No simple and easy to use self-report instrument has been found
that is suitable for use in the Scandinavian cultural context and
measures moral development according to the theory of Kohlberg.
There is a need for simple, culturally coherent screening instruments
in order to be able to study large groups of students or professionals.
The purpose of such an instrument is to evaluate, for example,
outcomes of ethics education among students in nursing and students
in other similar professional education programmes. It should also be
valuable for measuring moral development among practicing professionals
and adults in general. This article provides a cognitive
approach in developing such an instrument in the Norwegian
language for testing through quantitative evaluations. The testing
was conducted in four empirical steps among students in professional
education. The project started in 2001 and the data collection for the
last three empirical steps took place in 2003–2006.