The Development of Moral Reasoning during Vocational Education.

Entering vocational education can be seen as a 'status passage' from school to work. It is supposed that important life events like this status passage have a crucial and intensive impact on the development of moral judgment competence. This paper discusses the special features of the world of business with respect to its moral atmosphere and their influence on young apprentices. A distinction is made between two main types of situations, namely market situations and team situations. It is argued that the moral qualifications needed to master these situations are differing in terms of Kohlberg's theory. Data from a longitudinal study are reported. They show differences in moral judgments of the two types of situations in an unexpected direction. They also contain information on six conditions of moral development. The relation between these conditions and moral judgment competence is analyzed and it is discussed whether the findings are compatible with Kohlberg's theory of moral development. Adress: Univ.-Prof. Dr. Klaus Beck Johannes Gutenberg-Universitaet Mainz FB 03, Lehrstuhl fuer Wirtschaftspaedagogik 55099 Mainz, Germany Tel. : (6131) 39-2009 Fax (6131) 39-2095 e-mail: beck@pop.uni-mainz.de http://www.uni-mainz.de/wipaed/beckbe3.htm The Development of Moral Reasoning During Vocational Education Introduction As Piaget (1980) has already stated, moral development is the result of an interaction between the individual on the one side and the environment in which it is embedded on the other. Stagnation may occur (Kohlberg 1976) if a person's developmental resources are exhausted (e.g. if the given level of intelligence functions as a ceiling effect) or if there is a lack of stimulation from the outside world (e.g. if the person's living conditions are stable and free of conflicts). It is supposed that important life events have a crucial and intensive impact on the development of moral judgment competence (Oser/Althof 1992, 72). These critical incidents" are likely to foster moral development especially if they are initiated by new social contacts when the individual may have to adopt one or more new roles. Within our western cultures there are some biographical phases, the so-called status passages, which under normal circumstances everybody has to go through. During these phases a person is usually confronted with unknown social conditions forcing him or her to develop or stabilize a new self conception or to find a modified identity. Status passages of this type occur e.g. by entering the kindergarten, the elementary school, a college, animiversity or a (new) job. While these examples are referring to the life dimension of education, there are, of course, other types of events, formal and informal ones, which may involve chances for the developmental progress of moral judgment competence as well (e.g. starting a new partnership or friendship, entering a (sports) club, but also participating in public debates about moral/ethical problems like war, abortion, death penalty etc.). Obviously, status passages represent times of change and enlargement of the individual's social relations. Therefore, they are of interest for research on moral development.