Teaching Moral Development and Socialization Theories in Grades 11–12

Quick answer: Start with Kohlberg taught through reasons rather than verdicts, then test the model with Gilligan and cross-cultural research, then widen to Mead’s theory of the self and Fend’s functions of schooling. Kohlberg: Moral Reasoning and Dilemma Discussion opens with five students who all say “return the wallet” for different reasons.

Why do moral development and socialization belong in one sequence?

Both ask how a person becomes someone who can follow, question and justify rules. Kohlberg describes how reasoning about rules develops. His critics ask whose reasoning the model recognizes. Mead explains how a self forms through taking other people’s perspectives, and Fend asks what schools do to individuals and to society while that happens. Taught together, the four theories give students a vocabulary for their own school without asking them to rank anyone.

How do you teach Kohlberg without stage-labeling students?

Grade the reasoning, never the person. In the opening case, four students say “return the wallet”: fear of a camera, hope of a reward, friends’ trust, social order. A fifth asks whether the owner urgently needs the money. Same action, five reasons. Students see that the decision alone says little and that the justification carries the information.

The deadline case in the Kohlberg unit catches a common error. Three positions: keep the rigid deadline for dependable organization, review it when illness blocks equal access, or make an exception “because I like the person”. Students often call any exception postconventional. Only the second position, based on a general right, comes close to stage 5. The guide is also clear that one short statement cannot place a person on a stage, and that a dilemma discussion does not have to end in agreement or a vote.

What should the critique of Kohlberg include?

Critiquing Kohlberg covers Gilligan’s care critique, cross-cultural research and the Just Community approach. In one case a group member with heavy caring duties will miss a deadline. Identical tasks for all, someone quietly taking over, or a private talk with equivalent alternatives: which is fair, and which is caring? Students learn that taking over is not automatically caring if the person has no say. Two research teams then score the same translated dilemma differently, which supports a critique of method, not a ranking of cultures. A related misreading the unit corrects: Gilligan’s critique is about socially shaped voices and what a procedure recognizes, not natural gender traits.

How do you make Mead’s I and Me concrete?

Through short scenes. In G. H. Mead: I, Me and Self, a director raises a hand and the whole cast stops, except the new member. Is he disobedient, or does the gesture not mean anything to him yet? Nora was supposed to read the final slide but asked the audience a question instead and says she surprised herself. Students locate the I and the Me. The unit corrects two frequent claims: that the I is free and the Me unfree, and that I and Me are Mead’s version of Freud’s id and superego.

How does Fend connect the theory to students’ own school?

Fend: Functions of Schooling asks students to find qualification, selection, allocation and integration in situations they know. A course takes the top 20 of its applicants on the strength of a home-made video, and professional editing earns extra points, though the course teaches beginner skills. Who is really being selected? Students learn to separate selection from allocation and to see that naming a function does not mean approving it.

What is included, and what does it cost?

Each unit has a 32-page student workbook, a 20-page teacher guide with a four-lesson sequence, minute timings, annotated case solutions and graduated support, and an editable Word edition. The assessment practice runs 90 minutes and is marked on a 100-point rubric. Units cost $24.99 each; the Moral Development & Socialization Bundle includes all four for $49.90. Upper Secondary Complete adds 20 more units in philosophy, violence prevention, music and media for $149.90 in total. More ideas are on our psychology and sociology teaching page.

Frequently asked questions

Does this cover the Kohlberg content in AP Psychology?

It roughly fits the Kohlberg and moral development content in AP Psychology and goes further, with dilemma discussion and the main critiques. It also roughly maps to UK A Level Psychology or Sociology, Australian senior secondary courses and IB Diploma Psychology. There is no official endorsement by the College Board, IB, any exam board, ACARA or a state agency.

Will students have to share their own moral views?

They discuss positions in fictional dilemmas, but the tasks assess the quality of justifications, not which side a student takes. The guide is explicit that one statement cannot assign a person to a stage. Students analyze reasons given by fictional speakers, so nobody has their own reasoning ranked in front of the class.

Do I need Mead's or Kohlberg's original texts?

No. The units use original summaries written for the material, with pointers to sources such as Mead's Mind, Self, and Society for teachers who want to go further. All cases and assessment texts are included in the workbook. The units were originally developed for German upper-secondary courses; the English edition is a full parallel version.

How long does the bundle take to teach?

Each unit is planned as four 90-minute lessons, three for the subject units and one for synthesis and a writing workshop, so the bundle needs 16 lessons before timed assessments. Each full 90-minute timed assessment needs one extra session. Not every workbook page has to be completed in class.

Related reading

• How to Teach Kohlberg's Moral Development, Dilemmas and Gilligan
• G. H. Mead Discussion Questions and Essay Prompts
• Teaching Mead's I and Me: Lesson Sequence and Worked Answers
• Gilligan vs Kohlberg: Common Student Misconceptions and Fixes