Rest's hypothesis that the components of morality (i.e., sensitivity, reasoning, motivation, and implementation) are distinct from one another was tested using evidence from a dental ethics curriculum that uses well-validated measures of each component. Archival data from five cohorts ("n" = 385) included the following: (1) transcribed…

Proposes an action program for moral education in the public schools that incorporates lessons learned from the Head Start movement. Recommends a four-component model of sensitivity, judgment, motivation, and character for this program. (SLD)

Examines gender differences in professional school students' ethical sensitivity and moral reasoning. Results indicate that male and female dental students differ in general sensitivity to ethical issues, but not in recognition of issues of care or in moral reasoning. Suggests new directions for research in moral development. (Author/DH)

The development of stimulus materials and scoring procedures to measure an individual's ability to recognize the ethical issues often hidden within the dentist's professional problems is discussed, and the resulting test and its application to the teaching of ethics and professional socialization are examined. (MSE)

A study of 720 dental students in 8 cohorts participating in a problem-oriented dental ethics curriculum over 4 years found that, in 7 of the cohorts, the instruction had a significant effect on students' moral reasoning, in comparison with 265 nonparticipants. In addition, the students valued the instruction. (MSE)

A curriculum project to help dental students identify, reason about, and resolve ethical problems applied moral development theory to professional education, an approach not previously used. The project involved testing student attitudes and abilities and developing learning activities to promote the desired abilities. (Author/MSE)

This study describes the steps taken to measure the integrity of an intermediate concept measure and test the assessment strategy of a well-validated dental ethics curriculum. Because this curriculum, which had been in place for 15 years, had consistently been shown to influence moral judgment, it was posited that a cross-sectional comparison…