Early years teachers’ epistemic beliefs and beliefs about children’s moral learning

There is strong political and social interest in values education both internationally and across Australia. Investment in young children is recognised as important for the development of moral values for a cohesive society; however, little is known about early years teachers’ beliefs about moral values teaching and learning. The aim of the current study was to investigate the relationships between Australian early years teachers’ epistemic beliefs and their beliefs about children’s moral learning. Three hundred and seventy-nine teachers completed a survey about their personal epistemic beliefs and their beliefs about children’s moral learning. Results indicated that teachers with more sophisticated epistemic beliefs viewed children as capable of taking responsibility for their own moral learning. Conversely, teachers who held more naïve or simplistic personal epistemic beliefs agreed that children need to learn morals through learning the rules for behaviour. Results are discussed in terms of the implications for moral pedagogy in the classroom and teacher professional development. It is suggested that in conjunction with explicitly reflecting on epistemic beliefs, professional development may need to assist teachers to ascertain how their beliefs might relate to their moral pedagogies in order to make any adjustments.     

A study of the Greek school teachers' moral judgment structures

The purpose of the present paper is to examine the teachers' cognitive structures through moral judgment schemas, as well as whether the above‐mentioned structures diversify among teachers, depending on education level, specialty, age, teaching experience, and gender. Moreover, another aim is to examine whether these cognitive structures can predict students' behaviors. Two hundred and fifty eight in‐service teachers (men, n = 83; women, n = 175; M _age = 41.24, SD = 8.06; M _experiences = 14.91, SD = 9.46), in elementary (n = 96), and intermediate education level (n = 158), participated in the study. The results revealed that the primary education teachers' moral judgment is based on the moral concepts of the maintaining norms schema, while the one of those of secondary education is rather based on the postconventional schema. Furthermore, the results of the present study revealed that age, experience, and gender do not constitute causes of diversification of moral concepts and that the personal interest schema can forecast any irresponsible behaviors on the part of the students.     

论体验式道德学习与生活资源开发

道德渗透在社会生活的一切领域,道德体验是学校道德教育规律的内在要求,体验具有亲历性、反思性、整合性和不可传授性的特点。关注学生在自己的生活中学习道德,既是学生生命成长的需要,又是寻求支持道德学习的条件。生活中处处有体验,但不是有生活就有体验,回归生活世界,开发体验式道德学习资源,是学校教育的使命所在。如何让学生在自己的生活中学习道德,一是把握“物镜”生活,使学生体验到道德就在身边;二是创设“情境”生活,在情感体验中丰富道德智慧;三是开发“意境”生活,让学生在艺术生活中学会生活。     

Moral stress in teaching practice

The purpose of this article is to study whether moral stress is a phenomenon relevant to teaching practice and which may make a significant contribution to understanding why teachers repeatedly reported feeling burdened by work. Moral stress can be caused by acting in conflict with one’s own conscience, e.g. when one knows the right thing to do but institutional constraints make it difficult to act in a way that is consistent with one’s morals. The method used in this study is critical incident technique focusing ethical dilemmas in teaching. The findings add a phenomenon to previous research of moral stress in other professions; moral stress can be caused not only by external regulations, but also by internal moral imperatives in conflict with one another.     

Ethical reflections on becoming teachers

This study analyzes narratives written in a culminating graduate seminar on reflective practice by 36 new secondary teachers who were asked to consider their moral beliefs, moral values and system of ethics as they reflected on their recent student teaching experiences. The findings explore how the participants depicted their constructed moral identities and felt obligated to critically reflect on them, affirmed values that guided their practice, and desired to be role models. Implications include attending to novice teachers’ moral identity development, infusing moral language into teacher education and recognizing teachers’ moral purposes, introducing curriculum to cultivate moral imagination, and helping teachers to realize their potential as moral agents by preparing them to become moral educators. The study also suggests the need to allow for broader ethical and political conceptions of the moral dimensions of teaching.     

Authentic moral conflicts and students’ moral development

This research deals with the different psychological processes people undergo when they experience firsthand authentic moral conflicts. It also discusses the value of authentic moral conflicts in students’ moral development, and reasons for the ineffectiveness of moral education in China. The main reason for the unsatisfactory effects of moral education in China over a period of time lies in the predominance of virtual moral education. In authentic situations, the proper arrangement of moral conflicts requires careful analysis of values hidden in the prearranged or generated moral conflicts so as to utilize, guide, and control them properly. Such arrangement of moral conflicts should be adapted to students’ life experience for deepening their understanding of the moral aspects of life. Also, special attention should be attached to students’ varied requirements, thus leaving enough options and space for their independent participation in activities of moral education. __________ Translated from Educational Research, 2005(3)     

Construction of life-practice moral education based on traditional Chinese morality with life connotation

The actual effect is a big problem in current school moral education. By analyzing the problems in the theory and practice of the current school moral education, the author points out that the reason is that, for a long time, the meaning of morality has been dissimilated, and moral education is considered as a kind of knowledge input and neglecting it is the life-style of human beings. By exploring the meaning of morality in the traditional Chinese culture, the author fully affirmed the rich life connotation both in the dynamic conversion between Tao and virtue and in the Taoist saying “Great virtue is growth”. In the article, the author suggests that nowadays, we should reconsider and understand the moral connotation in traditional culture and explain the traditional morals in a modern way. It is also necessary to construct a new moral education system such as a “life-practice” model. __________ Translated from Journal of Educational Studies, 2005 (5)     

加强高校师生理想信念教育的理性思考

新时期,高校师生的理想道德总体而言,是积极向上的,然而,由于受到物欲、享乐主义等西方腐朽的思想和生活方式的影响,出现了理想信念滑坡的现象。因此,高校必须从建立一套完备的德育———理想信念教育工作体制、充分发挥德育的主渠道作用和党员干部的模范带头作用等方面加以改进,从而不断增强广大师生的理想信念,使其更好地为学校和国家服务。     

与时俱进,探寻德育新方法

阐明当前学校德育教育存在的主要弊端；论述道德教育是社会道德转化为个体品德的主要外部条件和重要手段，道德修养是社会道德转化为个体品德的关键和归宿；论证外部教育和自身修养的有机结合是有效的德育方法。     

当代西方德育发展对我国德育建设的启示

继承和发掘中国传统伦理道德规范,大力推进学校的道德教育改革,解决现代化进程中的道德危机问题。通过阐述德育建设对实现建设和谐社会目标的重要意义,借鉴西方20世纪德育发展的经验以及特征对于我国德育建设的启示,提出加强德育建设具体措施。     

The poverty of contractarian moral education

ABSTRACT

In A Theory of Moral Education, Michael Hand claims that a directive moral education that seeks to persuade children that a particular conception of contractarian morality is justified can be undertaken without falling foul of the requirement not to indoctrinate. In this article, we set out a series of challenges to Hand’s argument. First, we argue that Hand’s focus on ‘reasonable disagreement’ regarding the status of a moral conception is a red-herring. Second, we argue that the endorsement of moral contractarianism and the prohibition on indoctrination pull in different directions: if contractarianism is sound, then teachers or governments should be less worried about indoctrination than Hand suggests. Third, we argue that moral contractarianism is mistaken; teachers should look elsewhere for guidance on the moral norms and principles towards which they should direct their pupils.     

让学校德育工作真正见实效

学校的德育工作真正见实效,必须做到学校德育工作全员参与,全程育人、全方位育人,扩大德育范围,充实德育内容,开拓德育新路子;尊重、关心、爱护学生,给学生以母亲般的师爱,在师生中间建立起情感道通;实行科学的德育方法,加强德育工作的计划性、针对性,遵循德育规律,用科学理论指导德育工作,提高实效性;在德育工作中,强化行为培养,提供价值选择、参与机会和表现舞台。让学生以主人翁的恣态投入到学校的德育活动中,去摸索,去体会,教师起引导和参谋的作用。     

Artistic and Moral Imagination in The Hundred Dresses by Eleanor Estes

This essay provides a close reading of The Hundred Dresses by Eleanor Estes. It argues that the story's two themes—a celebration of artistic creativity and a ringing denunciation of prejudice—are closely related through their reliance on the importance of imagination, both artistic and moral. The role of moral perception in ethical decision making has recently come under new scrutiny in moral philosophy. This essay employs recent work in moral theory to analyze the way in which the resolution of Estes's story turns on the characters' growth in both moral courage and moral imagination.     

略论汉代的师道

汉代的师道,包含君师之道、民师之道和人师之道三部分内容。汉代士大夫固守先秦王者之师的社会定位,欲以师道制衡皇权,但在专制皇权的重压下,君师之道渐趋式微;民师之道要求士大夫承担教化的社会责任,它得到了统治者的倡导和士大夫的广泛实践,发挥了良好的社会功能;人师之道既要求社会尊师重教,又规定了师者的职业规范,形成了较为系统的教育理论体系。     

知性体验与道德教育

知性体验是主体通过知性把握对象时产生的体验。知性体验在道德教育中发挥着重要作用，与感性体验相比，它能深化对道德范畴及道德本身的认识，为道德规则提供存在的深层基础。并把道德及人生引向更高的层次。     

道德教育中道德图式的建构

道德图式是个体对知识、经验等加工而建构起来的道德知识结构,在儿童的道德发展中起着过滤、解释、定向、整合作用。基于现代图式理论,在道德教育中,教师了解儿童原有的道德图式及其发展水平、关注儿童的道德经验和生活环境、重视意识与无意识的交互作用、引导多维度的道德学习,并通过激活道德叙事、引发道德对话、增进道德体验等策略的综合运用,可以促进道德图式的建构。     

学校德育中道德权威的遮蔽与澄明

学校德育中的道德权威是学生对道德准则和行为规范发自内心的敬重而生成的一种无形的精神力量。但当前学校德育只注重对学生外在的纲常礼仪和行为规范的机械操练与背诵,忽略了对其内在心灵品质的培养,使得道德本身所固有的权威被遮蔽或消解。究其原因在于道德价值判断的模糊性和道德意义的异化。因此,学校德育只有回归对学生个体生命意义的关照和德性的养成,才能让道德本身所固有的力量彰显出来。     

试论普通高校体育教学中的道德教育

高校学生的道德教育对全社会的道德建设起着导向作用,是社会道德进步的动力。信息化时代的到来,要求全面更新道德教育内容,其中引导高校学生正确认识文化多样性和各民族文化传统的特征,正确认识全人类利益和民族利益的关系,是信息时代对高校学生道德教育提出的迫切要求,强化体育课堂德育教育是当前普通高校体育老师重任之一。     

论加强教师职业道德建设的重要性

为了适应时代的发展和需要,教师要加强职业道德建设。教师是学校教育教学的主体,是培养人才的关键,教师必须自觉地加强职业道德建设。教师的思想政治素质和职业道德水平直接关系到新时期党的教育方针的贯彻落实,因此加强教师职业道德建设具有重要的现实意义。     

贯彻"以德治国"方略 加强德育课教学建设

“以德治国”是新世纪党中央提出的重要治国方略,它对高校德育工作提出了更高要求,也为高校德育课教学带来了创新机遇。加强德育目标体系建设与校园环境建设,提高德育课教师的师德修养与德育能力,加快内容创新,不断改进德育课教学的方式方法,是高校贯彻“以德治国”方略,加强德育课教学建设的有效途径。