This article intends to investigate the characterization of "the fundamental educational error" based on the moral distinction between duty and aspiration. One hundred and twenty children from pre-school and from the fourth grade of elementary school, from both sexes and different social classes participated. As an instrument of analysis, six histories, two from the moral, two from the pro-social and two from the academic domain were used. The analysis was done for predictions of "teachers' reactions" in relation to transgressors and fulfillers of the norms as well as for the "the emotional reactions of the transgressors". Results obtained showed a significant difference by age and sex in responses predicting "teachers' reaction" related to the prosocial and academic domains. In analyzing the "emotional reaction of the transgressors" it was possible to verify that age significantly influenced the answers in the prosocial domain. Finally the theoretical and educational implications of the results are discussed.
