Integrating Care and Justice Issues in Professional Moral Education: A Gender Perspective

Abstract

Abstract This study examines gender differences in professional school students’ ethical sensitivity and moral reasoning, two aspects of Rest's four‐component model of moral development. Results indicate that men and women dental students differ in general sensitivity to ethical issues, but not in recognition of issues of care or justice, nor in moral reasoning. Our results contribute to a re‐interpretation of Gilligan's gender‐difference arguments, and suggest new directions for research in moral development.