Moral education in Taiwanese preschools: Importance,concepts and methods

Abstract

Early childhood is a period of rapid development and growth, and regardless of physical, psychological, and social abilities, young children at this stage have great plasticity and strong imitation ability. Childhood is a critical period for individual learning; so preschool teachers must provide young children with appropriate moral education at this time. This paper is to discuss the importance of moral education for young children in Taiwan, analyze the relevant literature, and review the teaching concepts and methods of moral education. Moral education of young children is important because the ultimate goal of early childhood education is to shape the character of young children; so its content must focus on moral education, which cultivates moral values in young children. Moral education also develops an understanding of empathy and social responsibility for young children. This paper argues that preschool teachers must (1) respect young children’s moral subjectivity; (2) understand that early childhood is a critical period in which moral behavior is shaped, and (3) organize young children’s moral teaching from the concrete to the abstract. In terms of the optimal teaching methods, this paper proposes that preschool teachers use: (1) moral storytelling, (2) instructional media, (3) picture books, (4) discussion of moral issues, (5) peer learning, (6) moral narratives, (7) modeling moral behavior, (8) incorporate young children’s life experience, and (9) invite young children’s parents to participate in moral education. This study contributes to the literature on early childhood moral education and provides an insight into the praxis of moral education for young children in Taiwan.

Introduction

Early childhood education is critical to the development of the individual. Most preschool teachers collaborate to benefit young children and improve pedagogy. For every subject, preschool teachers must clearly define what they intend to teach using text and conceptual definitions. Preschool teachers must be familiar with the teaching concepts and methods for a specific subject to ensure effective education in early childhood (Shih, 2020b).

Early childhood is a period of rapid development, and regardless of psychological and social abilities, young children have great plasticity and strong imitation ability. Early childhood is a critical period for individual learning; so preschool teachers must give young children appropriate moral education at this time. To ensure good moral education, preschool teachers must be familiar with the importance, teaching concepts, and methods of moral education to promote the moral development of young children (Shih, 2020b).

Moral education has been the subject of many studies in recent years, and there is a growing movement for holistic education and humanistic life-centered approaches, with an emphasis on spirituality in early childhood education (Ng, 2011). In Taiwan, numerous studies pertain to moral education for young children. These studies have explored preschoolers’ narrative elements and moral judgments of their own transgressions (Chou, 2014a), preschoolers’ ability to justify their moral emotional attribution and its relationship with children’s moral reasoning (Chou, 2014b), the effects of teaching through moral dilemma stories on the moral development of preschool children (Hsu, 2006), the integration of moral character education into the preschool curriculum (Hwang, 2012), the effect of characteristic education curriculum intervention on young children’s moral behavioral performance (Lo and Yeh, 2012), the praxis of moral education for young children from the perspective of moral affection (Shih, 2016), and love as the core of moral education (Shih, 2013). Interview methods have been used to understand curriculum design and teaching methods of moral education for young children (Su, 2006).

The key findings and theoretical/empirical contributions of this study give a better understanding of the concepts and teaching methods of young children’s moral education. This paper compliments the existing literature on the concepts and teaching methods for young children’s moral education. Philosophy as a method (Tesar, 2021) uses a documentary analysis of a philosophical approach to extract the required information by analyzing literature, and gives as objective and systematic description of the literature (Yang, 1989). This paper analyzes the literature that is related to the moral education of young children and explores the importance, teaching concepts, and methods of moral education in Taiwanese preschools. This empirical research will be the subject of future research. This paper only uses the documentary analysis method (Shih, 2020a).

The meaning of moral education of young children

Helping young children to acquire a set of beliefs and values regarding what is right and wrong

Humanity without morality is like knowledge without character; so moral lessons must be taught to young children. Moral education in early childhood prepares children for the future and forms young children’s characteristics (Zulfani Sesmiarni, 2019). Moral education for young children can be defined as helping young children to acquire a set of beliefs and values regarding what is right and wrong. This set of beliefs guides their intentions, attitudes, and behaviors toward others and their environment. Moral education for young children enables them to understand what good deeds are, so that they can enact good deeds toward others and their environment and become people with a sound moral disposition. Young children’s moral cognition or judgment is also improved, and the tendency and habits to do good are developed (Halstead, 2015; Ouyang, 1985).

In “De-moralizing Education,” Mendus (1998) notes that “moral education” is still necessary, because society is a network of people, so people still need norms of ethics. Mendus noted that the purpose of moral education is no longer just to convey moral knowledge, but to convey a sense of moral responsibility. The sense of responsibility is an individual’s fulfillment of an obligation; so the moral education of young children must teach responsibility for one’s actions to shape a sense of moral responsibility in Taiwanese young children.

Moral education in Taiwan’s Early Childhood Education and Care Curriculum Framework

There is an increase in the number of moral issues in Taiwan (Ye and Shih, 2020), and moral issues are an important element of the Taiwanese preschool curriculum. The goal of moral education in Taiwanese Early Childhood Education and Care Curriculum Framework is to help young children to develop an ethical framework or a sense of morality. The policy focuses on helping young children to establish close connections with themselves, others, and the surrounding environment. Society is a network of interpersonal interactions and individuals construct norms and value systems by actively engaging in society. Young children engage in interpersonal exchanges and interactive experiences within their environment to learn the values, beliefs, and actions of their culture (Ministry of Education, 2017).

The social field in Taiwan’s Early Childhood Education and Care Curriculum Framework focuses on helping young children to connect with themselves, others, and the surrounding environment. Through interpersonal interactions and life experience, young children increase their awareness, learn to reflect on their needs and those of others, and develop an attitude of loving others and cherishing that which nurtures their morality (Ministry of Education, 2017). In a rich cultural environment, young children develop multiple perspectives and interact with individuals of different ages, socioeconomic conditions, and ethnic backgrounds and treat each other as equals, live in harmony, and pursue the common ends of man and nature (Ministry of Education, 2017). This nurtures moral values in young children and develops an understanding of empathy and social responsibility for young children.

The importance of moral education of young children

Moral issues are an element of every life. Morality is also an element of human existence. Moral issues are closely related to people. People are the subjects of education, and moral issues are closely related to peoples. So moral education is a concern for society, parents, and school teachers. Studies (Betawi, 2018; Crosser, 2015; Hernik Farisia, 2020; Jana, 2020; Johansson et al., 2011; Schinkel et al., 2016; Shih, 2020c; Stengel, 1982; Wilson, 2020) show the importance of moral education of young children.

One dimension of the goal of early childhood education

Young children internalize family values from the age of three to five. The goal of ancient Greek education was to shape the morality of children. Aristotle posited that one cannot live without culture, language, or values, and Rousseau elaborated on the idea that children are born morally good and must only be given the space for spontaneous self-expression. Other studies show that children have the potential for both good and bad behavior, but they do not have the ability to make accurate moral judgments, so fundamental values and moral integrity must be taught and then internalized until they become a habitual part of the child’s character (Betawi, 2018; Jana, 2020). “Shaping character of young children” is one dimension of the goal of early childhood education.

Content of early childhood education

That moral progress is possible is a foundational assumption of moral education. Scholars generally agree that moral progress is not only possible but is also a common feature of human development (Schinkel et al., 2016). Morality is defined as an action that conforms to socially determined standards of correct behavior. Moral education that is based on this framework involves identifying correct behaviors and then teaching children to act accordingly, either through rewarding, punishing, modeling, lecturing, or a combination of these. Some philosophers assert that morality involves more than a prescribed action. The correct action must be freely chosen, must be based on reasons that consider the interests of others, and must be accompanied by appropriate feelings or attitudes. Moral education that is derived from this viewpoint involves exposing children to a variety of moral codes, from which they select one (Stengel, 1982).

In the field of early childhood moral education, preschool teachers must allow young children to make their own decisions, have their own will, to be unrestrained or oppressed by external forces, and to act according to their own will. Preschool teachers must respect the freedom of children and must not violate this freedom. Young children must also be taught to respect the freedom of other peers and not to violate the freedom of other children. Teachers and children are responsible for maintaining the freedom of moral choice (Shih and Wu, 2007).

Morality requires thinking, feeling, and acting. The elements of morality comprise how an individual feels, acts, and thinks about good and bad. Schools are seen as institutions that prepare children for life, both academically and as moral agents in society. To become capable, moral citizens, children must be provided with opportunities to learn moral values. The Greek philosopher Aristotle advocated that the content of education must focus on moral, intellectual, and physical education and supported the importance of morality in educational content. This paper proposes that the content of early childhood education must focus on moral education (Crosser, 2015; Johansson et al., 2011).

Nurturing moral values in young children

Moral education is closely related to human development, especially during preschool education, so the educational content of early childhood education must include moral education. Moral education for young children refers to teaching that develops moral awareness, reasoning, and understanding behaviors in young children. Early childhood education has a vital role in nurturing moral values in young children. During this period, young children learn effectively because their brains are developing quickly (Hernik Farisia, 2020). Early childhood education must also address the moral development of the child, especially the caring and compassion aspects of morality, which can nurture moral values in young children (Wilson, 2020).

Moral education can develop an understanding of empathy and social responsibility for young children

Humans are by nature learning individuals (Shih, 2020c). Young children have the potential to learn, and they must learn and develop an understanding of empathy and social responsibility. They study reading, writing, mathematics, history, and geography, but if they are not taught to be caring and compassionate, they cannot fulfil their potential or achieve satisfaction in their lives. Therefore, moral education for young children is a highly valuable education unit for preschool teachers because moral education develops an understanding of empathy and social responsibility for young children (Wilson, 2020).

Teaching concepts for the moral education of young children

Studies (Dembo, 1981; Hwang, 2012; Hábl, 2017; Li, 1999; Liu, 1999; Papalia et al., 1999; Shih, 2016; Shih and Wu, 2007; Tesar et al., 2019) show that the teaching concepts for the moral education of young children are the following:

Respecting moral subjectivity

Indoctrination is a failure in the development of normal autonomy. Indoctrination is an important issue in moral education. Traditional moral teaching often uses indoctrination. Teachers directly teach moral values to young children and encourage them to internalize these values. This style of education often uses the teaching method of narration. Narration allows young children to memorize material mechanically, without a need for creativity. This teaching method treats young children as containers that teachers fill with knowledge. This traditional moral teaching often involves a lack of respect for the subjectivity of young children. A humane preschool teacher must use various methods to educate and guide young children during moral teaching while respecting their moral subjectivity and refraining from compelling them to comply. Moral education must avoid indoctrination (Hábl, 2017; Tesar et al., 2019). Hwang’s study noted that good interactions enhance the effectiveness of moral education (Hwang, 2012). Teachers must respect young children’s needs and autonomy in the teacher–student interaction, acknowledging that young children are living individuals

Shaping moral behavior in early childhood

In the life cycle of an individual, early childhood is a crucial phase. Many development theories and studies note that experiences during this period have a critical effect on life-long behavior, attitudes, and values (Papalia et al., 1999). Physical and mental development and the rate of learning are faster in early childhood than during other periods and plasticity and imitation skills are at their most acute. Early childhood is the initial stage when individual moral behavior begins to take shape (Liu, 1999). Shih’s study notes that teachers must understand that early childhood is a critical period for moral education and shaping moral behavior (Shih, 2016).

The critical period refers to specific phases in the process of individual development that are crucial for the development of particular body organs, psychological characteristics, and behaviors. During the critical period, if an individual has a favorable environment, appropriate stimulation, and adequate development opportunities, normal development is promoted. If an unfavorable environment or an unfortunate accident deprives children of the opportunity to receive stimulation or training and development, future development may be inhibited.

This period is critical in terms of the timing of learning. During specific periods in the development process, learning is easier and optimal results require less effort. When the critical period passes, learning difficulties can increase and lack of success can lead to a lack of interest (Papalia et al., 1999).

Effectively organize young children’s moral teaching from the concrete to the abstract

Aristotle wrote that knowledge must have levels, be both concrete and abstract and be taught to students step by step through sensory experiences. Aristotle also noted that the establishment of knowledge must be based on the value of experience, with actual connotations that are not attributable to speculation. Any understanding begins with a sensory experience and proceeds to abstract speculation. The Swiss psychologist Piaget noted that the thought process is a gradual progression from the concrete to the abstract (Dembo, 1981). The ideas of Aristotle and Piaget reinforce the value of order in children’s moral teaching, with a progression from the concrete to the abstract. Shih and Wu’s study notes that teachers must effectively organize young children’s moral teaching from the concrete to the abstract (Shih and Wu, 2007).

The concept of patriotism is highly abstract for young children, and they must first be taught love for the people, things, and life immediately around them. From that foundation, the scope is gradually expanded. From their love of their families and teachers, love may be cultivated for their preschool and hometown, and from there to love of their society and country (Li, 1999). Ordering children’s moral teaching from the concrete to the abstract is necessary to promote understanding. Teachers must push children to the next level of moral development when teaching children morals. However, young children also need the opportunity to associate with peers at the next stage of moral development. Teachers must mix and group young children for learning.

Teaching methods for the moral education of young children

The literature review (Barnes, 1969; Berndt and Perry, 1986; Chou, 2014a; Cline, 2015; Freire, 1997, 2000; Hwang, 2012; McKenna, 2018; NSF, 2021; Rahiema et al., 2012; Rizzo, 1989; Parker, 1969; Saracho and Spodek, 1997; Scott, 1998; Shan, 2001; Shih, 2013, 2020a; Smith, 1993; Smith, 2010; Snow, 1987; Wu et al., 2010) identifies the following teaching methods for the moral education for young children to cultivate moral literacy:

Moral storytelling

Numerous strategies can be used to morally educate a child. Stories with moral lessons can be used to elicit favorable behavior and to discourage unfavorable behavior (Rahiema et al., 2012). A story amuses children and reinforces memories for young children (Shih, 2020a). Parker (1969) noted that children prefer fairy tales, which take place in beautiful and invisible worlds that children can create using their own imaginations. For young children, listening to stories is often a favorite activity. A story provides young children with the space to be creative, and the diverse plots of young children’s stories encourage them to learn.

Educators who seek to institute moral education can use stories. Studies show that stories work on the unconscious to facilitate a child’s organization of the world, provide various experiences, and increase empathetic understanding (Smith, 1993). Interesting stories have a powerful effect. An effective preschool teacher must understand students’ interests and design learning activities accordingly (Saracho and Spodek, 1997). Teachers must also integrate moral issues into the context of a story and design learning activities that utilize moral dilemma story teaching to facilitate the moral development of young children. This method is called moral storytelling teaching for young children.

Instructional media

The use of instructional media is a traditional teacher-centric approach wherein information is transmitted to the learner. Media allow the instructor to facilitate the transfer of expert knowledge to novice learners. Instructors can also create their own media to efficiently convey knowledge (NSF, 2021).

The use of media is increasingly important in the teaching/learning process. Educators no longer assume that the essential ingredients for education are simply the teacher and the curriculum guide (Barnes, 1969). New technologies increase students’ opportunities to experience the world. Video media have developed rapidly, and the concreteness, vividness, and practicality of the media attract children. The use of instructional media provides vicarious life experience, expands the field of life experience, establishes a connection or conversion bridge between abstract symbols and concrete experience, and provides a multi-channel, multi-sensory learning environment (Scott, 1998; Shan, 2001).

Instructional media provide a multi-sensory learning environment that young children find appealing. Preschool teachers must allow young children to watch instructional media that is related to moral issues, such as TV or movies. Instructional media allow young children to understand the moral issues within a film, and after watching, young children must be encouraged to express their views on the moral questions that are presented in the film.

Picture books

Picture books remain a key source of learning for young children. Picture books foster interactive communication between pupil, teacher, and peers, which can prompt natural discussions on culture, ethnicity, society, and moral issues (McKenna, 2018).

The images reinforce the written content and enrich the story in a visual form so that the reader can envision the development of the story, which inspires imaginative activity. Teaching using picture books stimulates compassion in young children for other people. When young children try to understand the feelings of the characters in a picture book, they develop empathy, and when an unfortunate encounter occurs in the story, the character’s suffering can foster sympathy and caring in a young audience (Shih, 2020a; Shih et al., 2020). Cultivating compassion is the purpose of moral education for young children, and preschool teachers can teach moral values using picture books. Su’s study notes that preschools should use picture books to promote young children’s moral development (Su, 2006).

Discussion of moral issues

Children are governed by hegemonic discourses in any ideological setting (Tesar, 2014). The Brazilian educator Freire (1997) contended that teachers and students are conscious subjects in the context of the external world, so both teachers and students must be thinking agents. Students should not be governed by hegemonic discourses in any ideological setting. However, in moral teaching activities for young children, preschool teachers rarely consider moral issues from the perspective of the children themselves while teaching and disciplining young children in morals. Preschool teachers must recognize that young children are also thinking agents.

One of the most difficult elements in teaching morals is that no single correct answer exists to moral questions. Morals vary depending on cultural and personal priorities, so preschool teachers must take the lead in the task of moral education. Teaching young children to exercise their own moral reasoning can prove invaluable to their development. Preschool teachers must ask moral questions that young children can answer freely and use teacher–student dialogue to enable young children to express their own opinions on moral issues.

Dialogue is a human encounter that is mediated by the world in order to name the world so dialogue cannot occur between those who want to name the world and those who do not participate in its naming. Each person has a right to speak and a right to name the world in dialogue. Dialogue cannot be the act of one person depositing ideas in another, nor can it become a simple exchange of ideas to be consumed by participants in a discussion. Dialogue cannot become the act of domination: it must challenge domination (Freire, 2000). Shih’s study notes that preschool teachers only tell young children the reason, and young children seldom think about or discuss moral issues so moral education of young children becomes ineffective (Shih and Wu, 2007).

Peer learning

Accounts of how children learn and develop emphasize the importance of peer interactions. Children are active participants in the learning process who are closely connected to other children. Early childhood settings provide young children with numerous opportunities to closely interact with their peers (Smith, 2010).

Young children do not develop in isolation. Their interactions with peer groups play a valuable role in their moral development. Young children spend a large portion of their waking hours in preschool, so these institutions have an impact on young children’s moral development. From the perspective of education and psychology, early childhood is a critical period for moral development, and behavioral habits are mostly formed during this period because young children are highly plastic. Favorable moral behavior begins with group education in preschool to improve young children’s interpersonal interactions (Hwang, 2012).

Studies (Berndt and Perry, 1986; Rizzo, 1989) show that children’s peer relationships affect their development and learning. In the process of peer learning and interaction, young children’s moral behavior is shaped. Young children demonstrate an understanding of moral behavior when they respect others and do not interfere with other children’s activities. Humans are social animals and can adjust their own moral behavior in interactions with others. This intrinsic flexibility means that teachers must use peer learning to promote moral behavior in young children.

Moral narratives

To understand the role of morality in young children’s lives, studies analyze young children’s daily corpora and show that young children’s moral-related conversations appear very early. Two-year-old children already have conversations about family rules and obligations. The behavior of siblings and peers is an important element of young children’s moral thinking. Young children often talk about the behavior of peers or siblings to their parents to gain the parents’ support in the hope that moral rules will be implemented according to their understanding. Studies analyze young children’s long-term corpora to understand how young children verbally express their moral thinking. Snow (1987) analyzed the corpus of a young child and found that young children use “good” or “bad” to evaluate the behaviors of others. In conversation, young children talk about the behavior and character of others and give moral evaluations. They also talk about personal emotions and the needs of victims. Therefore, preschool teachers must encourage young children to participate in moral narratives (Chou, 2014a).

Modeling moral behavior

The curriculum model for young children’s moral education encourages young children to actively learn and freely explore the learning environment. The curriculum must be diverse, open, and informal. Teaching must be based on the learning environment, with a particular emphasis on the teacher’s example. For the moral education of young children, the demonstrations of teachers are crucial.

Preschool teachers must lead by example in the teaching of moral education by modeling sharing, caring, communicating, and listening behaviors. If adults exhibit a lack of care for the people and things around them, children can struggle to become caring individuals because of contradictory demonstrations from influential adults. Preschool teachers must teach by example (Shih, 2013). Lo and Yeh’s study notes that preschool teachers must lead by example in the teaching of moral education to young children. Preschool teachers’ behavior and language affect the development of young children’s behavior (Lo and Yeh, 2012).

Incorporate young children’s life experience

The Taiwanese Early Childhood Education and Care Curriculum Framework emphasizes that teachers’ teaching must incorporate children’s life experience. Early childhood education is the foundation of all stages of education. Preschools must cooperate closely with families and communities to enhance young children’s ethical concepts. Young children’s environment includes family, preschool, and the community environment in which they live, and each environment is an important learning source that allows young children to expand their life experience. Through observation and participation, young children learn the value norms in their environment. Therefore, preschool teachers must perceive and recognize the cultural activities in the children’s environment and incorporate these in the preschool’s moral curriculum. Wu, Hsu, and Hwang’s study notes that incorporating young children’s life experience increases the effectiveness of moral education (Wu, et al., 2010).

Invite parents to participate in moral education

Many parents agree with and support the preschool educational philosophy and are willing to participate in various preschool activities, which is helpful for young children’s learning. Young children are more engaged in class when their families are involved in the education process. Preschool principals also note that parents visiting the school to observing how the teachers instruct young children and who participate in preschool activities benefits the moral development of young children (Early childhood school specialty 2017).

The parent–child relationships play a critical role in shaping the character of young children. Parents have a significant influence in young children’s lives (Cline, 2015). Lo and Yeh’s study notes that parental participation in the moral education of young children increases the effectiveness of moral education (Lo and Yeh, 2012); so preschool teachers must invite parents to participate in the moral education of their young children to increase the effectiveness of that moral education.

Reflections and conclusion

Reflections

Learning is not limited to an educational venue, and the fundamental topics of learning extend to matters in both society and the workplace. Education, particularly moral education, is essential because it encourages children to become active participants in public affairs (Shih, 2019) and good citizens in the future. Moral education is a substantial part of the preschool curriculum in many countries, and educators focus on the moral development of young children (Julia1 et al., 2020). Moral education in schools must be implemented from early childhood. However, some studies note that young children learn morals on their own or that preschool is too early for children to be learning about moral values and ideas. This paper contends that it is imperative to teach young children values at a young age so that moral dispositions become a part of their personality as they grow. Moral values must be instilled in young children from the beginning (Shih and Wu, 2007).

Morals play a major role in building young children’s personalities and in shaping their lives. Moral education also allows students to develop and reflect upon their values and to develop their capacity for moral judgment. Through appreciation of the value of each individual in a diverse society, moral education engenders responsible attitudes toward other people and counteracts prejudice and intolerance as children learn to consider issues such as sectarianism and discrimination more broadly (Mrunal, 2019).

The author contends that the process of young children’s moral development includes moral cognition, affection, and behavior. Moral affection education in young children cultivates good citizens. However, moral affection is not inherent in young children; so this quality must be developed gradually. Young children must be taught moral affection in daily life to promote continuous development (Shih, 2016).

In terms of moral development or education, the basic affection of people is often ignored. It is naively believed that moral sentiments are the product of moral cognition, and the development of moral affection is separated from the world in which individuals live. Young children must be encouraged to construct their morality from their daily life experiences. The affective aspect of young children as living individuals is important, and moral education should not involve preaching a moral dogma of discipline: it should involve an exploration of the origin of human virtue. Basic affection can then be used to support young children’s moral development, including displays of love and kindness. A comprehensive moral education for young children must focus on the teaching of moral cognition and of moral affection (Shih, 2016; Zulfani Sesmiarni, 2019).

Conclusion

Education is the foundation of a nation and the driving force behind social progress and development. It is an important cornerstone of national competition. Education seeks to cultivate moral individuals who live lives of value and meaning and who have spiritual values (Shih, 2020a; Shih et al., 2020). Each child has a human right to a spiritual voice (because he/she matters), so the whole child (and person) and spiritual practices are important (Lee, 2021). In practice, the mass media, religious communities, cultures, youth, peer groups, volunteer organizations, families, and especially education have a significant influence on moral building (Badeni Badeni and Sri Saparahayuningsih, 2021).

Taiwan’s Early Childhood Education and Care Curriculum Framework is based on the concept of benevolent education and promotes a culture of filial piety that encourages young children to love others, care for themselves, and care for the environment. This framework emphasizes communication and reason as part of the moral development of young children (Ministry of Education, 2017).

Moral education is a valuable element of early childhood education in Taiwan. So this paper proposes that when teaching morality to young children, preschool teachers must (1) respect young children’s moral subjectivity, (2) understand that early childhood is a critical period in which moral behavior is shaped, and (3) effectively organize young children’s moral teaching from the concrete to the abstract. This study also proposes that preschool teachers should use (1) moral storytelling, (2) instructional media, (3) picture books, (4) discussion of moral issues, (5) peer learning, (6) moral narratives, (7) modeling moral behavior, (8) combine young children’s life experience, and (9) invite parents to participate in the moral education of their children. The results of this study should serve as a guideline for preschool teachers who are engaged in the moral education of young children.

The development of morality and values in young children is an important issue for those who are involved in education and for society in general. Spirituality is noted as being beneficial in nurturing young children’s compassion and awareness of self, others, and the outer world and in developing their own morality and values (Tseng and Liu, 2012). This paper demonstrates the importance of moral education for young children and the concept of moral education and the teaching methods that are effective in the moral education of young children. These methods develop morality and values in young children and develop an understanding of empathy, compassion, and social responsibility. In addition, we also hope that Taiwanese young children can be full of morality, moral disposition, and a sense of moral responsibility in their future.