Theorising Drama as Moral Education

Although it is commonly assumed within schools that drama has a place within moral education, there is very little theory or analysis to support the assumption. This article sketches a theoretical framework to show how and in what ways drama can make a distinctive contribution to the field. Drawing upon Stenhouse (1975) it proposes a broad distinction between moral instruction and moral induction and analyses drama's potential contribution to both areas. In so doing, it draws links between the cultural practices of the theatre and those of the drama classroom, analysing the moral potential of the dramatic experience through five theoretical lenses. These include the enacted nature of dramatic narrative; the association between drama and the learning of rules; the communal function of drama as a public artform; dialogue and dialogism in drama; and the relationship between emotion, reason and moral engagement in drama.     

Changing Subjects: growing up and growing older

Abstract

Following a review of the changing uses of narrative in moral development research, a personal narrative from an interview with a secondary teacher, who is also a parent of an adolescent is analyzed. Without standard question interruptions, the narrator crafts an ironic tale of contradictory feelings and actions. Trust is proposed as both an affective and evidential/proof dimension of the relationship between adolescents and adults, as well as among all concerned about moral development and education.     

The Last Step of Reason?

Abstract

Juridical ethics, as they have been called, are not a sufficient foundation of moral education. This has a richer base in visional and character ethics. Moral education requires a shift in focus from reversible thinking to ‘narrative’. Religious education has a necessary contribution to make in terms of integrating vision and of methodology.     

Moral development as the personal education of feeling and reason: from James to Piaget

This article traces the connection between William James's writings in The Varieties of Religious Experience and Jean Piaget's work on moral development through Piagets early work on religious experience. James characterises religious experience as unlocking deep personal power that can sustain a “strenuous mood”. These ideas impacted the early work of Piaget on religious experience through the influence of Henri Bergson and The´odore Flournoy, both friends of James. The shared depth-psychology approach to religious experience of James and Piaget is important to current debates on spiritual and moral education.     

The Professional Approach to Moral Education

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to offer a definition of the professional approach to moral education and to contrast it with what will here be called the commonsense approach. The labels ‘professional’ and ‘commonsense’ are to be taken as evaluatively neutral. They are chosen simply for convenience; what is important is the two conceptually distinct ways of approaching moral education to which they refer. As will be emphasized later, they are not alternative conceptions of moral education. The commonsense approach, in some form, is necessarily part of moral education in any context; the question is whether, in schools, we move beyond it and become professional as well..     

Parenting Huckleberry Finn

Abstract

We suggest in this paper that attempts to segregate social‐conventional reasoning from the moral domain may represent an artifactual division, one that ignores major philosophic and psychological traditions and cultural constructs regarding the moral self. We address such issues as the individual, social, and relational dimensions of morality; the cultural context of moral development and behavior; and whether morality is solely a matter of justice, harm and welfare considerations, or concerned as well with culturally variable definitions of the good self and the good society, with role obligations, and with caring and affective aspects of human experience. We conclude with a call for continuing narrative and anthropological approaches to the study of moral development in order to reach a fuller understanding of the multiple facets of moral life.     

A Survey of Primary School Teachers’ Understanding and Implementation of Moral Education in Trinidad and Tobago 1

Abstract

Results from a survey of teachers’ understanding and implementation of moral education in primary schools in Trinidad and Tobago are presented here, against consideration of the role of moral education in schooling. The paper discusses the range of moral curricula available for the implementation of moral education in schools and constraints on implementation in the classroom. It also compares the need for and applicability of moral education programmes in developing and developed countries. In Trinidad and Tobago, noted for its population and religious mix, the role of moral education has been given importance from the highest levels at the Ministry of Education and elsewhere in government. The survey of a representative sample of teachers in primary schools throughout the country showed that they largely felt themselves responsible for introducing moral education to their pupils, although they rarely drew upon any specific curriculum. They tended to take a ‘virtues’ approach in their teaching of moral education, and were generally satisfied with the results of their efforts. There were few differences between understanding and implementation of moral education that could be attributed to age, sex, experience or responsibilities of the teacher, or the age of the pupils. These results are not just characteristic of a developing country as they mirror earlier findings in England and elsewhere.

     

Moral and Religious Education for Nigeria

Abstract

The paper considers moral and religious education programmes appropriate for Nigeria. Starting with a brief analysis of the current crisis in moral, spiritual and political beliefs, the paper progresses by analysing traditional Nigerian education and the approach to moral education which it advocated. It then analyses the epistemological underpinnings of traditional moral education as well as the social institutions supporting it. A brief section outlining certain shortcomings in traditional education follows. This is then followed by a consideration of contemporary approaches to both moral and religious education by focussing on the question of the possible independence of moral from religious education. Having agreed with certain writers that the two are independent, the paper concludes with a sub‐section on the aims of moral education as a distinct activity.     

学校德育研究方法的新取向--德育叙事研究

近年来,叙事研究在我国教育研究领域兴起,并逐渐渗透到学校德育领域.德育叙事研究是德育经验的理论方式,它有自己鲜明的研究特点,能够弥补其他研究范式的缺陷.在德育研究领域开展叙事研究有其现实的必要性与可能性,因而是一种值得提倡的研究方法.     

‘I am exhausted:’ everyday occurrences of being Native American

Abstract

In this study, I used small stories narrative and Indigenous methodology to understand the everyday occurrences of Native American students and to highlight the complex relationship between their identity, their sense of belonging in graduate school, and their view of education. The experiences of the participants were marked by two things: the experience of ongoing colonization and the experience of defending Native identity. By focusing on the small narrative stories of their everyday experiences, my research illustrates how ongoing colonialization creates situations where students need to defend their identities. Not only is small stories research one way to avoid some of the more essentialist problems of grand narratives, it provides one possible way to move forward and to demonstrate and deconstruct the problematic power structures in higher education that prevent Native American students from accessing equity.     

Deceptiveness in Co‐operation and Competition

Abstract:

The need for a new role for guidance in secondary schools is stressed. Guidance through the curriculum is presented as a means of stimulating cognitive, moral and ego development by secondary school pupils. An experimental curriculum in moral education is described and evaluated. Highlights of the different phases are presented along with a rationale for this new approach. High school pupils learned the process of moral dilemma discussions, developed counselling and teaching skills and then lead moral dilemma discussions with younger children. The results indicated positive changes by the teenagers on estimates of moral maturity employing the Kohlberg Interviews and Ego Development through the Loevinger test. The results are compared to other current studies and general implications for curriculum development, guidance and moral education are drawn.     

Humanising as innovation in a cold climate of [so-called-evidence-based] teacher education

ABSTRACT

This article argues for the humanisation of research evidence through narrative as an urgent project in teacher education and development. Narrative has the potential to make a significant contribution to a critical re-definition of both evidence and innovation in teacher education. But this argument is not a call for a user-friendly (re)packaging of research evidence, so that ‘what works’ can be diffused throughout the profession. Globally, such efficiency and productivity approaches have merely sedimented established inequities and injustices. By humanising, the paper promotes a recognition that research evidence of value, is steeped in rich provenance, being both borne out of, and brought to bear in, complex and diverse contexts that are mediated by, and impact upon, the unpredictable yet meaningful activities of humans. It is argued that using evidence effectively is predicated on intelligent judgment and interpretation in and on action, processes that require moral deliberation as well as pedagogical and technical innovation. The central role of narrative in this endeavour is explored critically.     

Living drawing: Aesthetic teaching for moral artists

With its inherent attributes such as qualitative immediacy, imaginativeness, and embodiment, John Dewey’s concept of aesthetic experience makes a difference in moral education, in the ways of empathetic moral perception, moral reasoning, and moral action. If it matters then how can we help students gain aesthetic experience? By analyzing teacher Ho-Chul Lee’s approach to teaching drawing, called living drawing, this question is examined in terms of aesthetic style of teacher and teaching, and the aesthetic educational environment. This article will provide insights into how living drawing as an approach promotes aesthetic experiences and how it influences students’ moral experiences.     

‘The song remains the same’: rebuttal to Sherblom's re‐envisioning of the legacy of the care challenge

Abstract:

The authors analyse and compare two of the major moral education programmes in the United States, namely, Character Education Curriculum and the Values Clarification Programme. The latter is seen to be more egalitarian and to stress the development of autonomy and choice in the child. The former tends to follow the ‘bag of virtues’ approach to moral education and is more directly instructional in its methods. The strengths and weaknesses of these two programmes are compared and it is concluded that both are significant steps towards an effective approach to moral education.     

Inclusive spaces in post-secondary education – exploring the experience of educational supports for people with a neuropsychiatric disability

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study was to investigate the experiences of studying among people with a neuropsychiatric disability who received support from a Supported Education (SEd) programme, and people who did not receive this support. The research employed a narrative approach, where 14 participants with a neuropsychiatric diagnosis were asked to write a short reflective narrative about their experience of studying, with/without support from a SEd intervention. The results show that the persons without support from the model relied on their family as their primary support, and that support from formal support providers was not available prior to receiving a formal diagnosis. Those who received services from SEd were generally satisfied with the support they received, and did not emphasise the family as support givers in the same way. The study points to the importance of developing neurodiverse spaces, which can serve as transitional environments and that can help supported education models adapt to the needs of this group.     

The pedigree of the modern school

Abstract:

The article draws upon the work of two people, Lawrence Stenhouse and Derek Morrell, who in the 1960s offered a vision of education based upon, first, the moral conviction that a liberal and humane education was essential for all and for society, second, the belief in a curriculum agenda in which such moral conviction might be reconciled with moral uncertainty, and, third, the recognition of the indispensability of a democratic approach to making that reconciliation possible. The article shows how that vision has been dimmed by a prevailing social philosophy and political practice, sadly abetted by some in universities who should know better.     

Stress in Year 11 School Children

In this article David Lambert argues in support of the humanities in the secondary school curriculum and underlines the contribution that they can make to citizenship education. He emphasizes but does not restrict his arguments to geography and offers a wide view encompassing the humanities as a whole. He explores the links between the humanities, moral education and citizenship and argues against the citizenship-as-subject approach.     

Responsibility,Moral Judgment and Moral Obligation

Abstract

This paper describes the evolution of the just community approach from Lawrence Kohlberg's earliest educational theorizing to the most recent experimental applications. The just community approach represents Kohlberg's most mature theory of moral education and has been the subject of intense research since 1975. Although Kohlberg initially recommended the discussion of moral dilemmas as a means of promoting moral development, he envisaged a far more radical and comprehensive approach. Inspired by a kibbutz school that successfully combined democratic and collectivist values, Kohlberg and his colleagues initiated a series of experimental programmes in public high schools. Evaluation of these programmes indicates that they establish cultures conducive to the development of socio‐moral reasoning and action.