Child Development

principles that may be more important than the rules
of a particular country or group. Clearly Kohlberg

was influenced by his own experiences when he broke

England’s law in order to carry out what he believed

was a higher moral imperative: to aid refugees of the

Holocaust.

Kohlberg extended his theory into practice with

applications to moral education in classrooms. Fol-

lowing criticism that his work dealt with moral reason-

ing, but not moral action, he developed a program in

which participatory democracy in the classroom

served as the basis for moral development.

A major debate about Kohlberg’s theories was

sparked by Carol Gilligan, a professor at Harvard,

whose research reflected the view that women’s mo-

rality differs from that of men’s, on whom most of Ko-

hlberg’s research was based.

Kohlberg also applied the cognitive-

developmental approach to the development of gen-

der identity. His research showed that children’s un-

derstanding of gender is linked to their level of

cognitive development.

See also: MORAL DEVELOPMENT; STAGES OF

DEVELOPMENT

Bibliography

Publications by Kohlberg

‘‘A Cognitive-Developmental Analysis of Children’s Sex-Role Con-

cepts and Attitudes.’’ In E. E. Maccoby ed., The Development of

Sex Differences. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 1966.

The Psychology of Moral Development: The Nature and Validity of Moral

Stages. San Francisco: Harper and Row, 1984.

Child Psychology and Childhood Education: A Cognitive Developmental

View. New York: Longman, 1987.

Laura E. Levine

226 KOHLBERG, LAWRENCE