Jewish Moral Education and Character Education: A Comparison

Jewish education has often reflected on, and has been influenced by, secular approaches to moral education. Numerous Jewish scholars and educators have highlighted points of agreement or conflict between Jewish education and the two approaches that for more than twenty years have dominated the field of moral education, Value Clarification and Kohlberg's Cognitive Moral Development. The merit of incorporating these models into the Jewish classroom has been looked at extensively. (See, for example, Ackerman, 1972; Chazan, 1980; Elkins, 1976; Friedman, 1988; Hoffman, 1982; Rosenak, 1978, Rosensweig, 1977; Wahrman, 1981.)