Emerging moral orientations amongst primary school children in the province of KwaZulu-Natal

Abstract

This paper seeks to contribute to current research on variations within moral orientations of children initially pointed to by Kohlberg and Carol Gilligan. The study is unique in that it has not been possible to locate studies in the South African context that have examined the moral logic children bring to their judgements of violent and potentially violent events. Data was obtained from a group of children ranging in age from 9-13 years, 12 girls and 18 boys enrolled at an urban primary school in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa. The participants in the study come from diverse language, racial, religious, and ethnic groups. High levels of crime and violence are prevalent in the working class communities in which the children live. They were requested to reflect upon two scenarios depicting real life dilemmas, and then engage in moral judgements and decision making in response to probing questions put to them in interviews. Results revealed that, contrary to Gilligan's view, across age and gender the child...