Abstract
It has been noted since ancient times that parents should have an important positive impact on children’s moral development. Aristotle even once claimed that parents exert more influence than any friendship between unrelated persons. But notwithstanding the wisdom of the ancients, the extent to which parent-child relations contributes to children’s sense of right and wrong remains an issue of longstanding controversy. In fact, many modern developmental psychologists have sought to minimize the positive role of direct adult instruction and teaching. Among these are such pacesetting and provocative figures as Jean Piaget and Lawrence Kohlberg.
This research was supported by a grant from the University Research Grants Committee of the University of Queensland (No. 048248 TR). The assistance of Mary Murdoch and Dulcie Singh is gratefully acknowledged, and many thanks are due to the staff and students of St. Ignatius School, Brisbane, for their fine cooperation and enthusiasm.
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Siegal, M. (1982). Development of Children’s Moral Deliberations: Implications for Early Childhood Education. In: Nir-Janiv, N., Spodek, B., Steg, D., Spencer, M., Wagemaker, P. (eds) Early Childhood Education. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-3479-8_5
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