Debates about how moral education ought to be provided have engaged many of the best minds in education and stirred public controversies throughout U.S. history. The vast array of European peoples who settled the American colonies brought a commitment to moral education and a variety of approaches to the task. While French and Spanish settlers…

Nisan responds to Turiel, Nucci, and Smetana's (1988) critique by stating that it merely serves to emphasize the difficulty involved in distinguishing between the moral and the conventional without reference to the cultural meaning of the act. (PCB)

In recent years, concern in several Southeast Asian nations about the deterioration of values within their societies has resulted in renewed efforts to teach values by means of special courses in the schools. This paper compares the current programs of values education in four of the nations: Indonesia, Malaysia, the Phillipines, and Singapore.…

This critique of Nisan's (1987) study of morality and convention addresses methodological considerations for cross-cultural research on children's moral and conventional concepts. (PCB)

Suggests that, although secular education exists, it historically has been influenced by Christian beliefs. Argues that pedagogical theory, as moral, is not prepared for the economic orientation of contemporary culture. Explains that educational theory did not break with religion as the sciences did. Concludes that no pedagogy exists that avoids…

Study examined whether 50 Korean children made conceptual distinctions between morality and social convention. Findings indicated that, at all ages, children treated moral transgressions as more generally wrong and independent of rules than conventional transgressions. (Author/RWB)

Contends that there are three broadly held views about sport in relation to moral life: (1) the positive view; (2) the neutral view; and (3) the negative view. Discusses issues of morality and moral education and concludes that the positive view is accurate because the concept of fairness is inherently concerned with ethics and morality. (CFR)

Examines the distinction between moral and conventional norms between 60 boys and girls in the first and fourth grades in Israel. Results are interpreted in terms of two distinct orientations to social norms: one where the criteria for social judgment of behaviors are consequences to others and law; the other where norms have absolute validity.…

Considers the role of lay vocation (here broadly defined as the servanthood of nonordained persons within and without the church) in everyday life and religious education. Discusses the relationship between lay vocation and the holiness movement, a perfectionist doctrine that arose in U.S. Protestantism in the late 19th century. (MJP)

Suggests that attempts to segregate social-conventional reasoning from the moral domain may represent an artificial division ignoring major philosophic and psychological traditions. Discusses the individual, social, and relational dimensions of morality and the cultural context of moral development. Calls for continuing narrative and…

Explores the relationships between self-concept and Kohlberg-type moral reasoning among secondary students in Batswana. Notes predominant use of the preconventional level of moral reasoning. Finds this signifies the influence of social environment and cultural values on development of moral reasoning. (Author/NL)

Articulates an ethical and theological basis for ethnographic research in faith communities. Interviews with nine ethnographers reveal that both research and researcher are changed by the research act. Argues that ethnography is an opportunity for ministry that is empowering and educational. (MJP)

Argues that too often liturgy and religious education posit an idyllic notion of the reign of God and fail to address the injustice, oppression, and violence endemic to much of modern life. This amounts to a dichotomy between the sacred and the secular. Proposes several corrective measures. (MJP)

Examines and defines the world of play for children and considers what lessons and applications this might have for adults and their spirituality. Particularly notes that the "what-if" and "as-if" dimensions of play can be used as energizing and liberating aspects of a more active adult spirituality. (MJP)

Summarizes and comments on a series of interviews with Chinese students in the United States regarding conflicts with landlords, professors, and merchants. Discusses the dichotomy between their desire to assert themselves and their feelings of apprehension dealing with unfamiliar relationships and power structures. Considers this experience in…