II. Theory, methods and principles of moral education

CONTEXT

Introduction ……………………………………………………………….
I. Defining moral education……………………………………………….
II. Theory, methods and principles of moral education…………………..
III. Recommendations.……………………………………………………
Conclusion…………………………………………………………………
Bibliography……………………………………………………………….

INTRODUCTION

It is curious that physical courage should be so common in the world and moral courage so rare. Mark Twain

Most thinkers, educational practitioners, and parents acknowledge that children are born helpless and need the care and guidance of adults into their teens and often beyond. More specifically, children need to learn how to live harmoniously in society. Historically, the mission of schools has been to develop in the young both the intellectual and the moral virtues. Concern for the moral virtues, such as honesty, responsibility, and respect for others, is the domain of moral education.

Moral education, then, refers to helping children acquire those virtues or moral habits that will help them individually live good lives and at the same time become productive, contributing members of their communities. In this view, moral education should contribute not only to the students as individuals, but also to the social cohesion of a community. The word moral comes from a Latin root (mos, moris) and means the code or customs of a people, the social glue that defines how individuals should live together.

Every historical epoch forms ideological orientations and understanding of the nature and the world, the human place and role there, his (her) attitude to himself (herself) and others.

Nowadays people built cities, developed technologies; however there are many problems of public character. When humanity has undergone significant advances at the technical development the internal (moral) human development remained unheeded, and as a result, more and more growing gap between them. Even the most developed countries of the world have the enormous problems of society.

External development of humanity must be accompanied by spiritual development, a moral revival, is the basis for human development. G. Skovoroda said: “What could be worse than a person who has knowledge of the most difficult science, but doesn’t have a good heart?”

I. DEFINING MORAL EDUCATION

Morale is the greatest single factor in successful wars.

Dwight Eisenhower

Morals and morality pervade every aspect of our lives. Moral education is an important component of comprehensive development of personality. It is educational activities of the school and the family, whose aim is to develop enduring moral qualities, needs, feelings, skills and habits of behavior based on the assimilation of ideals, norms and principles of morality, participation in practice.

The philosophers of different ages interpreted the concept of morality variously. In time of ancient Greece, Aristotle wrote about moral person in his works: “The moral ideal is called a man with perfect dignity…” [1]

"Moral'' comes from the Latin word “mores”. The moral of a story is supposed to teach you how to be a better person and to behave in the world. A moral is the system of ideas, principles, norms and estimations, rules of conduct and activity, which regulate humane relations between people. It leans not on the norms of right, but on force of personality persuasion, public opinion, authority of individuals. [5]

Moral (or perhaps immoral) education goes on constantly, if not always self-consciously. Aristotle captured this insight when he argued that every association has a moral end, a hierarchy of values, which is cultivated through its everyday norms and practices. [1]

“Moral education” is an umbrella term for two quite different tasks and approaches. The first, which might better be called moral “socialization” or “training,” is the task of nurturing in children those virtues and values that make them good people. Of course, good people can make bad judgments; it's often not easy to know what is morally right.”[7]

Two institutes are such important in the process of moral education. The first one is family where a child gets bases of character of the personality. The second institute is school were children get knowledge, develop abilities and skills of moral behavior.

The problem of moral education in the schools is very complicated. First of all, the present status of the teaching of morals is the result of a long and varied history, the phases of which are reflected in many of the problems of to-day. Again, the nature of the moral sense, and the relation of morality to the general aim of education are both matters upon which a variety of opinions are held. [2]

The history of moral culture presents among others four issues which are to-day especially fruitful of difficulties to the school that engages in this task. These issues concern (1) the progress from customary to reflective morality, (2) the association of morality with religion, (3) the evolution of academic from utilitarian morality, (4) the variety in moral standards among different peoples and in different ages. [2]

The main tasks of moral education are:

Ø to acquaint students with the rules and norms of moral behavior;

Ø to develop feeling;

Ø to form opinions;

Ø to develop abilities and skills of moral behavior.

The aim of moral education, claimed Aristotle, should be to develop positive habits in order to foster the good, and he pointed out that ethics comes from ethos, which is a habitual state. Rousseau also saw moral excellence as a virtue, and believed that education should aim to nurture such morality.

Other authors consider that the general aim of moral education is teaching young people knowledge and cultural traditions and developing as personality and increasing cultural heritage.

Moral education, then, refers to helping children acquire those virtues or moral habits that will help them individually live good lives and at the same time become productive, contributing members of their communities. In this view, moral education should contribute not only to the students as individuals, but also to the social cohesion of a community. [5]

II. THEORY, METHODS AND PRINCIPLES OF MORAL EDUCATION

Historically, the mission of schools has been to develop in the young both the intellectual and the moral virtues. Concern for the moral virtues, such as honesty, responsibility, and respect for others, is the domain of moral education. Moral education is whatever schools do to influence how student think, feel, and act regarding issues of right and wrong.

The general question is not whether school and family should pursue moral education, but how. Moral (or perhaps immoral) education goes on constantly, if not always self-consciously. Aristotle captured this insight when he argued that every association has a moral end, a hierarchy of values, which is cultivated through its everyday norms and practices.

There are offer only the briefest sketch of a theory of moral education, which help to decade the question “How to educate?”

v For any society (or school) to exist, its members (students, teachers, and administrators) must share a number of moral virtues: they must be honest, responsible, and respectful of one another's well-being. Public schools have a vital role to play in nurturing these consensus virtues and values, as the character education movement rightly emphasizes; indeed, a major purpose of schooling is to help develop good persons.

v If we are to live together peacefully in a pluralistic society, we must also nurture those civic virtues and values that are part of our constitutional tradition: we must acknowledge responsibility for protecting one another's rights; we must debate our differences in a civil manner; we must keep informed. A major purpose of schooling is to nurture good citizenship.

v But when we disagree about important moral and civic issues, including the nature of morality itself, students must learn about the alternatives, and teachers and schools should not take official positions on where the truth lies. The purpose of a liberal education should be to nurture an informed and reflective understanding of the conflicts.

v Character education and liberal education cannot be isolated in single courses but should be integrated into the curriculum as a whole. [7]

The process of moral education based on principles. Principles of education are the governing provisions, reflecting the general patterns of parenting and define the requirements for the contents and methods of the educational process. The basic principles are the following:

purposeful education;

communication education with life;

unity of consciousness and behavior in education;

combination of respect and reasonable insistence;

individual attention at the education;

principle of consistency, coherence and continuity in education;

unity of the school education, family education and community education.

The main methods and means of moral education of children are conviction; prevent improper behavior, pedagogical tact and teacher rewards and punishments, but not physical, personal example of the teacher and the parents and elders, proper treatment, training and more. But the best way to moral education is the physical labor by which formed the best moral character of children and young people.

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