The Salemite
Volume LXIII
Number 4
Nov. 7,1980
serving the salem college community since 1920
Morrill’s Book Provides
Wealth of Insights
I Recurring scandals in
''“'^ernment, business,
the professions are
^''ompting many to
'onder if Americans
lost their sense of
'^cency and fair play --
’’'d the fact that these
'fandals often involve
^faduates of our leading
Colleges and
J''®fessional schools has
escaped notice,
still, the campus
;^6lf is increasingly the
!'^ne of disgraceful
“^havior. Faked
'^Jsearch results,
'bating on assign
ments and exams, theft
destruction of
'nilege property,
^faulting on student
‘eans ~ these too are
''['dence of higher
encation’s failure to
'eitivate ethical
I'yareness. And yet, as
'/ehard Morrill notes in
new book, the
'erase moral education
ay is generally heard
a pious echo rather
as a call to action.
.Action is urgently
j'eded, however, and
pniinistrators and
equity leaders across
country are now
“^Sinning to address the
[[ecial issues. What is
place of moral
lencation in higher
■Jerning? Does the
/®dy of ethics improve
(?®’s moral character?
} it possible to teach
Jeiues without in-
^etrlnating students?
can the classroom
other campus
settings best be used for
developing moral
awareness?
To help answer
questions such as these,
this new book provides
the first comprehensive
analysis of current
approaches to teaching
ethics and values in
college. Morrill
describes and critiques
the contributions of
leading authorities
(including Louis Raths,
Earl McGrath,
Lawrence Kohlberg,
Martin Trow, William
Perry, and Arthur
Chickering) and
compares their ap
proaches, highlighting
the strengths and
limitations of each. He
then explains the unique
opportunities afforded
by values education - a
new approach that
combines the best
features of those
previously discussed -
and he goes on to outline
a comprehensive
program for enhancing
moral awareness in
students without
redesigning the current
curriculum. Policy
makers and curriculum
committees will
welcome Morrill’s
detailed survey of the
current options in moral
education, and faculty
in all disciplines will
profit from his
suggestions for in
corporating values
education into existing
courses and programs.
DESCRIPTION OF
CONTENTS
Or. Morrill chats with Moyar Falroy and Jessica Foy
The book opens with a
brief Foreword by
Edward Eddy assessing
the current moral
climate on campus and
explaining the need for
a fresh approach to
moral education.
Chapter One:
Reemergence of Moral
Education reviews the
American college’s
traditional commitment
to moral education,
identifies various trends
in academic life that
have weakened that
commitment (such as
the adoption of value-
free scientific
methodology as the
model for all inquiry
and the steady tran
sformation of liberal
education into career
training), and examines
the reasons -- both social
and intellectual -- for the
current resurgence of
campus interest in
ethics and values.
Chapter Two:
Approaches to Moral
Development and
Ethical Awareness
surveys the literature
and brings order to the
confusing array of
related approaches that
have appeared recently.
Morrill groups these
into four general
categories: (1) values
clarification, as
described by Raths; (2)
values inquiry, as
illustrated by the work
of McGrath; (3) moral
education and
development, as
discussed by Kohlberg,
Perry, Chickering, and
Heath; and (4) nor
mative and applied
ethics, as represented
by the Hastings Center’s
Project on the Teaching
of Ethics. Each ap
proach is described
separately and then
compared with the
others, revealing what
each provides to aid in
the development of
educational programs.
Chapter Three:
Values as Standards of
Action extends the
critique of current
approaches begun in the
preceamg chapter and
introduces a new ap
proach -- values
education - that em
ploys the best features
of previous approaches
and eliminates their
shortcomings. Morrill
shows how values
education, which
conceives of values as
standards for making
choices and taking
action, can serve to
revitalize liberal
education by rein
troducing a concern for
moral issues in a
rigorous, objective way.
Chapter Four:
Methods of Values
Education makes clear
how this new approach
can be put into practice.
Morrill describes the
general methods that
form the framework of
values education, ex
plains how they rein
force the traditional
aims and objectives of
the various academic
disciplines, and
demonstrates how these
methods serve the
ultimate goal of
motivating students to
examine their own
values and value
systems.
Chapter Five:
Curriculum and
Campus Strategies
details specific
strategies for im
plementing values
education in the
classroom and
elsewhere on campus.
Morrill discusses
various themes and
topics for courses that
could be introduced into
the curriculum, ex
plains how such courses
could be structured, and
describes the special
role and responsibilities
of instructors in values
educations. In addition,
.Morrill suggests various
ways to employ
nonacademic features
of college life - such as
student-faculty coop
eration in community
projects, campus
organizations, and
institutional planning -
to develop value
awareness and com
mitment in students.
Chapter Six: Impact
on Academic, Political,
and Religious Choices
assesses the con
sequences of the
proposed approach to
moral education.
Morrill shows how this
approach has the
potential to integrate
educational objectives
that are now
fragmented, overcome
the troublesome
separation of intellect
and conscience in
higher education, and
ultimately contribute to
enriching the academic,
political, and religious
life of the nation.
Resource A:
Reconciling Philoso
phical and Social
Science Perspectives on
Values briefly reviews
the major con
temporary theories of
value (and values) now
operating in these
disciplines and
demonstrates how the
two perspectives can be
reconciled.
Resource B:
Annotated Bibliography
of Current Literature
describes and evaluates
the most noteworthy
recent studies con
cerned with moral
development and values
education.
SUMMARY
This new book
presents a com
prehensive, practical
plan for teaching ethics
and values in college.
Working from his own
detailed analysis of the
major approaches
currently in use,
Richard Morrill ex
plains the advantages of
one in particular -
values education - that
leads students to
identify and examine
their own values and
value systems. He then
describes the central
features of this ap
proach, shows how it
can be incorporated into
the present curriculum,
outlines the role and
responsibilities of the
classroom instructor
under this approach,
and details specific
strategies for making
Reception honoring Dr. Morrill lor success ol his book
values education an
integral part of college
life. Everyone con
cerned with restoring
moral responsibility to a
central position in
liberal and professional
education will benefit
from the wealth of in
sights and practical
suggestions that this
book provides.
THE AUTHOR
RICHARD L .
MORRILL is president
of Salem Academy and
Salem College, Winston-
. Salem, North Carolina.
Teaching Values in
College by Salem
Academy and College
president Dr. Richard
L. Morrill has been
published by Jossey-
Bass, Inc. and is
available at the Salem
College Book Store.
One of the Jossey-
Bass Series in Higher
Education, the book
provides what they
describe as “the first
comprehensive analysis
of current approaches to
teaching ethics and
values in college.”
Morrill posts possible
answers to such
questions as; What is
the place of moral
education in higher
learning? Does the
study of ethics improve
one’s moral character?
Is it possible to teach
values without in
doctrinating students?
How can the classroom
and other campus
settings best be used for
developing moral
awareness?
He notes that the
phrase ‘‘moral
education” today is
generally heard as a
pious echo rather than
as a call to action - a
paradox when we have
recurring scandals in
government, business,
and the professions that
prompt many to wonder
if Americans have lost
their sense of fair play
and decency. College
campuses themselves
have been the scene of
much deterioration in
behavior with faked
research results,
cheating on assign
ments and exams, theft
and destruction of
college property,
defaulting on student
loans.
Morrill cites these as
evidence of higher
education’s failure to
cultivate ethical
awareness.
Working from his own
detailed analysis of the
major approaches
currently in use, he
explains the advantages
of one in particular -
values education - that
leads students to
identify and examine
their own values and
value systems.
Salwn News Bureau
photos by Stephanie King