How do adolescents determine the right things to do?
Date
1995
Authors
Crawford, Paul Duncan
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Abstract
In this research, fifteen adolescents talk about activities involved in making moral decisions. Their words suggest that they use these decisions as expressions of an on-going experience of identity, and that this experience involves balancing personal freedom with societal responsibility. This experiential view of adolescent morality and identity highlights the importance of interacting with adolescents in a participatory manner. Such interaction honours two important aspects of an adolescent's experience: (1) the capacity to make autonomous contributions to their environments, and (2) the need for guidance and support as this capacity emerges within a culture undergoing significant changes in terms of the traditional sources of moral authority and information in our culture, i.e. family life and religious affiliation. Given these changes, educators are faced with a compelling need both to clarify their own role expectations with respect to moral issues and to create viable conditions that foster adolescent moral development.