The increase in ecological problems and social and moral conflicts has brought character and value education to the agenda in the 21st century. Socioscientific issues (SSI) that concern society and address ethical and moral issues are recommended as appropriate content to develop character and values within science education. In this systematic…

The article discusses the importance of quantitative empirical character assessment for better understanding the formation of character and for promoting virtue and thereby also human flourishing. Attention is given to a number of challenges in developing character survey items along with criteria for evaluating items and examples of successes and…

In the first 20 years of the 21st century, research on morality grew exponentially in social sciences and related fields. A corresponding upsurge in the field of moral education has not been observed. It appears that there is a widening gap between the science of morality and the field of moral education, which once were closely interconnected…

The purpose of this study was to investigate students' perceptions of their learning experience through engagement in an active learning strategy termed "deliberative activity," designed to foster the development of moral reasoning. This strategy was implemented in an elective ethics course within a higher education setting. To evaluate…

In the context of an increasingly interconnected world, the incorporation of humanistic approaches in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) and English as a Second Language (ESL) classrooms proves essential for fostering a positive and inclusive learning environment. This narrative review explores the significant positive impacts of humanistic…

In this essay Dustin Webster argues that it is not the teaching of academics, but instead contributing to the ethical development of students that allows teachers to flourish in their roles. Engaging in what he calls "ethics education" provides intrinsic value that serves a teacher's flourishing as well as adding instrumental value in…

In Sweden, ethics education occupies a prominent position in the curriculum, both in the general, introductory sections and as a part of the subject religious education. The aim of this article is to investigate teachers' insights regarding ethics education and to contribute knowledge about opportunities and challenges with ethics education, by…

When I was invited to edit a special issue of "Education Sciences" on the theme of "Moral education and identity", I saw an opportunity both to gain a better understanding of how scholars across a range of disciplines construed the task of moral education in terms of identity and--I can now confess--to defend the claim that…

This paper takes issue with the exemplarist strategy of fostering virtue development with the specific goal of improving its applicability in the context of education. I argue that, for what matters educationally, we have good reasons to endorse a "liberal" account of moral exemplarity. Specifically, I challenge two key assumptions of…

The centrality of learners and their learning in contemporary educational discourse and practice, seems to suggest that the self of the student should be at the heart of the educational endeavour. This is not just an educational programme, but actually an expression of a particular way of thinking about human beings and their position in the…

This article explores the role of educators in our current environment, where truth and truthfulness must fight their corner in a world of 'alternative facts'. The article opens with a review of the effects of the 24/7 news cycle on our sense of the overall well-being of the world, then discusses the meaning of moral identity and questions whether…

Iris Murdoch's famous case of M and D illustrates the moral importance of learning to see others in a more favourable light through renewed attention. Yet if we do not read this case in the wider context of Murdoch's work, we are liable to overlook the attitudes and transformations involved in coming to change one's mind as M does. Stanley Cavell…

In this paper I lay out the bare bones of my conception of practical reasoning, which I understand as similar in all relevant respects to theoretical reasoning except that (as it is put) the conclusion of practical reasoning is either action or intention, while the conclusion of theoretical reasoning is belief. I then turn to ask how, on this…

Self-Determination Theory (SDT) is an empirically based organismic theory of human motivation, development, and well-being that shares many points of interest with the fields of moral development and moral education. Yet, SDT has been largely disconnected from these fields so far. How can we define and empirically assess autonomous moral…

While Spinoza stipulates an ideal moral person in the propositions on the 'free man' in "Ethics" IV, this account does not seem to be intended to function as a pedagogical tool of political relevance. Hence, it does not seem to correspond to the purpose of moral exemplarism. If we look for that kind of practical guidance, Spinoza's…