Construction of "moral thinking" centered on critical thinking: Developing reasoning power for elementary and junior high school students

Abstract

In order to minimize various social risks, including situations such as COVID-19, each person needs to make decisions and act calmly with morals. To do that, it is insufficient to merely aim for children to receive basic acquaintance and information literacy. The future will require more to be gained from education, including the provision of human-specific skills such as creativity and emotional intelligence. It is essential to teach concepts such as empathy and harmonious coexistence, preparing children for the future and leading to further benefits for society. There is a particular emphasis on moral education in Japan, where a policy of 'Moral Education through Thinking and Discussion' is being pursued. Professor Masami Ikeda, Jumonji University, and Associate Professor Koji Miyamoto, Tokyo Kasei University, are collaborating to create a moral critical thinking workbook. The goal is to address Japan's policy aims, as well as the current lack of critical thinking teaching in schools. The researchers are emphasising the importance of moral thinking centred on critical thinking to build a rich symbiotic relationship. With the Japanese state's drive for the 'Moral Education of Thinking and Discussion', this is now being taught as a new class in schools, which prompted Ikeda and Miyamoto to look at how morality is, and can be further, linked to critical thinking. The researchers are also interested in cognitive bias and are seeking to make people more aware of their personal biases. Ikeda and Miyamoto have conducted trial classes and large-scale questionnaires in order to acquire evidence for their novel moral thinking approach. They have created a new moral thinking scale comprising four cornerstone moral thinking factors: contributing individuals; impartial individuals; responsible individuals; and family-minded individuals.