Developmental Psychology as a Guide to Value Education: A Review of “Kohlbergian” Programs

Abstract

The enthusiasm that Kohlberg and his associates have recently generated in value education programs lies not so much in new curriculum materials and new teaching techniques, nor in demonstration of spectacular results in their pilot programs, but rather in way they discuss their general directions and purposes in terms of philosophical and psychological theory and research. Kohlberg has characterized his efforts as warmed-over Dewey, and refers John Dewey as the only modem thinker about education worth taking seriously (Kohlberg, 1971a). Dewey laid out educational program in broad philosophical terms. It was not, however, until Piaget's work that a psychology was begun which general premises of Dewey ... into a science of great richness and logical and empirical rigor. Following Piaget, Kohlberg has worked to make Dewey's ideas concrete, and Kohlberg's associates, in turn, have worked on an application of Kohlberg a high school curriculum (Sprinthall, 1971b). Educational programs with such a venerable lineage (DeweyPiaget-Kohlberg, and so forth), have created interest because of intellectual heft behind them and promise of initiating something more than a superficial, piecemeal, short-lived fad. A review of these current educational programs entails a consideration of way in which foundational ideas have been extended in educational practice and a consideration of their distinctive features. I shall not review psychological research on which programs are based but rather way in which conclusions from research are used guide program construction. The gist of this review is that Kohlbergian value education programs are based on ideas that separately have widespread acceptance and that have been around for some time; programs integrate and concretize these basic ideas in new ways, although many further developments are necessary before one can claim have successfully developed a distinctively new kind of educational program. Some next steps in program development will be suggested.