Theories of Justice and Caring in a Third Grade Classroom

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Theories of Justice and Caringin a Third Grade
Classroom
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Significance

• Societal Context
• Changing roles of schools
• Increasing rates of violence
• Personal Context
• Need for classroom management plan
• Desire to increase connections to learning
• Motivation to foster loving, supportive
  relationships

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Review of Literature
Piaget Recognizes that morals arose in a
complex, developmental process
Kohlberg Elaborates on Piagets findings by
defining six distinct stages characterized by
specific modes of reasoning
Gilligan Develops theory that discussed
differences in moral reasoning between males and
females
Noddings Recognizes importance of stages of
moral reasoning, but argues it shouldnt detract
from moral action, namely caring
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Setting of Study

• Suburban Catholic School
• Grades 1-8
• 275 Students, 55 Native Hawaiian, 84 minority
  population
• Schoolwide Cooperative Learning Model
• Inclusive Classrooms
• Aole nou wale no

• Third grade
• 25 students, 13 boys, 12 girls
• 22/25 at school since age 3
• Students with me 25/30 periods a week

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Strategic Instructional Plan (2002-03)

• Book Buddy Service Learning Project
• Reflective Journals
• Peer Mediation
• Student-run class meetings
• Invitational teacher behaviors

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Book Buddies Service Learning
Students met with 3-year-old class twice monthly
to read books or dictate stories In between
meetings, third-graders wrote letters to parents,
teachers and ELC students Students were asked to
reflect in their journal about their feelings and
experiences
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Reflective Journals
Students wrote daily (at least) in their journal
about either an assigned topic or a topic of
their choice. Assigned journal topics usually
dealt with controversial classroom issues, moral
issues in books or movies or with intrapersonal
conflicts. Journal entries could vary in form
(drawings, poems, written dialogue, etc.)
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Peer Mediation

• Peace table at recess
• Peer mediator as weekly job
• Unresolved conflicts brought to Class Meeting

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Class Meetings

• Meetings were one hour weekly, unless class voted
  an issue as urgent
• Student organized and run
• Rules included no put downs, one speaker at a
  time, concentrate on solutions instead of
  problems
• All problems are welcome

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Invitational teacher behaviors
Student valued over material taught Student-determ
ined consequences Refraining from using rewards
and punishments Parent/Teacher/Student
conferences Teaching using integrated units
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Data Collection
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Results
Surveys Little change in perceptions of caring,
many differences in concepts of justice. Class
Meeting Log Decrease in intrapersonal conflicts,
increase in discussions about fairness of rules
or practices. Faculty/Parent Observations
Increase in student motivation, reflective
thinking, caring behaviors Decrease in absences,
disciplinary actions and incomplete
class/homework Student JournalsLonger, more
numerous and more reflective entries, increase in
entries about issues of justice or
caring. Teacher Observations/Journal Decrease in
tattling, need for adult intervention, Increase
in class participation, peer mediation,
teacher/student satisfaction!
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The End