ABSTRACT
This chapter explores how the theories of W. G. Perry, C. Gilligan, and L. Kohlberg inform a campus-wide program in cognitive and ethical reasoning development. The Ethical Reasoning in Action program is designed to help students improve ethical reasoning skills to better inform decision-making and to encourage ethical agency. The Ethical Reasoning in Action program adds additional “voices” to the important moral conversations and decisions in a sea of ill-structured problems that require complex, nuanced, and informed decisions. The university has two full-time staff members dedicated to the implementation of Ethical Reasoning in Action. The program offers faculty and student affairs fellowships to full-time employees. A group of Ethical Reasoning in Action volunteer peer educators delivers interactive ethical reasoning workshops for other students, student organizations, and at the request of faculty. Ethical Reasoning in Action evolved from the university’s reaccreditation process, which requires the conception, funding, and implementation of a new idea focused on enhancing student learning.
