peers?

Morality is based on concrete experiences and develops as a result of interactions

– Moral situations– Moral values and norms

Promoting moral development

Clarify which behaviours are acceptable and which are not

Engage children in discussion about moral issues

Help children to understand a friend’s emotional feelings

Help children to understand others’ perspectives

“Individuals can realise their potential only within a community. Participation in any community requires knowledge and understanding of its norms, rules, and values” (Katz & McClellan, 1997, p vii).

Values for Australian Schooling

Care and compassion– Care for self and others

Doing your best– Try hard, pursue excellence

Freedom– Enjoy the rights and privileges of Australian citizenship

Honesty and trustworthiness– Be honest, sincere and seek the truth

Integrity– Moral and ethical conduct

Respect– Treat others with consideration and regard

Responsibility– Be accountable for one’s own actions

Understanding, tolerance and inclusion– Be aware of others and their cultures, accept diversity

Educating young children for democracy

What kind of education is most suitable in helping children learn to live in a democracy?

Education for a democracy demands that the individual be recognised– Valuing children’s individuality– Valuing different perspectives and opinions– Nurturing independent critical thinking

Ask questions that have many possible answers Give children time to think and the resources to investigate

(Cincilei, David & Grob, 2000)

Benefits of democratic participatory approaches in early childhood

Children can acquire the ability to:– Trust themselves to make meaningful decisions– Learn to trust others– Assume responsibility for their own actions– Acknowledge their own value by learning that opinions

count– Build skill competence and independence– Respect authority– Understand that diversity is to be celebrated– Respect themselves and others– Value a sense of community membership

(Erwin & Kipness, 2000)

Promoting democratic values

Allow children to make important decisions that affect the whole group

Encourage children to address real challenges by problem solving and negotiating

Teach children to respect uniqueness and appreciate diversity Assist children in assuming responsibility for the classroom

environment Respect children’s right to decide how they want to spend their

time and with whom Encourage children to try to do things independently even if

they may have difficulty Teach children that others also have rights

Values for democratic participation

Respect for diversity Recognition of multiple perspectives Welcoming curiosity Critical thinking

Respect for diversity

religion race language Interests ethnicity age

abilities values gender role family composition lifestyle skin colour

Respect for the environment

“Think globally act locally” Sustainability in early childhood

– context-specific– natural play spaces and bio-diversity– water conservation– compost food scraps– waste reduction

(Davis & Pratt, 2005)

Values in ECE

Helping children to develop empathy– Encourage role playing– Help children understand how other people feel

Helping children learn to be generous, altruistic and able to share– Help children learn to share equipment

Help children learn that being kind to others feels good– Helping is one way of expressing kindness

(Hendrick & Weissman, 2006)

Values in ECE

Teach children that everyone has rights– …..and that rules apply to everyone

Emphasise the value of cooperation and compromise– Model cooperation and helping behaviour– Teach the art of compromise

Help children discover the pleasure of friendships

(Hendrick & Weissman, 2006)

Moral classroom, moral children

Creating a constructivist atmosphere in early care and education

Organising to meet children’s needs– Physiological needs– Emotional needs– Intellectual needs

Constructivist alternatives to discipline

Avoid sanctions/punishments Encourage children’s ownership of logical

consequences When children suggest a consequence that

is too severe, ask the wrongdoer to say how he or she feels (and support this feeling)

Constructivist alternatives cont…

Verbalise the cause-effect relation when natural consequences occur

Selectively allow natural consequences to occur

Offer opportunities for restitution Avoid indefinite consequences

Conditions for democracy

Supportive conditions – a commitment to and support of democratic participation

The child is viewed as a competent citizen Parents are seen as competent citizens Educators are recognised as practitioners of

democracy Time to reflect upon, interpret and evaluate

practice

(Moss, 2007)

References

Cincilei, C., David, J. & Grob, B. (2000). Changing to a child-centred approach: Teachers reflect on the Moldovan experience. Journal of the International Step by Step Association, 1 (1), 9-13.

Curriculum Corporation (2006). Implementing the national framework for values education in Australian schools. Curriculum Corporation: Carlton South, Vic

Davis, J. & Pratt, R. (2005) The sustainable planet project: Creating cultural change at Campus Kindergarten. Every Child, 11 (4).

Erwin, E.J. & Kipness, N.A. (2000). Fostering democratic values in inclusive early childhood settings. Journal of the International Step by Step Association, 1 (1), 18 – 21.

Hendrick, J. & Weissman, P. (2007). Total learning: Developmental curriculum for young children (7th ed.). Pearson: Upper Saddle River, New Jersey.

Moss, P. (2007). Bringing politics into the nursery: Early childhood education as democratic practice. Working Paper 43. Bernard van Leer Foundation: The Hague, The Netherlands.