Moral Development in School-Age Children

The readings in this unit expand upon the concepts related to school-age children, particularly in regard to moral development, with insights from the varied specializations within counseling.

Your text discusses moral development on pages 249–261 and provides some situations encountered by children in this age group that would create moral dilemmas within their lives. Based on this section of Chapter 7, develop a situation that would include a moral dilemma that is likely to be faced by an individual in early school age or middle childhood with whom you might be working in a counseling setting.

The moral dilemma can be fictional or nonfictional. In your post, describe how Kohlberg would describe the stage of moral development in the situation you have created. Additionally, discuss one other theorist or theory (learning theory, cognitive developmental theory, psychoanalytic theory, or object relations theory) and how the theorist or theory explains the stage of moral development in your situation.

According to these theorists, is the child at an age-appropriate stage? What factors would each theorist use to assess moral development in this situation?