Abstract: This paper reports the opinions about moral topics expressed by 140 elementary and secondary student teachers, 49 in Indiana and 91 in California. Teachers' judgments of the suitability of topics were collected via a questionnaire containing 20 topics in two versions. The presentation consists of: (1) a description of the opinionnaire teachers filled out; (2) the process of administering the opinionnaire; (3) a report of the teachers' responses; and (4) a summary of the results and of other applications for moral-topic opinionnaires. The first version asked about using the topics with sixth graders and the other, with university undergraduates. The topics chosen represented a diversity of moral issues found in newspapers and television broadcasts. Subject matter included crime, religion, health, functions of government, sexual behavior, business practices, intergroup conflicts, gender equality, and personal rights. Four styles were used in presenting topics in the opinionnaire: (1) problem identification and proposed solutions; (2) question not including a value judgment; (3) question or statement containing an imbedded value judgment; and (4) pros and cons of an issue. Findings indicated that teachers were more willing to include the 20 topics in a university class than in a sixth grade class, although there were marked differences in the proportion of respondents who would recommend including particular items in the curriculum, e.g., more than 90 percent of the teachers would propose studying at both levels how to resolve ethnic conflicts and how to avoid AIDS, only 4 percent would choose to identify the "best religion" at the university level, and only 9 percent would suggest studying the prostitution issue in sixth grade. The distribution of preferences among teachers in Indiana was basically the same as the distribution of preferences among teachers in California. (CK)

Title: Good and Bad Topics for Moral Education.
Author: Davidman, Patricia; And Others
Note: 15p.
Publication Year: [1996
Document Type: Test, Questionnaire (160)
Target Audience: Practitioners and Parents
ERIC Identifier: ED398219
Clearinghouse Identifier: SP036865
This document is available from the ERIC Document Reproduction Service.

Descriptors: Attitude Measures; College Students; * Controversial Issues [Course Content]; Data Collection; Elementary School Students; Elementary Secondary Education; * Ethical Instruction; Higher Education; * Moral Issues; * Moral Values; Questionnaires; Student Teachers; * Teacher Attitudes; * Values Education

Identifiers: California; Indiana