Ethnic Variation and the Development of Moral Judgement of Youth in Dutch Society

• NCJ Number: 178761
• Journal: Youth & Society Volume: 31 Issue: 1 Dated: September 1999 Pages: 54-75
• Author(s): Langha De May; Herman E. M. Baartman; Hana-J. Schulze
• Date Published: 1999
• Length: 22 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This article reports on an empirical study of the development of moral judgment in groups of students with different ethnic backgrounds.

Abstract

The study examined Kohlberg’s complexity thesis, which is directly related to Kohlberg’s claims of the universal validity of his theory of moral development. Students, aged 14 to 19 years, from different types of schools participated in the study: Dutch, Surinamese, Moroccan, Turkish and a mixed group. The study used variance with the factors ethnicity, sex and type of school and multiple range tests to detect differences among the groups. Moroccan and Turkish pupils showed a lag in their moral development, perhaps due to their parents’ societal backgrounds. Findings did not support Kohlberg’s complexity thesis. Tables, notes, references