Morality stories: How narratives define explanations of ethics

Narratives underpin thinking about ethics and definitions of morality and this is important for education. Theories of ethical development and therefore of education rest on definitions of what constitutes ‘morality’, and on assumptions about how this develops in the individual, under what social and educational conditions. These ‘theories’ are based in scholarly philosophy and psychology, but also permeate ordinary lay thinking and everyday meaning-making. Different theories of morality and moral development are constructed on different ethical narratives which frame explanations, goals and beliefs about the processes of development. Different definitions of morality imply different routes to development and therefore also education strategies. The paper explores three narratives that inform current moral psychology: morality as reasoning, morality as virtue and morality as intuition or emotion. The theoretical model derives from the work of Lev Vygotsky; the intersection and interconnectedness of individual, dialogic and cultural processes. While each can be a distinct focus of research, none can be understood without recognising how it is interwoven with the others.