Aguirre, Melissa

CNL-518 Topic 4: The Six Stages of Kohlberg

Scenario: A female adolescent's parents place a low priority on the value of education. In fact,
they prefer that she care for younger siblings instead of studying or completing a high school
education. It is March. To avoid caring for her younger siblings, she has made up a story that she
has mandatory in-school suspension (ISS) for the rest of the school year. Her hope is that she can
be able to participate in school activities and pursue her educational dreams.

Directions: Read the scenario listed above. Complete all sections of the matrix provided below
from the perspective of an individual in each of the six stages of Kohlberg’s theory of moral
development and the information from the provided scenario. Use complete sentences and
include proper scholarly citations for any sources used.

Level 1: Preconventional Morality

Stage Adolescent’s Perspective Rationale for your Responses

Parents are expected to know

from what is right and wrong and
send her daughter to school so
she can have a better future (Kail
The student made up a story in & Cavanaugh,2019). The
hopes that her parents send her to students goal is to graduate and
school to finish her assignments go to college, but she knows that
Stage 1: Obedience and study in order to graduate and id she goes to school and says she
and Punishment go to college. She thinks that if has in school suspension she is
Orientation she tells her parents the truth, then more likely to get away with
they will be upset with her since studying than telling her parents
she should be taking care of her the truth. The student is trying to
siblings. obey the rules of home and
school, in order to avoid a
punishment from home and then
suffering the consequences of bad
grades.

The student knows what she Knowing that her parents do not
Stage 2: Instrumental needs in order to graduate. She want her to go to school and give
Relativist also knows that if she takes no importance to education, she
Orientation/Exchange advantage of in school suspension uses in school suspension, but
of Favors she can focus on her studies and after in school suspension she can
not taking care of her siblings. mention that she can stay home

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 Stage Adolescent’s Perspective
After she is done then she would
not mind watching over her
siblings.
The student knows what she
Stage 3: Conventional needs to go to school and
Level/Good Boy or graduate to be able to go to
Girl college. She also wants her
parents’ approval.
The student wants to do both
please her parents but also do
Stage 4: Maintaining
well in school. She is looking for
the Social Order
solutions to study and taking care
of her siblings.
The student understands that she
has to go against her parents’
wishes in order to do well in
Stage 5: Social
school. If she doesn’t attend in
Contract and
school suspension, she may not
Individual Rights
be able to meet the requirements
for school in order to graduate
and otain a future.
The student will go against what
Stage 6: Universal her parents want because she
Principles knows that even though lying
might not be okay, her goals are
© 2022. Grand Canyon University. All Rights Reserved.
Rationale for your Responses
and watch her siblings. This way
the adolescent is looking out for
their own needs ( Kail &
Cavanaugh,2019). She is nice to
her parents as she mentions in
school suspension and mentions
she will watch her siblings after
as a favor in return.
The student very clearly wants to
succeed. She doesn’t just want to
succeed in school but as she
looks for her parents’ approval,
she meets their needs in order to
receive it. She also understands
that by studying she will be seen
as a good girl and meet the
requirements for graduation.
The student respects authority
which is her parents and follows
the rules of graduation and
school. However, she makes sure
he doesn’t want her parents to get
into trouble as the school and the
law has expectations.
If the adolescent doesn’t attend in
school suspension, she could be
in danger of not graduating. The
student knows that her parents
won’t be happy about it but she
doesn’t do it then she will not
complete the requirements to
graduate, as the student likes
following rules
The student knows that although
her parents do not care about her
education, she deserves to have
the opportunity ot have one and
 Stage Adolescent’s Perspective Rationale for your Responses

in the right place. She knows that succeed. Although they are more
in order to graduate she needs to concerned about her taking care
study and finish her work, which of her siblings, she knows she has
will do her right by her future. to do what is most beneficial.

References

Kail, R. V., & Cavanaugh, J. C. (2016). Human development: a life span view (7th ed.). Cengage
Learning.

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