The UIC College of Education offers a doctoral concentration in the field of moral development and moral aspects of education through the Ph.D. in Educational Psychology. Primary faculty in the concentration are Professor Larry Nucci, Professor Teresa Thorkildsen, and Associate Professor Stacey Horn. Affiliated faculty include Roger Weissberg in the Department of Psychology and Donald Hellison in the College of Education and School of Social Work.

Students in the doctoral program in Educational Psychology develop expertise in the nature of children’s cognitive and social development, and psychological factors which contribute to children’s success on schools.

Students who focus on the issue of moral development and education participate in the concentration in Social and Moral Development and Education. Coursework and research projects (with their major advisor) develop their expertise in the area of sociomoral development and education. This includes such issues as the integration of moral and social values education within the academic curriculum, appropriate and effective methods of classroom management and student discipline compatible with student moral growth, parent-child relations and children’s moral development and personal autonomy, cultural factors in moral and social growth, the assessment of social and moral development. Dissertation research focuses upon issues of moral development, character formation, and education.

Information may be obtained from the Educational Psychology web site, or by contacting Ms. Veronica Manning, or Professor Larry Nucci. Selection into the program is based on a combination of the student’s academic credentials, and compatibility between the student’s research interests and faculty expertise. Faculty descriptions are available from links in the Educational Psychology web site.

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