Editing Lawrence Kohlberg (section)

=== Moral education ===
Kohlberg is most well known among psychologists for his research in moral psychology, but among educators he is known for his applied work of moral education in schools. The three major contributions Kohlberg made to moral education were the use of Moral Exemplars, Dilemma Discussions, and Just Community Schools.<ref name="Snarey">Snarey, J. R. (2012). Lawrence Kohlberg: Moral biography, moral psychology, and moral pedagogy. In W.E. Pickren, D. A. Dewsbury, M. Wertheimer, W. E. Pickren, D. A. Dewsbury, M. Wertheimer (Eds.), ''Portraits of pioneers in developmental psychology'' (pp. 277–296). New York, NY, US: Psychology Press.</ref>

Kohlberg's first method of moral education was to examine the lives of moral exemplars who practiced principled morals such as Martin Luther King, Jr., Socrates, and Abraham Lincoln. He believed that moral exemplars' words and deeds increased the moral reasoning of those who watched and listened to them.<ref name="Snarey" /> Kohlberg never tested to see if examining the lives of moral exemplars did in fact increase moral reasoning. Recent research in moral psychology has brought back the value of witnessing moral exemplars in action or learning about their stories.<ref name="Algoe-Haidt">Algoe, S. B., & Haidt, J. (2009). Witnessing excellence in action: The 'other-praising' emotions of elevation, gratitude, and admiration. ''The Journal of Positive Psychology'', ''4''(2),105–127. doi:10.1080/17439760802650519</ref> Witnessing the virtuous acts of moral exemplars may not increase moral reasoning, but it has been shown to elicit an emotion known as moral elevation that can increase an individual's desire to be a better person and even has the potential to increase prosocial and moral behavior.<ref name="Algoe-Haidt" /><ref>Aquino, K., McFerran, B., & Laven, M. (2011). Moral identity and the experience of moral elevation in response to acts of uncommon goodness. ''Journal of Personality and Social Psychology'', ''100''(4), 703–718. doi:10.1037/a0022540</ref><ref>Schnall, S., Roper, J., & Fessler, D. M. (2010). Elevation leads to altruistic behavior. ''Psychological Science'', ''21''(3), 315–320. doi:10.1177/0956797609359882</ref><ref>Silvers, J. A., & Haidt, J. (2008). Moral elevation can induce nursing. ''Emotion'', ''8''(2), 291–295. doi:10.1037/1528-3542.8.2.291</ref> Although Kohlberg's hypothesis that moral exemplars could increase moral reasoning might be unfounded, his understanding that moral exemplars have an important place in moral education has growing support.

Dilemma discussions in schools was another method proposed by Kohlberg to increase moral reasoning. Unlike moral exemplars, Kohlberg tested this method by integrating moral dilemma discussion into the curricula of school classes in humanities and social studies. Results of this and other studies using similar methods found that moral discussion does increase moral reasoning and works best if the individual in question is in discussion with a person who is using reasoning that is just one stage above their own.<ref name="Snarey" />

The final method Kohlberg used for moral education was known as "just communities". In 1974, Kohlberg worked with schools to set up democracy-based programs, where both students and teachers were given one vote to decide on school policies.<ref name="Walsh" /> The purpose of these programs were to build a sense of community in schools in order to promote democratic values and increase moral reasoning. Kohlberg's idea and development of "just communities" were greatly influenced by his time living on a kibbutz as a young adult in 1948 and when he was doing longitudinal cross-cultural research of moral development at Sasa, another kibbutz.<ref>Snarey, J. R., Reimer, J., & Kohlberg, L. (1985). Development of social-moral reasoning among kibbutz adolescents: A longitudinal cross-cultural study. ''Developmental Psychology'', ''21''(1), 3–17. doi:10.1037/0012-1649.21.1.3</ref>