The Effects of an Ethical Philosophy Course Upon the Moral Development of Urban Middle School Students

• In Event: Roundtable Session 25
  In Roundtable Session: Moral Education: The Role of Teachers and Topics

Abstract

This mixed methods study considers the effects of an ethical philosophy curriculum upon the moral development of students at an urban middle school. The Crimson Preparatory Charter School engages its middle school students in a weekly ethical philosophy class taught by the students’ homeroom teachers. This study found that Crimson Prep students demonstrated significant increases in their commitment to integrity in comparison to their peers at two comparison schools; however, the Crimson Prep students also showed significant declines in their commitment to perseverance in comparison to their peers at the control schools. Our results suggest that a school’s decision to emphasize either moral character or performance character can have robust effects upon the nature of students’ moral and character development.

Authors

• Scott Clifford Seider, Boston University

• Sarah Novick, Boston University

• Jessica Gomez, Math for America