ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book highlights the importance of understanding a key property of morality as a normative system. It discusses a curious paradox in children's moral development, as found in their judgements of emotions and moral responsibility. The book examines the related issue of children's construction of moral agency, self and identity in childhood and adolescence. It constitutes a comprehensive and thoughtful analysis of the current state of the field of moral identity research, focusing mainly on adolescence and beyond. Parents help scaffold children's moral understandings by pointing out harmful consequences of children's actions and by helping them to understand agents' multiple and competing perspectives and goals. The book deals with parenting, autonomy, and the construction of moral and other forms of knowledge across cultures.
