Albus Dumbledore
Elvi Helgesen (English)
Albus Dumbledore, headmaster of values : value formation in Harry Potter
A central theme in J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series is the mentor/student relationship between Headmaster Dumbledore and Harry, a relationship standing in a long tradition of mentors and students. including: Socrates and Plato, Mentor and Telemachus, Jesus and John the beloved and Arthur and Merlin. When examining the mentor/student relationship in the last three books in the series, The goblet of fire, The order of the phoenix and The half-blood prince, a picture emerges of a headmaster more concerned about why his students behave as t hey do than the behavior itself. We also see a headmaster exemplifying moral conduct on Kohlberg's postconventional level, promoting mainstream and positive Judeo-Christian values such as self sacrifice; the necessity of fighting; loving your neighbors; and evil as the result of your own choices and an understanding of evil as the result of choice.