Emerging Morality: How Children Think About Right and Wrong

I found this article in the Earlychildhood news. It was written by Sandra Crosser, Ph.D. Published by the Excellence Learning Corporation 2007. http://earlychildhoodnews.com
As you can tell by the title, the article takes a look at early childhood thinking. The article states that experts tell us that morality involves thnking, feeling, and acting. Feelings of empathy and altruism and acts of sharing and compassion are coupled to and limited by the individual's cognitive development. How we feel, act, and think about good and bad are all parts of our morality. It seporates moral issuses from issues of social convention (such as taking off your hat indoors), as well as points out that boys differ in moral decision making than do girls and that research has led to the conclusion the females think about moral issues in a manner that is different, not inferior to, males. In resolving moral dilemmas, females are typically less concerned with justice and more conscerned with carilng and maintaining relationships even to the point of self-sacrifice (Gilligan 1962). The article offers Steps in how to help children develop moral thought and action; 1)deal with problems appropriately, 2)allow children to experience moral conflict, 3)discuss moral dilemmas, 4)encourage children to change the rules, 5)involve children in making some classroom rules, 6)encourage dramatic play and role playing, 7)explore the concept of intenition and motive, 8)praise moral behavior, and 9)Use real dilemmas.
What this article comes down to is helping young children learn, experience, and make moral decisions while teaching them about morality in thinking, feeling, and action. I found this article to make good sense in that it directly works with with the children in teaching them along with helping them understand at their cognitive level.