Lawrence Kohlberg

Lawrence Kohlberg (1927-1987) was an American psychologist whose stage theory of moral development became one of the most influential frameworks in moral and character education. Building on Jean Piaget's account of children's cognitive growth, Kohlberg proposed six stages of moral reasoning grouped into pre-conventional, conventional and post-conventional levels, and argued that schools could deliberately promote development through structured discussion of moral dilemmas. He translated this research into classroom and institutional practice by co-designing Just Community schools, in which students and staff governed shared rules through democratic deliberation, treating the school itself as a site for moral growth rather than only academic instruction. He held professorships at the University of Chicago and at Harvard's Graduate School of Education, where his work shaped later approaches to civics and character-education curricula still used in schools today.