GROUP 2

ALYSSA MAE CONSTANTE

BSE MATH 1-2
Kohlberg’s Stages of
Moral Development
 ABSTRACTION/GENERALIZATION

Lawrence Kohlberg adopted and built on Piaget’s work, and set the grandwork for the
present debate within psychology on moral development. Like, Piaget, he believed that
children from ways of thinking through their experiences which include understandings of
moral concepts such as justice, rights, equality and human welfare. Kohlberg followed the
development of moral judgment and extended the ages covered by Piaget, and found out that
the process of attaining moral maturity took loner and occurred slower than Piaget had
thought.
If Piaget designed specific tasks (Piagetian tasks) to learn about this cognitive
development of children, Kohlberg utilized moral dilemmas (Kohlberg dilemmas). The case you
read in the activity part of this module was written for this module but was based on how
Kohlberg wrote his dilemmas. Like Piaget, he presented these dilemmas to the individuals in his
research and asked for their responses. He did not aim to judge whether thhe responses were
right or wrong. He was interested in analyzing the moral reasoning behind the responses.
From his research, Kohlberg identified six stages of moral reasoning grouped into three
major levels. Each level represents a significant change in the social-moral reasoning or
perspective of the person.
Kohlberg’s Theory of Moral Development
According to Kohlberg, moral development occurs in six stages.
Level
Preconventinal Level
Moral reasoning is based on the
consequence/ result of the act,
not on the whether the act itself
is good or bad.
Conventional
Moral reasoning is based on the
conventions or “norms” of
society. This may include approval
of others, law and order.
Stage Description
1 Punishment/Objective. One is motivated by fear of
punishment. He will act in order to avoid
punishment.
2 Mutual Benefit. One is motivated to act by the
benefit that one may obtain later. You scratch my
back, I’ll scratch yours.
3 Social Approval. One is motivated by what others
expect in behavior- good boy, good girl. The person
acts because he/she values how he/she will appear
to others. He/she gives importance on what people
will think or say.
4 Law and Order. One is motivated to act in order to
uphold law and order. The person will follow the law
because it is the law.
 Post-conventional
Moral reasoning is based on ending
or consistent principles. It is not
just recognizing the law, but the
principles behind the law.
5 Social Contract. Laws that are wrong can be
changed. One will act based on social justice and
the common good.
6 Universal Principles. This is associated with the
development of one’s conscience. Having a set of
standards that drives one to possess moral
responsibility to make societal changes regardless
of consequences to oneself. Examples of persons
are Mother Teresa, Martin Luther King Jr.
Child and Adolescent
Development
 ABSTRACTION/GENERALIZATION

When Vyotsky was a young boy he was educated under a teacher who used the
Socratic method. This method was a systematic question and answer approachhh that allowed
Vygotsky to examine current thinking and practice higher levels of understanding. This
experience, together with his interest in literature and his work as a teacher, led him to
recognize social interaction and language as two central factors in cognitive development. His
theory became known as the Socio-cultural Theory of Development.

Piaget and Vygotsky

Vygotsky worked on hid theory around the same time as Piaget in between the 1920’
and 30’s but they had clear differences in their views about cognitive development. Since
Piaget was taken up already in the preceding module, it would be easier now to see how his
views compare with Vygotsky’s.
 Piaget Vygotsky

More individual in focus More social in focus

Believed that there are universal stages of Did not propose stages but emphasized on cultural
cognitive developmet. factors in cognitive development.

Did not give much emphasis on language. Stressed the role of language in cognitive
development.

Social Interaction. Piaget’s theory was more individual, while Vyggotsky was more social.
Piaget’s work on Piagetian’s tasks focused heavily on how an individual’s cognitive
development became evident through the individual’s own processing of the tasks. Vygotsky,
on the other hand gave more weight on the social interactions that contributed to the
cognitive development of individuals. For him, the social environment or the community
takes on a major role in one’s development.
Vygotsky emphasized that effective learning happens through participation in
social activities, making the social context of learning crucial. Parents, teachers and other
adults in the learners’ environment all contribute to the process. They explain, model,assist,
give direction and provide feedback to the learner. Peers, on the other hand, cooperate and
collaborate and enrich the learning experience.
Cultural factors. Vygotsky believed in the crucial role that culture played on the cognitive
development of children. Piaget believed that as the child develops and matures, he goes through
universal stages of cognitive development that allows him to move from simple explorations with
senses and muscles to complex reasoning. Vygotsky, on the other hand, looked into the wide range
of experiences that a culture would give a child. For instances, one culture’s view about education,
how children are trained early in life all can contribute to the cognitive development of the child.

Language. Language opens the door for learners to acquire knowledge that others already have.
Learners can use language to know and understand the world and solve problems. Language serves
a social function but it also has an important individual function. It helps the learner regulate and
reflect on his own thinking. Children talk to themselves. Observe preschoolers play and you may
hear, “Gagawin ko itong airplane (holding a rectangular block), tapos ito ang airport (holding two
blong block).” Vygotsky, this “talking-to-oneself” is an indication of the thinking that goes on in the
mind of the child. This will eventually lead to private speech. Private speech is a form of self-talk
that guides the child’s thinking and action.
Vygotsky believed in the essential role of activities in learning. Children learn best through
hands-on activities than when listening passively. Learning by doing is even made more fruitful
when children interact with knowledgeable adults and peers.
Zone of Proximal Development

When a child attempts to perform a skill alone, she may not be immediately proficient at
it. So, alone she may perform at a certain level of competency. We refer to this as the zone of
actual development. However, with the guidance of a More Knowledgeable Other (MKO),
competent adult or a more advanced peer, the child can perform at a higher level of
competency. The difference between what the child can accomplish alone and what she can
accomplish with the guidance of another is what Vygotsky referred to as zone of proximal
development. The zone represents a learning opportunity where a knowledgeable adult such
as a teacher or parent or a more advanced peer can assist the child’s development.
The support or assistance that lets the child accomplish a task he cannot accomplish
independently is called scaffolding. Scaffolding is not about doing the task for the child while
he watches. It is not about doing shortcuts for the child. Unzipping the lunch bag, opening the
food container and putting straw in the child’s tetrapack juice for him is not scaffolding.
Scaffolding should involve the judicious assistance given by the adult or peer so that the child
can move from the zone actual to the zone of proximal development. When the adult unzips
the zipper an inch or two, and then holds the lunch bag still so that the child can continue to
unzip the lunch bag is scaffolding. Loosening the food container lid just a bit and letting the
child open the lid himself is scaffolding. Leading the straw to the hole and letting the child put
the straw through the tetra pack hole is scaffolding.
 The examples given above shows how a right amount of assistance can allow the child to
accomplish the task. The instructor should scaffold in such a away that the gap is bridged
between the learner’s current skill levels and the desired skill level. As learners become more
proficient, able to complete tasks on their own that they could not initially do without assistance,
the guidance can be withdrawn. This is called scaffold and fade-away technique. Scaffolding,
when done appropriately can make a learner confident and eventually he can accomplish the
task without any need for assistance.
THANK YOU
AND GOD
BLESS!