St.
Louis College of Bulanao
Purok 6, Bulanao, Tabuk City, Kalinga 3800
This module is a requirement of the St. Louis College of Bulanao in response to the
implementation of the Blended Learning way of Instruction.
This Learning Material is a property of the College of Education – St. Louis College of
Bulanao, Tabuk City. It aims to improve students’ performance specifically in the General
Education.
Date of Development : October 2021
Resource Location : Bulanao, Tabuk City
Learning Area : Child and Adolescent Learners and Learning Principles
Learning Resource Type : Module
Instructor : Jess M. Arceo
General Instruction/s:
The module will start with an Introduction which will give a general background on Child
and Adolescent Learners and Learning Principles. Series of activities and discussions will
encourage you to explore and learn about the topic. Through this module, the following
instruction/s should be followed.
1. This module is exclusively for SLCB students only.
2. Reproduction and use of this module for any purpose is strictly prohibited, unless with the
written permission from SLCB.
3. You may use this module for any acceptable purposes.
DEVELOPED BY: GRC-HERMIE 1
St. Louis College of Bulanao
Purok 6, Bulanao, Tabuk City, Kalinga 3800
DEVELOPMENTAL THEORIES AND OTHER RELEVANT THEORIES
(Kohlberg's Stages of Moral Development)
I. INTRODUCTION
Individuals, when confronted by situations where they need to make moral decisions,
exercise their own ability to use moral reasoning. Lawrence Kohlberg was interested in studying
the development of moral reasoning. He based his theory on the findings of Piaget in studying
cognitive development. Our ability to choose right from wrong is tied with our ability to
understand and reason logically.
II. LEARNING OUTCOMES
At the end of this Module, you should be able to:
Explain the stages of moral development.
Analyze a person's level of moral reasoning based on his responses to moral dilemmas.
Cite how the theory of moral development can be applied to your work as a teacher later
on.
III. COURSE CONTENT
DEVELOPMENTAL THEORIES AND OTHER RELEVANT THEORIES
(Kohlberg's Stages of Moral Development)
IV. LEARNING EXPERIENCE/S
ABSTRACTION/GENERALIZATION
Lawrence Kohlberg built on Piaget's work, and set the groundwork for the present debate
within psychology on moral development. Like Piaget, he believed that children form ways of
thinking through their experiences which include understandings of moral concepts such as
justice, rights, equality and human welfare. Kohlberg followed the development of moral
judgment and extended the ages covered by Piaget and found out that the process of attaining
moral maturity took longer and occurred slower than Piaget had thought.
If Piaget designed specific tasks' (Piagetian tasks) to learn about the cognitive
development of children, Kohlberg utilized moral dilemmas (Kohlberg dilemmas). The case you
read in the Activity part of this module was written for this module but was based on how
Kohlberg wrote his dilemmas. Like Piaget, he presented these dilemmas to the individuals in his
research and asked for their responses. He did not aim to judge whether the responses were right
or wrong. He was interested in analyzing the moral reasoning behind the responses.
From his research, Kohlberg identified six stages of moral reasoning grouped into three
major levels. Each level represents a significant change in the social-moral reasoning or
perspective of the person.
Kohlberg's Theory of Moral Development
DEVELOPED BY: GRC-HERMIE 2
According to Kohlberg, moral development occurs in six stages:
Level Stage Description
Preconventional 1 Punishment/Obedience.
Level
One is motivated by fear of punishment. He
Moral reasoning is will act in order to avoid punishment.
based on the
2 Mutual Benefit.
consequence/result
of the act, not on One is motivated to act by the benefit that one
may obtain later. You scratch my back, I'll
the whether the act scratch yours.
itself is good
or bad.
Conventional 3 Social Approval.
Moral reasoning is One is motivated by what others expect in
based on the behavior - good boy, good girl. The person
acts because he/she values how he/ she will
conventions or
appear to others. He/ she gives importance on
"norms" of society.
what people will think or say.
This may include
4 Law and Order.
approval of others,
One is motivated to act in order to uphold law
law and order.
and order. The person will follow the law
because it is the law.
Post-conventional 5 Social Contract.
Laws that are wrong can be changed. One will act
Moral reasoning is
based on enduring
based on social justice and the common good.
or consistent
principles. It is
not just recognizing
the law, but the
principles behind
the law.
V. REFERENCES
Book
The Child and Adolescent Learners and Learning Principles
Brenda B. Corpuz, Ph.D., Ma. Rita D. Lucas, Ph.D., Heidi Grace L. Borabo, Ph.D., Paz I. Lucido,
Ph. D.
Internet
[Link]
development/#:~:text=Lawrence%20Kohlberg%20expanded%20on%20the,level%20has%20two
%20distinct%20stages.
[Link]
DEVELOPED BY: GRC-HERMIE 3
[Link]
DEVELOPED BY: GRC-HERMIE 4