Åpen forelesning: Moral disengagement in education

There are two fundamental value questions that curriculum writers and educators must deal with:

• what is the meaning of human life?
• how shall we live together?

Moral issues about society, life, individuals, and actions are a critical part of curriculum. This dimension of school has sometimes been conceptualized as values education, which is about an introduction into values and morality, to give young people knowledge of this domain about relating to other people, together with the ability to apply the values and rules intelligently, and to have the settled disposition to do so.

There are, however, a range of social and psychological processes in school that can interfere with its intention of values education. The peer group, the playground and the corridors in school can become contexts where students learn to violate moral standards and do harm to others without feelings of guilt and remorse but still maintaining a self-respect and feeling good about themselves.

The concept of moral disengagement

Within the social-cognitive theoretical framework, Bandura has introduced the concept of moral disengagement, which might contribute to explain the moral attitude-behavior gap. Moral disengagement refers to social and psychological maneuvers (e.g., moral justification, euphemistic labeling, diffusion of responsibility, dehumanization, and victim blame) by which self-regulated mechanisms can be deactivated and moral self-sanctions can be disengaged that, in turn, facilitates behaviors that harm others without feelings of remorse or guilt.

How are social-cognitive distortions relate to peer aggression?

This presentation will review cross-sectional and longitudinal research on how these social-cognitive distortions through which students can justify inhumane and aggressive behaviors, thus avoiding feelings of guilt and remorse, are related to peer aggression, bullying, and various bystander behaviors in peer victimization situations in elementary and secondary school settings.

Moral disengagement, peer aggression and bystander behaviors will also be discussed in relation classroom group-level (school class) properties such as collective moral disengagement, collective efficacy to stop peer aggression, class climate, and teachers.

About Professor Robert Thornberg

Robert Thornberg, Ph.D., is a Professor at Linköping University in Sweden. His major research interests focus on moral and social processes of school bullying, including individual and collective moral disengagement, self-efficacy and collective efficacy, student–teacher relationship quality, classroom climate, and bystander behaviors in peer victimization. He has been a member of the scientific committee of the World Anti-Bullying Forum (WABF) since 2016.

Link til Zoom:

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https://stavanger.zoom.us/j/64830285479?pwd=WDduZUg5RmRGamJMRnB4SGxDT1RrUT09

Meeting ID: 648 3028 5479
Password: 355135