Kohlberg's Structuralism: A Critical Appraisal. Monograph Series/15

This monograph critically examines the growth metaphor advanced by Lawrence Kohlberg as it relates to the development of a moral ideology. Kohlberg's stage theory is viewed as an ideology--that is, as a "style of thinking." Much of the critique in this study is informed by a perspecti...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author Sullivan, Edmund V
Format Book
LanguageEnglish
Published The Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, Publications Sales 1977
Subjects
Developmental Stages
Educational Philosophy
Elementary Secondary Education
Ethical Instruction
Human Development
Moral Development
Moral Values
Structuralism
Values Education
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Summary:This monograph critically examines the growth metaphor advanced by Lawrence Kohlberg as it relates to the development of a moral ideology. Kohlberg's stage theory is viewed as an ideology--that is, as a "style of thinking." Much of the critique in this study is informed by a perspective called "critical social theory." While the perspective is not Marxian in the orthodox sense, it nevertheless draws from a treatment of the development of ideology that dramatizes differences in modes of thought not only in different historical periods but also in different cultures. Given some acquaintance with radical analysis, we can at least entertain the present popularity of both Kohlberg's and Piaget's structuralism as being a result of present historical-cultural demands. Kohlberg postulates a series of six stages and three levels in the development and articulation of moral judgment from childhood into adulthood. This critique focuses primarily on Kohlberg's stage-six man as the end point of morality and the ideal to which morality strives. Also questioned is the application of structuralism as a method of analysis to moral ideology. The implications for values education in the schools are considered. (Author/IRT)