Fourth International School On Mind, Brain And Education
2009, August 1-5
Educational Neurosciences
and Ethics
Directors: Antonio M. Battro and Kurt W. Fischer
Program officer: María Lourdes Majdalani
Majdalani Foundation, ARGENTINA
Current research in moral education in schools: the Argentine case
Working with a Project aimed at awakening moral conscience in children, our current research is focused on moral conflicts: their description, teachers´ intervention styles and children’s reactions. This research is validating an instrument which is trying to see whether teachers have a certain “style” when intervening in moral conflicts, based on what we know on two moral emotions: shame and guilt. Thus, we want to know if there is any correlation between teachers´ intervention “shame” or “guilt” style and children’s emotional reactions related to those two moral emotions.
Apparently, there is a way of provoking shame and another different way of provoking guilt in children, depending on how the teacher judges the child, fosters reparation of harm or establishes punishments.
Authors agree that guilt has proved to be a more positive moral emotion because it helps the child repair the harm committed and detach the moral rule from the authority.
