SOCIOLOGICAL REVIEW OF MORAL CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT AND SOCIAL INTERACTION AMONG STUDENTS

Abstract

This paper focussed on the review of moral character development from sociological perspective. It adopted a literature review approach to examine moral character disposition among students as conceived by scholars in the field of psychology such as Jean Piaget and Lawrence Kohlberg among others. It was interesting that moral virtues and habits remain conceptually unclear in the realm of psychological science. Examined against the determinants of moral character development which include ethical sensitivity, ethical judgement, ethical motivation, and ethical action, moral character development was found to be influenced by external factors such as peers and family as well as environment which function in time, situation and culture and these functional determinants underlie the processes of social conditions that account for the moral character dispositions among students. Thus, the emergence of patterns of response in social interaction over time becomes the primary evidence of the student’s moral character development. It was therefore recommended that teachers should be aware that situation and culture are social context that can influence moral character development as this would enable them manage the moral character development among diverse students in the school.