Lawrence Kohlbergs theory:

Level 3 (Post conventional

morality)
-Stage 5 & Stage 6-

Group members:
Suhaizi
Farhana
Fahmi
Kokilavathi

What is post-conventional
morality stage?
Known

as principled level marked by growing

realization that individuals are separated
entities of the society

Post-conventional

moralists live by their own

ethical principles
(principles that include basic human rights as life,
liberty, and justice.)
View

rules as useful but changeable

mechanismsideally rules can maintain the
general social order and protect human rights

Stage 5
(Social contract and individual right)
People

at this stage begin to ask what exactly

makes a good society

Relies

heavily on noble principles such as equality

and human dignity

At

this stage, the child is most likely a teenager or

older

They

begin to think about society in a very

theoretical way, stepping back from their own
society and considering the rights and values that a
society ought to uphold

Example:
When

the child hit the sibling, they

will most likely have a reason that
they see as fair punishment for
something the sibling did. Depending
on what exactly the sibling did to
provoke the violence, your child
should be punished accordingly to
preserve fairness in your household.

Stage 6
(Universal principles)
A

hypothetical, "ideal" stage that few people ever

reach.

Based

upon universal ethical and abstarct principles

(e.g., equality of all people, respect for human dignity,
commitment to justice)

Trying

to view situations from all aspects of the issue.

At

this stage, people follow these internalized principles

of justice, even if they conflict with laws and rules.

They

answer to a strong inner conscience and willingly

disobey laws that violate their own ethical principles.

Example:
During

the Vietnam War, many

Americans who were drafted to be
soldiers opposed the war on moral
grounds and fled to Canada rather
than fight. Even though this behaviour
was against the law, these people
decided that these particular laws did
not follow the higher rules they
believed in, and they chose to follow
their higher rules instead of the law.

Stages of Moral Development

Lawrence Kohlberg

Level

Stage

Ages

Social Orientation

Pre-Conventional

2-4

ObedienceandPunishment

4-7

Individualism,Instrumentalism

7-10

GoodBoy/Girl

10-12

LawandOrder

Teens

SocialContract

Adult

PrincipledConscience

Conventional

Post-Conventional

How to apply at school:

Discuss

behavioural expectations and the impact of

behaviour on other students frequently in class. They
need to understand why they are being asked to follow
rules and the consequences for both positive and
negative behaviour.

Emphasize

comparisons between the feelings of different

students to facilitate the ability to change perspectives.
This key cognitive task enables students to move from
following rules because they will get either rewarded or
punished to internalizing the social function of rules.

Education Implications
According

to Kohlberg (1969) education plays a major role in

moral development.

His

strongest statement to this effect is that moral reasoning

stops at the same point that formal education stops.

Parents

tend to fear that formal moral education may contradict

the religious or philosophical values that are taught in the home
and by social agencies other than the school.

Even

in communities where moral education is welcome there is

disagreement about which values and what topics to cover in the
classroom.

Children

are encouraged to behave in a moralistic fashion

whether the school has embraced a moral education agenda or
not. Middle-class, conformist values are rewarded and other
behaviour is punished