An ethic of care acknowledges the centrality of the role of caring relationships in moral education. Care ethics requires a conception of "care" that differs from the quotidian use of the word. In order to teach care ethics more effectively, this article discusses four interrelated ways that teachers' understandings of care differ…

The International Ethics Conference held at the University of Botswana from 6-10 December 2009 brought together over 250 delegates, speakers, and other participants from a wide range of disciplines. The theme of the conference, "Retrieving the Human Face of Science: Understanding Ethics and Integrity in Healthcare, Medicine and…

Care ethics, and moral sentimentalism more generally, have not developed a picture of moral education that is comparable in scope or depth to the rationalist/Kantian/Rawlsian account of moral education that has been offered by Lawrence Kohlberg. But it is possible to do so if one borrows from the work of Martin Hoffman and makes systematic use of…

This study questions the widely held assumption, particularly in the United States, that coeducation is best. Previous research supports the development of single-sex education for both female and male students. This study examines how the learning climate of the coeducation environment seems to affect the character development of female business…

Moral intelligence is newer and less studied than the more established cognitive, emotional and social intelligences, but has great potential to improve our understanding of learning and behavior. Moral intelligence refers to the ability to apply ethical principles to personal goals, values and actions. The construct of moral intelligence consists…

One can scarcely open the newspaper without finding examples of smart, well-educated people who have behaved in ethically challenged ways. What is frightening about ethical lapses is not that they happen to the ethically outrageous but that they can sneak up on just about everyone. An informal classroom "experiment" recently performed by this…

The school shootings of October 2006 arrested the world's attention. The contrast of innocence and violence, the mystery of the shooters' motivations, the fact that there were five school shooting in six weeks--all of these were factors, but none can compare to the strength of the families who chose to forgive and their witness under fire. Through…

Discusses moral development in elementary school children and offers some suggestions for helping children reach mature morality conceptions. (ED)

Pedagogical intervention regarding engagement with natural, artistic and moral beauty can lead to an increase in trait hope. In a quasi-experimental design with college students the intervention group showed significantly higher gain scores on trait hope than did the comparison group; the effect size was moderate. The experimental group also…

The last 2 decades have seen a flowering of scholarly and applied work in the area of forgiveness, a skill important to the development of peaceful people and communities. We describe a forgiveness intervention designed to help children in a central-city environment. Such environments put children at risk for various psychological and social…

It is an odd mark of this time that the first question people ask about character education is whether public schools should be doing it at all. The question is odd because it invites everyone to imagine that schooling, which occupies about a third of a child's waking time, somehow could be arranged to play no role in the formation of a child's…

Describes the background and activities of the Poynter Center for the Study of Ethics and American Institutions at Indiana University. Maintains that the center's programs focus on topics such as ethics and the professions, medical ethics, research ethics, and religion and the morality of professions. Provides a list of center publications. (CFR)

Examines how the principles and virtues of Confucianism holistically meet moral education's requirements. Discusses justice, equality, and truthfulness as Confucian principles and the character virtues (wisdom, courage, compassion, and love) necessary for living the moral life. Stresses understanding motive, arguing that the moral person desires…

This expansion of the Sanford Lectures, delivered at Duke University (North Carolina) on March 23 and 24, 1988, discusses the issue of whether universities are doing enough to meet the many challenges that affect the United States' ability to maintain a growing, competitive economy while providing adequate security and opportunity for all its…

Young people need guidance from caring adults to build strong, positive character traits--but they can also build their own. This book by the best-selling author of "The Kid's Guide to Social Action" invites children and teens to explore and practice honesty, kindness, empathy, integrity, tolerance, patience, respect, and more. Quotations and…