Doctor of Education / Department of Educational Leadership / Jeffrey Zacharakis / Abstract Public educational leaders are being scrutinized because of scandals that range from embezzlement, cheating on high stake exams for future bonuses, to viewing pornography on school technology. The need for ethical leadership by the superintendent along with moral judgment on decision-making is reflected in the foundation of public educational organizations. The purpose of this quantitative research study is to explore the stage of moral judgment among public school superintendents when faced with moral dilemmas. Also, this research explores whether there is an association between certain demographic variables (enrollment, gender, salary, age, ethical training, total years experience as an administrator, years as a superintendent, highest degree, and place or work,) and moral judgment of the superintendent. The primary question guiding this study is: In the states of Kansas and Nebraska, what is the stage of moral judgment of superintendents when making decisions pertaining to moral dilemmas? The population chosen for this study is the public school superintendents in Kansas and Nebraska. The superintendents completed an online Defining Issues Test 2 (DIT2) questionnaire to assess their cognitive moral development score called the N2 index. The DIT2 is based upon Lawrence Kohlberg’s stages of moral development. The secondary objective is to examine the relationship between moral judgment and demographic variables. The data were analyzed using ANOVA, t test, Mann Whitney U, Kruskal Wallis, and stepwise regression. The researcher sent the online DIT2 instrument electronically to all 514 superintendents. Of the 514 superintendents, 129 completed enough of the survey. Out of the 129, four participants did not provide any demographic data, which brought the total to 125 participants. The superintendents mean N2 index score was 32.28. This put them at the same level of upper high school and first and second year undergraduate students (Bebeau & Thoma, 2003). Using ANOVA to analyze the data from this study indicates that enrollment size and gender significantly influenced superintendents’ stage of moral judgment. Stepwise regression analysis was then indicated that salary was also significantly associated with moral judgment of superintendents. The other variables - years of experience as an administrator, age, ethical training, years as superintendent, highest educational degree and place of work - provided no statistically significant influence on the moral judgment of superintendents. From this study’s findings, recommendations are offered to strengthen educational leadership and moral judgment of school superintendents.

The purpose of this study was to examine moral judgment of public school superintendents in Texas when faced with moral dilemmas. The Defining Issues Test-2 was used to measure levels of moral judgment. A demographic survey was also used in order to examine the relationship between moral judgment levels and certain demographic variables. A stratified random sample of all public school superintendents based on district size were surveyed. Surveys were mailed to 200 small districts, 100 medium districts, and 50 large districts. A total of 104 superintendents participated in this study. T-test for independent samples, one-way analysis of variance, and linear regression were used for purposes of data analysis. An alpha level of .05 was used as the level of significance. Data were entered and manipulated using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences software. Results of the study indicated no statistically significant relationship existed between the superintendent’s moral judgment level and certain demographic variables using t-test and analysis of variance measures. However, results from the linear regression showed that four of the independent variable subgroups contributed to moral judgment levels. The four independent variable subgroups were respondents who had served 16-20 years as a superintendent, who had served 16-20 years in his or her current district, who had a salary in the $50,000-$74,999 range, and whose ethnicity was Hispanic.

In previous research, measurement of deontological and utilitarian beliefs relied on responses to classic moral dilemmas. While use of these dilemmas has proven fruitful they are fraught with potential confounds. This thesis describes the construction and validation of the Consequentialist scale, a tool designed to directly measure the endorsement of both utilitarian and deontological beliefs. The Consequentialist scale was tested against variables previously associated with moral judgments, namely emotional reactivity, Machiavellianism, intrinsic religiosity, and political conservatism. Results indicate that the Consequentialist scale provides added explanatory power that helps to elucidate cornerstone processes involved in moral judgments.

In previous research, measurement of deontological and utilitarian beliefs relied on responses to classic moral dilemmas. While use of these dilemmas has proven fruitful they are fraught with potential confounds. This thesis describes the construction and validation of the Consequentialist scale, a tool designed to directly measure the endorsement of both utilitarian and deontological beliefs. The Consequentialist scale was tested against variables previously associated with moral judgments, namely emotional reactivity, Machiavellianism, intrinsic religiosity, and political conservatism. Results indicate that the Consequentialist scale provides added explanatory power that helps to elucidate cornerstone processes involved in moral judgments.

This investigation sought to explore the relationship of Julian Rotter's concept of internal versus external control (I-E) to stages of moral judgment. The I-E dimension is defined as the attribution by the individual of responsibility for behavioral outcomes to either oneself or to outside entities. The internal oriented person believes that the events in which he is involved lie within his control. Conversely, the external oriented person believes that the events that happen to him are controlled by other factors.

Philosophers have traditionally attempted to solve metaethical disputes about the nature of moral judgment through reasoned argument alone. Empirical evidence about how we do make moral judgments is often overlooked in these debates. In the wake of recent discoveries in cognitive neuroscience and experimental psychology, however, some empirically-minded philosophers are beginning to use neural findings in support of their theories of moral judgment. The intent of this thesis is to explore how this empirical evidence can be integrated effectively into philosophical discussions about moral judgment. In the first chapter of my thesis, I review the moral judgment debate in both philosophy and moral psychology, focusing specifically on contemporary sentimentalist solutions to this problem. This review sets the stage for my critique of Prinz’s sentimentalist account of moral judgment in the second chapter. I argue that Prinz uses neural evidence to support his sentimentalist thesis inappropriately, altering the evidence to fit his theory, rather than using the evidence to inform his theory. In the third chapter, I examine Prinz’s somatic theory of emotion and how this is related to his theory of moral judgment. I argue that neural evidence indicates that a theory of emotion that incorporates aspects of both cognitive appraisal and somatic theories is more empirically accurate than either view in isolation. Finally, I discuss the implications that a neural account of emotion could have on future debates about the nature of moral judgment.

In this paper, I analyze the concept of a besire. I argue that distinguishing between different types and interpretations of besires is a critical tool for adequately assessing besire theories of moral judgment. I argue for this by applying the results of this conceptual analysis of a besire to David Brink’s version of the moral problem and to objections against besire theories made by Michael Smith, Simon Blackburn, and Nick Zangwill.

Philosophers have traditionally attempted to solve metaethical disputes about the nature of moral judgment through reasoned argument alone. Empirical evidence about how we do make moral judgments is often overlooked in these debates. In the wake of recent discoveries in cognitive neuroscience and experimental psychology, however, some empirically-minded philosophers are beginning to use neural findings in support of their theories of moral judgment. The intent of this thesis is to explore how this empirical evidence can be integrated effectively into philosophical discussions about moral judgment. In the first chapter of my thesis, I review the moral judgment debate in both philosophy and moral psychology, focusing specifically on contemporary sentimentalist solutions to this problem. This review sets the stage for my critique of Prinz’s sentimentalist account of moral judgment in the second chapter. I argue that Prinz uses neural evidence to support his sentimentalist thesis inappropriately, altering the evidence to fit his theory, rather than using the evidence to inform his theory. In the third chapter, I examine Prinz’s somatic theory of emotion and how this is related to his theory of moral judgment. I argue that neural evidence indicates that a theory of emotion that incorporates aspects of both cognitive appraisal and somatic theories is more empirically accurate than either view in isolation. Finally, I discuss the implications that a neural account of emotion could have on future debates about the nature of moral judgment.

Sentimentalism as an ethical view makes a particular claim about moral judgment: to judge that something is right/wrong is to have a sentiment/emotion of approbation/disapprobation, or some kind of positive/negative feeling, toward that thing. However, several sentimentalists have argued that moral judgments involve not only having a specific kind of feelings or emotional responses, but judging that one would be <em>justified</em> in having that feeling or emotional response. In the literature, some authors have taken up the former position because the empirical data on moral judgment seems to suggest that justification is not a necessary prerequisite for making a moral judgment. Even if this is true, however, I argue that justifying moral judgments is still an important philosophic endeavour, and that developing an empirically constrained account of how a person might go about justifying his feelings/emotional responses as reasons for rendering (normative) moral judgments by using a coherentist method of justification is both plausible and desirable.

Resumo: O uso abusivo de álcool por adolescentes é uma questão que vem preocupando os envolvidos com a Educação, pois as conseqüências desse fato têm invadido os bancos escolares trazendo sérios prejuízos ao processo ensino-aprendizagem e ao adolescente que abusa. Com o objetivo de contribuir para o debate na busca de uma intervenção efetiva que possa ser utilizada, sobretudo nas escolas, desenvolvemos uma pesquisa onde procuramos detectar a possível relação entre uso abusivo de álcool e raciocínio moral. Para tanto, tivemos como participantes alunos do Ensino Médio de uma escola pública da cidade de Assis (SP) que vêm se envolvendo com uso abusivo de álcool. Para atingir os objetivos propostos, selecionamos os participantes através da aplicação de dois instrumentos que avaliam o uso e as conseqüências do uso abusivo de álcool, denominados Audit e Rapi. Dos 171 alunos que responderam aos questionários, 27 deles tiveram resultados que revelam uso abusivo de álcool com conseqüências negativas. Esses adolescentes foram entrevistados tendo como referencial a teoria de Lawrence Kohlberg (1992) onde buscamos identificar seu nível e estágio de desenvolvimento moral (analisando sua teoria ética, seus valores, etc) por meio de uma entrevista semi-estruturada proposta por Kohlberg e colaboradores: a moral judgment interview (MJI) e a concepção que esses têm do seu ato de beber e do uso abusivo de álcool. Os resultados obtidos nos apontam que esses adolescentes apresentam um nível de raciocínio moral pré-convencional e convencional, sendo que a maioria (56%) encontra-se no estágio 02 do nível pré-convencional. Dessa forma, concluímos que a prevenção possa ser pensada por meio da Educação Moral como uma proposta de intervenção efetiva contra o uso abusivo de álcool, buscando a construção da autonomia e, conseqüentemente, uma maior reflexão acerca do envolvimento com as drogas. / Abstract: The abuse of alcohol by teenagers is an issue which has caused the worry of those involved in education, since its consequences have affected schools and caused serious damage to the teaching-learning process and consequently to those teenagers who abuse it. In order to contribute to the discussion of such an issue and to try to find out an effective intervention which may be used mainly in schools, we have developed a research in which we tried to establish a relation between the abuse of alcohol and moral judgment. Therefore, our subjects were junior/senior high school students attending a public school in Assis (SP) who have got into such a trouble. In order to achieve the aims of our research we have chosen the subjects by applying two indices called Audit and Rapi, which evaluate the use and the consequences of alcohol abuse. 171 students have completed the questionnaires, and 27 of them presented results confirming the abuse of alcohol with serious consequences. Such teenagers were interviewed seeing that the Lawrence Kohlberg's theory (1992) was used to identify their level and phase of moral development (analyzing their ethical theory, values, etc), by using semi-structured interview proposed by Kohlberg and his collaborators: the Moral Judgment Interview (MJI) and the conception they have about drinking. The results obtained in the research reveal that such teenagers present a pre-conventional and conventional level of moral judgment, seeing that most of them (56%) have reached the 02 phase of the pre-conventional level. Thus we come to the conclusion that prevention should be implemented by means of Social Awareness viewed as an effective intervention proposal against the abuse of alcohol, aiming at developing autonomy and, consequently, at encouraging them to ponder over their involvement with drugs. / Orientador: Raul Aragão Martins / Coorientador: Maria Suzana S. Menin / Doutor