Theories of Moral Development Why it is Important for an ECE Teacher

Summaries the Main Ideas presented in Theories of Moral Development Why it is Important for an ECE Teacher?

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Morality is a system of beliefs about what is right and good compared to what is wrong or bad. Moral development refers to changes in moral beliefs as a person grows older and gains maturity. Moral beliefs are related to, but not identical with, moral behavior: it is possible to know the right thing to do, but not actually do it. It is also not the same as knowledge of social conventions, which are arbitrary customs needed for the smooth operation of society. Social conventions may have a moral element, but they have a primarily practical purpose. Conventionally, for example, motor vehicles all keep to the same side of the street (to the right in the United States, to the left in Great Britain). The convention allows for smooth, accident-free flow of traffic. But following the convention also has a moral element, because an individual who chooses to drive on the wrong side of the street can cause injuries or even death. In this sense, choosing the wrong side of the street is wrong morally, though the choice is also unconventional.

When it comes to schooling and teaching, moral choices are not restricted to occasional dramatic incidents, but are woven into almost every aspect of classroom life. Imagine this simple example. Suppose that you are teaching, reading to a small group of second-graders, and the students are taking turns reading a story out loud. Should you give every student the same amount of time to read, even though some might benefit from having additional time? Or should you give more time to the students who need extra help, even if doing so bores classmates and deprives others of equal shares of “floor time”? Which option is more fair, and which is more considerate? Simple dilemmas like this happen every day at all grade levels simply because students are diverse, and because class time and a teacher’s energy are finite.

Morality of justice is about human rights—or more specifically, about respect for fairness, impartiality, equality, and individuals’ independence. A morality of care, on the other hand, is about human responsibilities—more specifically, about caring for others, showing consideration for individuals’ needs, and interdependence among individuals. Students and teachers need both forms of morality. In the next sections therefore we explain a major example of each type of developmental theory, beginning with the morality of justice.

Preconventional justice: obedience and mutual advantage

The pre-convention level of moral development coincides approximately with the preschool period of life and with Piaget’s pre-operational period of thinking. At this age the child is still relatively self-cantered and insensitive to the moral effects of actions on others. The result is a somewhat short-sighted orientation to morality. Initially (Kohlberg’s Stage 1), the child adopts an ethics of obedience and punishment—a sort of “morality of keeping out of trouble.” The rightness and wrongness of actions is determined by whether actions are rewarded or punished by authorities such as parents or teachers. If helping yourself to a cookie brings affectionate smiles from adults, then taking the cookie is considered morally “good.” If it brings scolding instead, then it is morally “bad.” The child does not think about why an action might be praised or scolded; in fact, says Kohlberg, he would be incapable at Stage 1 of considering the reasons even if adults offered them.

Eventually the child learns not only to respond to positive consequences, but also learns how to produce them by exchanging favours with others. The new ability creates Stage 2, an ethics of market exchange. At this stage the morally “good” action is one that favours not only the child, but another person directly involved. A “bad” action is one that lacks this reciprocity. If trading the sandwich from your lunch for the cookies in your friend’s lunch is mutually agreeable, then the trade is morally good; otherwise it is not. This perspective introduces a type of fairness into the child’s thinking for the first time. But it still ignores the larger context of actions—the effects on people not present or directly involved. In Stage 2, for example, it would also be considered morally “good” to pay a classmate to do another student’s homework—or even to avoid bullying or to provide sexual favours—provided that both parties regard the arrangement as being fair.

Conventional justice: conformity to peers and society

As children move into the school years, their lives expand to include a larger number and range of peers and (eventually) of the community as a whole. The change leads to conventional morality, which are beliefs based on what this larger array of people agree on—hence Kohlberg’s use of the term “conventional.” At first, in Stage 3, the child’s reference group are immediate peers, so Stage 3 is sometimes called the ethics of peer opinion. If peers believe, for example, that it is morally good to behave politely with as many people as possible, then the child is likely to agree with the group and to regard politeness as not merely an arbitrary social convention, but a moral “good.” This approach to moral belief is a bit more stable than the approach in Stage 2, because the child is taking into account the reactions not just of one other person, but of many. But it can still lead astray if the group

settles on beliefs that adults consider morally wrong, like “Shop lifting for candy bars is fun and desirable.”

Eventually, as the child becomes a youth and the social world expands even more, he or she acquires even larger numbers of peers and friends. He or she is therefore more likely to encounter disagreements about ethical issues and beliefs. Resolving the complexities lead to Stage 4, the ethics of law and order, in which the young person increasingly frames moral beliefs in terms of what the majority of society believes. Now, an action is morally good if it is legal or at least customarily approved by most people, including people whom the youth does not know personally. This attitude leads to an even more stable set of principles than in the previous stage, though it is still not immune from ethical mistakes. A community or society may agree, for example, that people of a certain race should be treated with deliberate disrespect or that a factory owner is entitled to dump waste water into a commonly shared lake or river. To develop ethical principles that reliably avoid mistakes like these require further stages of moral development.

A Passion for Early Childhood Education

Education is not a field that just anyone can go into and be both successful and fulfilled in their career. Prospective educators must have a passion for teaching young children. This enthusiasm should reach beyond playground fun and focus on helping young children meet developmental milestones.

Patience and a Sense of Humour

Young children are full of energy and curiosity. Early childhood educators should bring a great deal of patience and a dose of humor to the classroom to keep children engaged in the day’s lessons.

Creativity

Reaching children and helping them learn requires creativity while guiding students in connecting the dots and relating lessons to their current stage of development. Early childhood educators should be able to adapt lesson plans to concepts that children can understand. Incorporating learning games and other teaching techniques can keep children engaged and focused throughout the day.

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Communication Skills

Children are sponges at this early age, but they are also new to learning. Early childhood educators must be able to communicate with young learners on their level, including being able to break complex subjects into easily digestible pieces. They must be able offer details about classroom progress to parents so they are aware of their child’s performance and achievement level. Communication helps parents identify teachable moments in everyday situations and boost their child’s kindergarten readiness.

Flexibility

Even the best early childhood teachers will go off course throughout the day due to unforeseen circumstances or learning hiccups. While creating a lesson plan to outline important concepts that should be addressed in curriculum is important for any classroom, even the best plans sometimes don’t happen the way we hope. Being flexible can help lessen stress levels and keep things on track.

Understanding Diversity

Children come from different home environments and backgrounds, which can lead to different learning styles. Early childhood teachers should be able to accept these differences and be willing to work with varied learning styles to ensure all students leave the classroom having achieved the identified learning objectives.
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