Moral reasoning and classroom conduct Essay Example for Free

Moral reasoning and classroom conduct Essay The article duplicates a research method previously used by two of the current researchers George Bear and Herbert Richards in 1981 in their research â€Å"Moral reasoning and conduct problems in the classroom. † Each of the 87 male and female participants were assessed for their individual levels of moral reasoning using Kohlberg’s Moral Judgment Interview, Form A by the research assistant. Their classroom behavior was assessed by their teachers using the Conduct Scale of the Behavior Problem Checklist. One of the strengths of the research methodology was that the teachers were blind to the results of the Moral Judgment Interview. This ensured that the teachers did not make a judgment on students’ behaviors based on the assessment of moral reasoning. The scores from these two instruments were therefore independent. Additionally, to further decrease potential rater bias the twelve interview protocol were randomly selected and scored by an independent judge. The scores produced by the research assistant and the independent judge were compared and a high level of correlation was found. Another strength is that there was pre-screening of research participants. Screening ensured equitable representation based on stage of moral reasoning, sex and grade level. The researchers justify eliminating the seven participants with stage one moral reasoning from data analysis on the grounds that this would facilitate easier duplication. This decision is still questionable since neither the current research, nor the one it replicates has accounted for the conduct of stage one students. Thus there is still a gap in the literature on how this category of students rate on their classroom conduct. One major weakness of the study is in the data collection procedures. The classroom conduct of the participants is based on the assessment of teachers. While teachers are the ones who work more intimately with students and are in a better position to assess behavioral outcomes, teacher bias often produces inaccurate data (Reynolds, 1991). As in the case of the interviews, some measures should have been put in place to diminish possible evaluator bias. Another limitation of the study is that the researchers recruited participants from both the elementary and high school levels yet did not make any controls for how this factor could have influenced either moral reasoning or conduct. The nature of the school environment can have an influence on these variables and thus, to ensure uniformity of survey conditions, it is advisable to utilize similar type schools for the survey setting. Where that is not possible or where the researchers desire to recruit participants from different school environments, the necessary controls for these factors need to be discussed in the presentation of data. 1. Identify the primary question(s) of the article. The researchers wanted to discover if the results discovered by Bear and Richards (1981) on the influence of stage of moral development on classroom conduct of middle-class students in Iowa was replicable among culturally diverse students of different ages and grade levels. They also wanted to discover if the influence of moral stage on conduct varied based on sex. 2. Identify the theoretical construct that is being used. The theoretical foundation of the research is Kohlberg’s theory of moral development. This theory postulates that individuals are at different stages of moral development ranging from one to six with each stage hierarchically higher than the other. He further stipulates that moral reasoning impacts and determines observable behavioral outcomes in different life situations. With respect to the classroom setting Kohlberg concludes that the lower the level of moral reasoning, the more disruptive behaviors will be displayed in the classroom and consequently the higher the level of moral reasoning the less problematic behaviors will be carried out in the classroom. 3. Recommend an alternative quantitative approach that could have been used for this study and support your rationale. In order to assess the classroom conduct of students I would recommend, as an alternative to the teacher-evaluated Conduct Scale of the Behavior Problem Checklist, that taped observations of classroom practice be utilized. In this approach the researchers would obtain permission from school administrators and teachers to tape two typical classroom sessions each, with a one-week interval in between. In the three school environments one classroom at each level will be included in the study. There would be one fourth-grade and one fifth-grade classroom at each of the two elementary schools and two eighth grade classrooms at the high school to give a total of six classrooms and twelve video-taped sessions. Independent evaluators would score the classroom behaviors of each of the students in the classroom independently and then their scores will be correlated to ensure inter-rater reliability. The behavior problem checklist would form the criteria for assessment of the videotapes and would be completed for each student in each classroom independently. Missing data would be eliminated from the study during analysis. The strength of this method is that it eliminates the bias that has customary been associated with teacher-evaluated instruments and thus would give a more reliable and hence valid indication of the classroom conduct of students. Classroom teachers will not be briefed as to the complete purpose of the survey so as to eliminate the influence they may exert on classroom conduct in the classroom. Additionally this method ensures that there is consistency in what behaviors are considered and how these behaviors are categorized. The evaluators of video tapes will be standardized prior to the actual evaluation procedure. Bibliography Reynolds, A. J. (1991). Early schooling of children at risk. Education Research Journal, 28, 392-422. Richards, H. C. , Stewart, A. L. , Bear, G. G. (1984). Moral reasoning and classroom conduct: A replication. Paper presented at the 92nd Annual Convention of the American Psychological Association. Toronto, Ontario, Canada: APA. Bear, G. G. , Richards, H. C. (1981). Moral reasoning and conduct problems in the classroom. Journal of Educational Psychology, 73, 644-670.

Durgapur of India Essay -- essays research papers

Durgapur of India Home is where the heart is, and for someone, who has been born and brought up in a place, for someone who has seen the city striking roots amidst the social milieu and become a part of the lives of the people it sustains, the home is a synonym for the heart. Durgapur is a city that matches up to all the above protocol, as far as I am concerned. I used to hear from my grandfather about his journeys to the Bankura High Court, back in the 1930’s. People had to disembark from a train at a halt, not even a stop, called Durgapur. Dense, forbidding forests encircled the railway clearing. There would congregate a myriad assemblage of travelers, and when the group became a multitude, they would set off on bullock carts across the forest which was Durgapur. People had their hearts within their mouths for behind the thick crochet of bushes and the sal and seesam trees lurked many a critter and the abominable brigands, who threw stout sticks at the ankles and then looted the incapacitated victims. Downright chilly, I guess it was. Then came the transformation, thanks to the visionary endowments of one man, Dr. B.C.Roy. He seems to have realized that a state cannot be sustained by a lone city of opportunity. Other cities had to be developed, and if need be, set up. Durgapur falls under the second category of his achievements. And what an achievement it has been. From a sprawling wilderness, it has developed and how! In terms of commerce and industry, it is oft compared to the Ruhr in Germany. Today it houses around 60 large and medium sized industries and umpteen smaller ones. Everything from steel, power, natural gas, paper, chemicals to biscuits, cement and software can be found under production in this city. The f... ... generally associates with an industrial city. Stadiums have been built and the city plays host to many cultural and sports meets. Its political impact is also on the rise and more than 2000 crore rupees have been pumped into it for the last three years. There are clubs for those prefer to be social. Otherwise it is a retreat for sages. The serenity, the almost deafening silence, soothes ones senses. Violence and excitement are concepts alien to Durgapur. Durgapur is where you can still witness the seasonal changes and the city changes likewise. From scorching summers, punctuated by primitive thundershowers, to the aesthetic fall, to the chilly winter – you can feel it all. Durgapur is a supreme fusion of the essential and the ethereal, a fusion I’m proud to be part of. The city endears people, rekindles lost emotions and insurrects new ones, fond ones.

Home Theater Systems

The development of in-home theater surround sound speakers has evolved drastically in the past decade, turning people's generic living areas into replicas of movie theaters. Home theater systems were initially four-channel audio systems created originally by Dolby Digital Surround systems.With the increase in technological advancements throughout the past decade, Dolby Digital has released ts highest speaker system of seven-channels. At first, during the early 50's and 60's the movie industry found that the more channels of sound that was added, the higher enjoyment and response was given back by the audience. Therefore, as a result speakers were added behind the audience for the surrounding sounds and the left and right speakers were then used for the music. The invention of the home theater system generally relates to the reproduction of stereophonic sound.More particularly to the reproduction of the stereophonic sound associated with a video image of some sort. Images and sounds a re reproduced so hat dialog is localized to the video image and ambience or surrounding sound effects are reproduced in a manner that immerses the listener or consumer in realistic or three-dimensional sound field. In previous attempts to reproduce these sounds, numerous monophonic and stereophonic sound systems have been developed in an attempt to achieve reliable sound reproduction. 1] Monophonic audio refers to the reproduction of sound through only one channel. When using monophonic audio you cannot tell which direction the sound was produced.

The Merits of Campaign Finance Reform - 938 Words

Jpz777 03/05/2013 Order # 2087510 The recently concluded national election cycle was defined by frenzied campaigning and feverish advertising blitzes that lasted for more than a year, as American citizens were once again charged with the enormous task of voting for their next leadership class. What began with our forefathers modest experiment in democratic governance, built upon a foundation of informed citizenry selecting candidates who best represented shared values on the relevant issues of the day, has since become slowly distorted by the pernicious influence of corporatized campaign funding. The American political apparatus has traditionally been the arena of the affluent, because like almost every pursuit in this free-enterprise country, political campaigning is a business †¦ and, as in many businesses, success often goes not to the entrepreneur who brings a product to market first but to the one who exploits it best (McManus, 2010). While candidates on the local, state and federal level have always been b eholden to major donors, modern elections were forever transformed from contests of relative merit to proverbial spending sprees after the notorious decision delivered by the Supreme Court in the case of Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission. This landmark 5-4 ruling, made along strictly partisan lines in 2008, reversed more than a century of law regarding electioneering communication and essentially declared that the First Amendments explicitShow MoreRelatedEssay on Campaign Finance Reform1003 Words   |  5 PagesCampaign Finance Reform The politics is a stage for many different characters of whom each is trying to convince their audience to give them the loudest cheer and the grand applause. Politicians who played the acts will do their best and sometimes will do everything to win the hearts of their audience and that means to win at all cost. 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