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Beyond Custom: a Pragmatic Model for Moral Education

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Beyond Custom: a Pragmatic Model for Moral Education BEYOND CUSTOM: A PRAGMATIC MODEL FOR MORAL EDUCATION by Lindsay Rodgers A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Education In conformity with the requirements for the degree of Master of Education Queen’s University Kingston, Ontario, Canada August, 2014 Copyright ©Lindsay Rodgers, 2014 Abstract This thesis concerns the present model of moral education in Ontario public schools: Finding Common Ground: Character Development in Ontario Schools, K-12. I argue that Finding Common Ground makes use of an impoverished form of virtue ethics in the construction of its model of moral education, and tacitly encourages assimilation and obedience rather than authentic moral becoming; it is a re-articulation of customary morality. To encourage authentic moral becoming, I propose a pragmatic, Deweyan model for moral education. This model is rooted in developing the capacities that encourage moral agency: imagination, reflection, and deliberation. ii Acknowledgements I am very grateful to all who have assisted in the writing and completion of this thesis. In particular, I thank Hazel, the bright, glowing light who shines on all I do. Thank you to my family whose love and support I could not do without. Thank you to my supervisor, Dr. Christou for his ever-present encouragement, kindness, and interest in my work. Thank you to my committee member, Dr. Fairfield for his perspective and expertise. Thank you to my friends and colleagues with whom I have spent many hours writing, reading, writing, and rewriting. July, 2014 iii Table of Contents Abstract ......................................................................................................................................................... ii Acknowledgements ...................................................................................................................................... iii Chapter 1 : Introduction ................................................................................................................................ 1 1.1 Methodology ............................................................................................................................... 3 1.1.1 Method ................................................................................................................................. 4 Chapter 2 : Moral Education ......................................................................................................................... 7 2.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................. 7 2.2 Moral Philosophy ........................................................................................................................ 8 2.3 Some Problems in Moral Education .......................................................................................... 12 2.4 Virtue Ethics .............................................................................................................................. 15 2.4.1 Nicomachean Ethics ........................................................................................................... 15 2.4.2 Contemporary Virtue Theory ............................................................................................. 17 2.5 Dewey’s Pragmatic Ethics ......................................................................................................... 19 2.6 Practical Wisdom ...................................................................................................................... 21 2.7 Conclusions ............................................................................................................................... 23 Chapter 3 : Character Development ............................................................................................................ 25 3.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 25 3.2 Finding Common Ground ......................................................................................................... 28 3.3 Aristotelian Roots of Character Development .......................................................................... 33 3.3.1 Virtues and Attributes ........................................................................................................ 33 3.4 The Right and The Good ........................................................................................................... 37 3.5 Defining Character .................................................................................................................... 40 3.6 Assimilation .............................................................................................................................. 45 3.7 Citizenship ................................................................................................................................. 50 3.8 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................. 54 Chapter 4 : Deweyan Pragmatism ............................................................................................................... 56 4.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 56 4.2 Virtue Ethics: Review and Problems ......................................................................................... 57 4.3 Standards: Defining the Good ................................................................................................... 63 4.4 Pluralism .................................................................................................................................... 68 iv 4.5 Customary Morality .................................................................................................................. 70 4.6 Reflective Morality .................................................................................................................... 73 4.7 Deliberation ............................................................................................................................... 76 4.8 Imagination ................................................................................................................................ 80 4.9 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................. 83 Chapter 5 : A Revised Model ...................................................................................................................... 84 5.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 84 5.2 Excerpts and Revisions ............................................................................................................. 86 5.2.1 Moral Becoming and Character Development ................................................................... 86 5.2.2 Key Messages ..................................................................................................................... 87 5.2.3 Key Beliefs and Principles ................................................................................................. 90 5.2.4 Finding Common Ground .................................................................................................. 93 5.3 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................. 96 Chapter 6 : Conclusion ................................................................................................................................ 97 Appendix A ................................................................................................................................................. 99 v Chapter 1: Introduction This thesis explores moral education in Ontario public schools. I argue that conceptually, moral education must acknowledge the complexity and indefinite nature of the moral domain if it is to succeed in encouraging moral agency. Canadian society is comprised of a “vast array of religious, ethnic, and family traditions, social mores, prized dispositions, conventional norms, and modes of moral reasoning; the questions of how to be good and how one ought to live are debated not only within each particular tradition, but also across traditions.”1 If moral education is going to be successful, it is critical that it acknowledges the complexity, pluralism, and uncertainty that mark the moral realm, and accounts for the diverse range of perspectives in Canadian schools. It does not follow from this argument that individuals should not commit to one particular ethical framework, or that conceptual morality is relative, only that the commitment to ethical principles within education should, “recognize moral difference, and be self-critical and open.”2 In order to develop a sound model for moral education, we must critically engage a diverse range of moral positions, determine their precise meaning, and give thoughtful attention to arguments for and against the acceptance of a standard of behaviour.3 1 Ronald David Glass, “Critical Pedagogy and Moral Education,” in Character and Moral Education: A Reader, ed. Joseph L Devitis and Tianlong Yu (New York: Peter Lang Publishing, Inc., 2011), 228 2 Ibid. 3 Robin Barrow, Moral Philosophy for Education
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