This book provides a reconstruction of Aristotelian character education, shedding new light on what moral character really is, and how it can be highlighted, measured, nurtured and taught in current schooling. Arguing that many recent approaches to character education understand character in exclusively amoral, instrumentalist terms, Kristjánsson proposes a coherent, plausible and up-to-date concept, retaining the overall structure of Aristotelian character education. After discussing and debunking popular myths about Aristotelian character education, subsequent chapters focus on the practical ramifications and methodologies (...) of character education. These include measuring virtue and morality, asking whether Aristotelian character education can salvage the effects of bad upbringing, and considering implications for teacher training and classroom practice. The book rejuvenates time-honoured principles of the development of virtues in young people, at a time when 'character' features prominently in educational agendas and parental concerns over school education systems. Offering an interdisciplinary perspective which draws from the disciplines of education, psychology, philosophy and sociology, this book will appeal to researchers, academics and students wanting a greater insight into character education. (shrink)

We have introduced a common wisdom model to establish a shared language, clarify underlying theoretical assumptions, advance assessment tools, and foster evidence-based interventions for stimulating wisdom during challenging societal times. The common wisdom model synthesizes the views of numerous contemporary scientists working on wisdom and includes two components: perspectival meta-cognition and moral aspirations. Having received insightful commentaries on our model, here we consider the overall motivation for the model, address remaining jingle-jangle fallacies, clarify the meaning of morality for wisdom, and (...) expand upon the relationship between moral and meta-cognitive components within the common wisdom model. We reflect on how the common wisdom model provides a nexus for integrating insights across multiple areas of research, affording plentiful opportunities for future research into wisdom’s development, function, and underlying processes. We situate our reflections in the context of present-day pandemic-related uncertainties and unfolding societal shifts. (shrink)

What is character education? Why has it risen up the political agenda in the UK in recent years? And what does it mean in pedagogical practice? This book addresses these questions, challenging the individualistic and moralistic ideas underlying the clamour amongst politicians, educators and authors to promote ‘grit’, ‘resilience’ and ‘character’ in schools. Closely examining a range of teaching resources, the book shows that the development of character is wrongly presented as the solution to a wide variety of social problems, (...) with individual citizens expected to accommodate themselves to the realities of the contemporary economic context, rather than enhancing their capacities to engage in civic and political activities to bring about changes they wish to see. The book argues that there is a tried and tested alternative to character education, which is far more likely to strengthen British democracy, namely, citizenship education. (shrink)