This "master volume" is a printed archive of all papers published in a peer reviewed online journal, "The Roundtable," which ceased to exist in 2013. The volume includes a total of 22 scholarly papers by 18 authors on the philosophical foundations of education published originally in the aforementioned online journal during…

To demonstrate the inappropriateness of fables for moral instruction at early elementary levels, a study was conducted with children from grades two, four, and six in two suburban schools on Long Island (New York). The children listened to recordings of three fables, "The Shepherd Boy and the Wolf,""The Fox and the Goat," and "The Lion and the…

A Bayesian approach for finding latent classes in data is discussed. The approach uses finite mixture models to describe the underlying structure in the data and demonstrate that the possibility of using full joint probability models raises interesting new prospects for exploratory data analysis. The concepts and methods discussed are illustrated…

Ethics is an area of increasing concern in U.S. colleges and universities. A recent survey of 183 institutions with major teaching focus on public relations (with 134 returns, for a 73% return rate), indicated that only one in four institutions offers a specific ethics course, and less than half of this group require it. Nevertheless, an…

This paper offers an overview of current debates on moral development and education, focusing on the relationship between empirical and theoretical research and raising four issues that are central to current research: (1) demarcation of the moral domain; (2) the gap between "is" and "ought," between facts and values; (3) moral…

Examined were the effects of story elements in teaching moral concepts to college freshmen and sophomores. The two story elements studied were (1) context (descriptions of observable circumstances and observable actions) and (2) substance (descriptions of the internal character, feelings, desires, and beliefs of the actor). A total of 59 students…

Four models for interpreting values education strategies are provided. Six examples form curriculum projects are analyzed in light of three of these conceptual models. The first model categorizes values approaches by whether they describe, analyze, or advocate a particular value position. The second model categorizes values approaches by whether…

A review of recent educational and theoretical research reveals a consistent concern with at least three moral imperatives: (1) the importance of students' reflecting upon the events, situations, and circumstances in their own learning experiences or in those of others; (2) the importance of asking students to determine the most meaningful moral…

Staff development programs can help Catholic educators deal with critical problems now facing them. Parochial school teachers must become better able to prepare students to address difficult issues like dwindling resources or eroding morals. They must be given a knowledge of current theories of teaching and learning such as those of Piaget or…

In primary and secondary education in the Netherlands, 30% of the schools are public, and 70% are private. Both private and public schools are state funded and must follow the national curriculum. Within this context, schools can develop their own identities and teaching methods. With regard to the identity of public education in the Netherlands,…

A study examined whether the core objectives were being met in an ethics course called "Values and Choice" at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. A student survey was developed by faculty representatives from each of the disciplines offering a core course meeting the "Values and Choice" requirement. Subjects were 212 students…

Prior research suggests that while males tend to equate justice with fairness, females associate justice with a responsiveness to individual circumstances that embodies an ethic of care. This document reports the conclusions of research examining what conceptions of justice are embedded in the taught curriculum and whether male and female teachers…

This document examines the results of a law education workshop designed to change teacher attitudes on various aspects of legal-ethical behavior. One hundred and eight Atlanta elementary and secondary school teachers were pre and postested on nine attitudes. These include attitudes toward (1) teacher conduct in a situation leading to bodily harm…

An attempt was made to see what effect implementation of ethical guidelines would have on cognitive and affective data collected in a classroom setting. A total of 126 graduate and 90 undergraduate male and female subjects were assigned randomly to six treatment groups. The six groups were provided different levels of information on a continuum…

A study examined the perceptions and practices of 160 work program coordinators in Georgia (44% of the sample) regarding the teaching of work ethics. A literature review had shown that a consistent view of potential employers was that graduates of vocational education programs should be well grounded in the concept of work ethics. The main purpose…