Background/theoretical framework
Lawrence Kohlberg's Theory of Moral Development is grounded in
Piaget's thinking on cognitive and moral development (Kohlberg,
1976, 1984). Individuals pass through moral stages one step at a time
and progress from the bottom to the top, from the concrete to the
abstract. The six moral stages in the theory are grouped into three
levels: 1) the preconventional level, 2) the conventional level and
3) the postconventional level. The preconventional moral level is
the level of most children under nine years. The conventional level
is the level of most adolescents and adults in the western society. The
postconventional level is reached after the age of 20 years and only by
a minority of adults (Kohlberg, 1976, 1984).