Moral reasoning of children with a severe socialisation deviation and their relation to important social norms

This text presents the partial results of a research project entitled An Analysis of the Teleological Aspects of Substitute Care Facilities and their Impact on the Value System of Children with a Severe Socialisation Deviation. The aim of the research was to assess the state of children’s personality cultivation in the area of moral development when placed in substitute care (facilities for individuals with a diagnosis of behaviour disorder). The focus of the project were children who have problems complying with important social rules at some point during their development. The level of their problems escalated up to the point of removal from the family. In this case the Czech school system offers the possibility of using alternative educational strategies implemented at special educational institutions. In the context of our research the question also remained to what extent these institutions were prepared to effectively fulfil their social obligation. An important motive for the design of this research was the current situation within society, where the system of educational facilities used to perform mandated institutional care and protective custody in the Czech Republic was subjected to different often controversial interventions in the recent years (in the opinion of experts working in this segment of educational activities). The system has undergone several rather awkward attempts to improve the work with children diagnosed with behaviour disorder. The following text is an interpretation of significant partial findings based on collected data.