ABSTRACT
Theories of moral development characterize the increasing complexity in the criteria and underlying reasoning that individuals use to determine what is right, best, just, and caring. Scholars’ interests in describing moral development have often been rooted in their desire to advance the civic and democratic mission of US higher education. Scholars have examined the educational practices and conditions that promote moral development and the relationships between moral development and collegiate outcomes such as civic engagement and openness to diversity. Conceptions of morality are situated culturally and are shaped by systems of domination, such as classism, sexism, heterosexism, and racism, that affect how individuals and societies conceptualize what is most beneficial for of the community. In this regard, moral development theories can be used to both help us understand motivations and in service of creating just and caring communities while reinforcing dominant discourse related to morality.
