Moral competence as a positive youth development construct: conceptual bases and implications for curriculum development.

Full Abstract

Moral competence refers to the orientation to perform altruistic behavior and the ability to judge moral issues logically, consistently and at an advanced level of development. A brief review of the concepts of altruism and justice is presented. The gender and cultural issues are also discussed. The contents of moral competence program units include four major topics:
(1) Fairness, (2) Proper conduct (mainly altruistic and prosocial orientation), (3) Responsibility and altruistic orientation, and (4) Integrity and fairness. The general goal is to help students to develop an altruistic orientation and a judgment structure of a high level of justice. This paper is part of the development of the positive youth development program in Hong Kong.

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Author information

Author/s: Ma, Hing Keung (HK);

Affiliation: Department of Education Studies, Hong Kong Baptist University, Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong. hkma(-atsign-)hkbu.edu.hk

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

Journal: International journal of adolescent medicine and health (Int J Adolesc Med Health), published in England. (Language: eng)

Reference: -2006 Jul-Sep; vol 18 (issue 3) : pp 371-8

Dates: Created 2006/10/30; Completed 2007/01/19;

PMID: 17068918, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 12/26/2008)

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MeSH headings (categories)

This article was linked to the MESH Headings shown below.

Female
Hong Kong
Humans
Male
Morals
Schools
Sex Factors
Social Justice

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