Thoughts on the Psychology of Moral Education in Chinese Primary and Secondary Schools

Abstract

The moral cognitive developmental theory, inspired by Dewey’s research on progressive moral education and Piaget’s theory on children’s moral cognitive development, is proposed by American moral psychologist Lawrence Kohlberg in the early 20th century. It is proven to be the most influential and effective theory in moral education, which is still widely applied in the contemporary western schools. The current moral education in primary and secondary schools in China is characterized by low efficiency. This article, combined with Kohlberg’s moral cognitive development theory, analyzes the status and causes of inefficient moral education in primary and secondary schools in China since the reforming and opening up policy was adopted, and puts forward the feasible measures to improve the effectiveness of moral education in primary and secondary schools.