ABSTRACT
The essence of civilized life resides in a moral code that inhibits and restrains savagery and barbarism. In the past, family, clan, and religion assumed primary responsibility for the moral education of children. This book represents an empirical report, rather than a philosophical treatise. Accordingly, it is not grounded in moral philosophy, but rather in applied, normative morality. In the context of moral philosophy, virtues, morals, and ethics are carefully distinguished, as follows: Virtues are consistent traits and dispositions that define one's character in terms of goodness, righteousness, and excellence; morals are concerned with principles of right and wrong and good and bad, which guide one's attitudes, motivations, and behaviours; and ethics refers to systems or codes of conduct, the philosophical study of morals, and collective and professional interpretations of moral standards. The body of empirical, practical, philosophical, and theoretical work on moral education; the moral dimensions of teaching, learning and moral agency are reviewed in this Chapter.
