Which of the following statements characterizes moral development in the older school-age child?

journal article

The Development of Children Ages 6 to 14

The Future of Children

Vol. 9, No. 2, When School Is out (Autumn, 1999)

, pp. 30-44 (15 pages)

Published By: Princeton University

https://doi.org/10.2307/1602703

https://www.jstor.org/stable/1602703

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Abstract

The years between 6 and 14--middle childhood and early adolescence--are a time of important developmental advances that establish children's sense of identity. During these years, children make strides toward adulthood by becoming competent, independent, self-aware, and involved in the world beyond their families. Biological and cognitive changes transform children's bodies and minds. Social relationships and roles change dramatically as children enter school, join programs, and become involved with peers and adults outside their families. During middle childhood, children develop a sense of self-esteem and individuality, comparing themselves with their peers. They come to expect they will succeed or fail at different tasks. They may develop an orientation toward achievement that will color their response to school and other challenges for many years. In early adolescence, the tumultuous physical and social changes that accompany puberty, the desire for autonomy and distance from the family, and the transition from elementary school to middle school or junior high can all cause problems for young people. When adolescents are in settings (in school, at home, or in community programs) that are not attuned to their needs and emerging independence, they can lose confidence in themselves and slip into negative behavior patterns such as truancy and school dropout. This article examines the developmental changes that characterize the years from 6 to 14, and it highlights ways in which the organization of programs, schools, and family life can better support positive outcomes for youths.

Journal Information

The Future of Children journal offers comprehensive, cross-disciplinary articles focusing on issues related to children. Published twice per year, it seeks to promote effective policies and programs for children by providing policymakers, service providers, the media, and others interested in children's issues with timely, objective information based on the best available research. Each journal issue examines a single topic of importance to children from a multidisciplinary perspective. The first issue was released in 1991 by the Packard Foundation. Since 2004, Princeton University and the Brookings Institution have been publishing The Future of Children. All journal articles are available on the The Future of Children website at http://www.futureofchildren.org.

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The Future of Children is published by Princeton University, based in Princeton, NJ. Production and implementation of producing the journal is overseen by the Office of Communications at Princeton University. Princeton Communications manages the content of the University's official print publications, the main website, the release of University news and the use of Princeton's name. It also provides a variety of communications services to faculty and staff.

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The developmental psychologist Lawrence Kohlberg expanded and refined Piaget's earlier work resulting in the development of his well known stage theory of children's moral development. Kohlberg's moral theory is summarized in our Overview of Child Development, which may make sense to review at this time.

Preconventional Moral Reasoning

According to Kohlberg, children early in their middle childhood stage of development will typically display "Preconventional" moral reasoning. Children displaying preconventional moral reasoning have internalized basic culturally prescribed rules governing right and wrong behavior. For instance, they will appreciate that it is considered immoral to steal from others; that you must earn or be given things and not simply take them. Children will tend to live in accordance with these rules but primarily for selfish reasons, as a way of avoiding punishment and obtaining praise for themselves. At this point in time, they will appreciate their ability to make different kinds of choices, and also the reality of consequences associated with those choices. They realize that morally good behaviors attract praise and positive regard from peers and adults, while morally bad choices bring about unpleasant consequences and negative regard. They act accordingly, in a hedonistic manner so as to maximize their personal pleasant consequences.

Ideal Reciprocity

Later on in middle childhood, approximately between ages 10 and 12, children begin to show a dawning appreciation of "ideal reciprocity", which is a method for determining what is "fair" based on an appreciation of equality between relationship partners, and a desire to treat others well because ideally, they would similarly want to treat you that well too. People are more familiar with the idea of ideal reciprocity when it is phrased as the "golden rule" (e.g., "Do unto others as you would have done unto you"). Using ideal reciprocity, older children start to make moral decisions based more on how they would like others to treat them if the tables were turned, than based on what they can gain for themselves.

As children think about how rules are negotiated, and how they can benefit other people, they begin to understand and appreciate that there are different types or categories of rules, some of which are more negotiable than others.

Moral rules involve the most basic and socially strict guidelines and societal prohibitions that may never be broken. An example of a moral rule is the basic prohibition against murder and unprovoked assault. It is never okay to harm another person in a physical manner unless in self-defense.

Social Mores or Conventions are moral beliefs that change across social contexts and social groups. These rules are more strictly enforced in some places, and less strictly enforced in others. The idea that it is a sin to disobey one's parents is an example of a social more. In some families, this rule is taken very seriously indeed, while in other families, it is considered to be a guideline at best with many exemptions present.

Finally, Personal Choices involve rules that do not have fixed socially prescribed answers at all, but instead are left up to personal preference. An example of a personal choice might be one family's ritual of having a pizza dinner on Friday nights. At an earlier stage of their development, children might mistake a personal choice for a moral imperative, but by middle childhood, such choices will be recognized for what they are.

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