Abstract
Moral competence is an important dimension in healthy adolescent development and effective leadership. In this paper, a lecture attempting to nurture the moral competence of university students in Hong Kong is described. There are several parts to this lecture. In the first part, moral dilemmas in real life and hypothetical situations are introduced. Second, conceptual frameworks on moral judgment are outlined. In the third part, the relationship between morality and leadership is addressed. In the next part, strategies to promote moral development are discussed. Finally, conclusions and reflections by the students are carried out. In the lecture, students are invited to have personal reflections on their moral competence and integrity in relation to their real life context.
Appendix
Appendix 1: Lecture outline given to students
Moral behavior is the result of the interaction between individual (e.g. cognitive moral development, gender, self-esteem) and situational factors (e.g. ethical codes and culture) [38, 39]. Ethical leadership is an important component for promoting an organizational functioning and maintaining social order Smith et al. [6]. Ethical leaders can influence the followers’ values, beliefs and behaviors by demonstrating normatively appropriate behaviors [23]. In this lecture, we will discuss the process of moral judgment and moral reasoning, and how students incorporate various effective ethical decision-making methods in their perceptions of ethical dilemmas in the real world.
After taking this lecture, students should be able to:
understand the concepts and theories related to morality and integrity;
identify the antecedents and consequences of morality;
explain the relationship between morality and leadership;
generate ways to promote moral development;
explain causes of a series of moral dilemmas and related issues.
Teaching methods
Lecture
Video viewing
Experiential learning activity
Group discussion
Self-reflection
Lecture plan
Warm-up activity: “What will you do?”
To introduce the lecture topic by presenting several scenarios to the students.
Part 1: Understanding morality
Group discussion: “What should Heinz do?”
Part 2: Frameworks for Moral Judgment
Part 3: Morality and leadership
Class activity: “The golden virtues of Confucius”
Part 4: Ways to promote moral development
Video viewing and sharing: “The story of star-fish”
Part 5: Conclusion
Required reading:
Dalton J, Crosby P. Being and having: shouldn’t excellence in higher education (and people) be a measure of what one does rather than what one has? J Coll Character 2007;9:1–5.
Ma HK. Moral competence as a positive youth development construct: a conceptual review. ScientificWorldJ 2012. doi:10.1100/2012/590163.
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