Moral Child: Nurturing Children's Natural Moral Growth
By (Author) William Damon
Simon & Schuster
The Free Press
2nd April 1990
United States
General
Non Fiction
649.7
Paperback
174
Width 156mm, Height 234mm, Spine 10mm
270g
Alarming experiences with irresponsible, dishonest and violent children and teenagers are troubling parents, educators and concerned citizens, who wonder what has gone wrong and what can be done. This book offers an overview of the evolution and nurturance of children's moral understanding and behaviour from infancy through adolescence, at home and in school. Drawing on decades of research, the author demonstrates how morality emerges naturally in the context of children's everyday social interaction as they form caring attachments and judgments about fairness. Emphasizing "respectful engagement" between adult and child, he stresses the effectiveness of authoritative - not authoritarian - parenting and school programmes that encourage children to reason autonomously about everyday ethical dilemmas.
William Damon, a developmental psychologist, is professor of education and chairman of the Department of Education at Brown University. He is the author ofThe Moral Child.