Lawrence Kohlberg’s theory of moral development is very similar to Paget’s theory because he looked at Paget as a mentor. Kohlberg’s theory focuses the development of moral thinking, reasoning, and growth in an individual through invariant sequences of stages. Paget’s theory of moral development focuses on the understanding of change through children’s moral thoughts over time. They both believed that “cognitive development and relevant social experiences underlie the growth of moral reasoning” (Sheehy, 2004. p. 135).
Kohlberg’s theory is consists of six stages within three levels. The first level, pre-conventional, demonstrates external motivation through individuals that are self-centered, which falls in the age range of infancy and pre-school. They only see things from their point of view instead of others. Within this level, stage one: Punishment-Obedience is consists of obedience and avoiding punishment. Stage two: Instrumental Purpose and Exchange consists of assurance in rewarding one’s self. The second level, conventional, demonstrates reasoning through confirmation of others, which falls in the age range of school age children. Within this level, stage three: Mutual Interpersonal involves individuals …show more content…
Parents, teachers, and college professor should incorporate higher-stage reasoning strategies to improve students’ thought process.
References
Koh, C. (2012). Moral development and student motivation in moral education: a Singapore study. Australian Journal Of Education (ACER Press), 56(1), 83-101.
Nather, F. (2013). Exploring the impact of formal education on the moral reasoning abilities of college students. College Student Journal, 47(3), 470-477.
Sheehy, N. (2004). Kohlberg, Lawrence. Fifty key thinkers in psychology (p. 135). London: