NCJ Number
85534
Journal
Journal of Correctional Education Volume: 33 Issue: 3 Dated: (September 1982) Pages: 18-26
Date Published
1982
Length
9 pages
Annotation
This article presents a general teaching method for guiding inmate students in cognitive-moral development within the context of various course contents.
Abstract
Lawrence Kohlberg's theory of cognitive-moral development focuses on the process of thinking about moral issues rather than on moral values themselves. Such an approach avoids the clash between secular and religious value systems, problems of indoctrination, and even the problem of moral relativism. Although Kohlberg's approach does not identify specific values or a hierarchical ranking of values, his theory does establish a hierarchy of levels of thinking about moral issues. Kohlberg concludes that each person's level of moral reasoning develops from childhood in an invariant sequence through six stages, although the process can terminate at any stage. A class of prison inmates can be expected to reason at stages 1-3, so discussions of moral dilemmas among students will provide stage conflict, which can in turn facilitate students moving to another level of moral reasoning. Moral discussion materials should be selected to elicit reasoning at levels 1-3, while probe questions should be in the range of stages 3 and 4. While this approach is effective in stimulating an examination of one's moral reasoning, growth into a higher stage is very slow, usually over a period of years rather than weeks. Five formats for presenting moral dilemmas are offered, and examples of moral dilemmas presented in a civic education and a literature course are provided. Descriptions of Kohlberg's stages of moral reasoning are appended, and 10 references are listed.