Moral Reasoning Term Paper

This term project will be integral to the theme of facilitating moral development in children
and adolescents. For this term project 12 sources are required for students completing the term
project individually. Ten of these must be scholarly (i.e., peer reviewed journal articles or book
chapters from scholarly specialty books). Four of the scholarly sources must be empirical. Mass
media publications will NOT be accepted as a scholarly source. NO reading assignment given
in this course may count as one of these sources.

First you will provide a one-page introduction to the topic. Here you will provide your
personal opinion about how this topic is germane to moral development and draw upon moral
perspectives covered in the course. These include the following: (a) Kohlberg’s moral
reasoning, (b) internalization and self regulation and (c) distributive justice or restorative
practices.

Second you will provide a presentation of the issues section. In this section you will utilize at
least 5 sources. This will involve a more elaborate definition and description of your topic
(e.g., specific type(s) of peer harassment, frequency or prevalence, and who is involved); the
implications and outcomes of such behaviors (e.g., how it impacts those affected and/or those
engaging in such behaviors); and causal or correlational factors that impact this topic (e.g.,
factors that increase the likelihood or prevalence of peer harassment). NOTE that you should be
mindful of the developmental periods(s) for which these sources pertain. In short, the
presentation of issues incorporates the what, who and why. It should have sufficient context
to provide the foundation for the subsequent section. I estimate this section would be 4 – 5
pages.

Third you will present a facilitating positive outcomes section. In this section you will utilize
at least 6 sources. Here you will identify at least 3 distinct strategies/interventions relevant to
facilitating positive outcomes on your topic. Use sub-headings to identify distinct strategies. As
490T Term Project Page 2
you present said strategies/interventions how they are relevant to facilitating positive
outcomes on your topic and the issues/developmental period(s) identified in your
presentation of issues section must be articulated. I estimate this section would be 6 – 7
pages.

Finally, in an integration and synthesis section you will identify how at least some elements of
each strategy for supporting/enhancing moral development covered during the course (i.e., moral
reasoning, internalization/self-regulation; and distributive justice or restorative practices) are
aligned with the strategies/interventions outlined in your facilitating positive outcomes section.
Incorporate at least 1 source into this section. I estimate this integration and synthesis section
should take about 1 page.

Please label each section as follows:
I. Introductory section
II. Presentation of the issues
III. Facilitating positive outcomes
IV. Integration and synthesis

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