Emotional and Moral Development
Developing good morals is the ability to be concerned with right and wrong choices and behaviours. Students learn to develop their morals from a very young age. To children, the concept of morality has to do with fairness and the well-being of others. For example, at school and in the classroom, students and teachers alike have to deal with “moral dilemmas surrounding issues like cheating, truth telling, and keeping promises” (Paolitto, 1977). In order to solve these moral dilemmas, students need to use their emotions and feelings. Emotion is an innate, powerful, and principally unconscious process (Sylwester, 2000). It is what we use to feel and connect with other people around us. Both moral and emotional development is important for personal growth. It is also important for brain development and thought formation (Kohlberg & Hersh, 1977). Specifically, Kohlberg & Hersh (1977) reported in their study that, moral education is needed in order “to enable them to use more adequate and complex reasoning patterns to solve moral problems”.
PARENTS: Teachers
and parents have a duty to teach morals to their kids both in and out of
school. Click the link below to find out more on how you can help with moral development in your child!
References:
Kohlberg, L. and Hersh, R. (1977). Moral development: A review of theory. Theory into Practice. 16(2), 53 – 59.
Paolitto, D. P. (1977). The role of the teacher in moral education. Theory into Practice. 16(2), 73 – 80.
Sylwester, R. (2000). Unconscious emotions, conscious feelings. Educational Leadership. 58(3). 20 – 24.
Kohlberg, L. and Hersh, R. (1977). Moral development: A review of theory. Theory into Practice. 16(2), 53 – 59.
Paolitto, D. P. (1977). The role of the teacher in moral education. Theory into Practice. 16(2), 73 – 80.
Sylwester, R. (2000). Unconscious emotions, conscious feelings. Educational Leadership. 58(3). 20 – 24.