466-361 CDS 3J: Moral Development and Education

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Objectives:

On completion of this subject students should be able to:

• demonstrate a knowledge of the views of those theorists who have had a major impact on the understanding of the moral development of young children;

• show an understanding of the bases of some influential moral theories;

• understand developmental trends and theoretical explanations of altruism and prosocial behaviour;

• understand the adult's role in and strategies for nurturing moral and prosocial development; and

• show a knowledge of recent debates and developments about moral education.

Content:

A study of the nature of moral development. Topics will include: analysis of a number of theories of the nature of morality; consequentialist and deontological justifications of morality; the relationship between morality and religion; the question of relativism; social learning and psychoanalytic theories of moral development; cognitive developmental theories on moral development (Piaget, Kohlberg and Gilligan); altruism and prosocial development in early childhood; gender difference in moral judgement and its relationship to justice and care theories of morality; implications of a range of theories for parent and teacher intervention.

Assessment: