Putting emotion into the self: a response to the 2008 Journal of Moral Education Special Issue on moral functioning

This paper takes as its starting point the Journal of Moral Education Special Issue (September, 2008, 37[3]) ‘Towards an integrated model of moral reasoning’. Although explicitly post‐Kohlbergian, the authors in this Special Issue do not, I argue, depart far enough from Kohlberg’s impoverished notion of the role of the affective in moral life—or when they do so depart, they incorporate emotions as mere intuitive thrusts in an essentially polarised two‐system view of the moral self. Prior to that complaint, I sketch an account of two contrasting self‐paradigms: a ‘dominant’ cognitive, anti‐realist (constructivist) paradigm and an ‘alternative’ realist and emotion‐based one. I explore the implications of the latter paradigm, which I endorse, for our understanding of the ‘emotional self’: a self imbued with and constituted by (potentially rationally grounded) emotions. I finally contrast that understanding with the one permeating the Special Issue and elicit some educational implications of the alternative paradigm.     

Unfinished Agenda: a Comment on the Special JME Issue on the Relationship of ME and RE

Abstract

This article takes a critical look at the contents of the previous edition of The Journal of Moral Education, noting the points of agreement and the divergencies in the six essays it contains. Unresolved issues in the debate about the relationship of moral education and religious education are identified and matters which require further investigation and discussion are tabulated.     

Complex Systems Approaches to Educational Research: Introduction to the Special Issue

Abstract

To explore the movement toward increased complex systems (CS) research in education, this special issue of the Journal of Experimental Education was developed to identify some under-examined places where CS approaches have advanced research. The articles provide empirical examples of research leveraging methods and analyses from complexity science. In this introduction article to the special issue, we discuss the authors’ contributions to defining and explicating concepts and methods that fall under the umbrella of CS perspectives and how these methods were used to investigate complex processes in their topics of study. The articles capture the goal of the special issue to demonstrate how the research questions framed by CS assumptions can change our expectations about the very nature of the processes under study in education. We then take a more global perspective and acknowledge the commonalities amongst the papers, including (a) the reliance on intensive data to answer research questions, and (b) the use of dynamic approaches that yield findings about the stability and change of these systems and phenomena.     

International development,disability, and education: Towards a capabilities-focused discourse and praxis

This exploratory study seeks to identify ways in which the international development community (IDC) can contribute to improved educational provision for young people with disabilities in low income countries. The discourse and praxis often adopted by IDC in this field are critiqued in the light of development realities and the principle that education systems should develop the diverse potentials of all students. It is concluded that IDC needs to adopt a new, ‘capabilities-focused’ discourse-praxis that is person-centred and context-sensitive – although it is acknowledged that there are significant obstacles to (as well as opportunities for) the adoption of this discourse-praxis.     

Vygotsky and moral education: A response to and expansion of Tappan

Despite increasing studies and applications of Vygotsky’s theory of learning and development, little has been written connecting Vygotsky specifically to moral education. The most comprehensive attempt at formulating such an account is given by Mark Tappan. I critically evaluate Tappan’s account before raising several problems for his approach. I then offer suggestions for resolving these issues by turning to research in socialization theory and recommending additional sociocultural artifacts that can supplement moral education.     

Christian religious education and the development of moral virtues: a neo-Thomistic approach

ABSTRACT

This article explores the implications for Christian religious education of the theory of moral virtues formulated by Thomas Aquinas and developed by the contemporary Neo-Thomists. The analysis is divided into two parts. The first part introduces Thomistic virtue theory and presents cardinal virtues crucial for Thomistic ethics: prudence, justice, temperance and fortitude, as the reference points for moral education. This part also includes analysis of the relationship between cardinal and theological virtues, leading to the conclusion that Christian religious education also requires the development of theological virtues. The second part explores, through Thomistic theory, what factors condition the development of a person’s moral character (i.e. his/her moral virtues) and what those factors mean for supporting moral education within Christian religious education, initially within the context of Polish schooling. Particular attention is given to three issues: introducing the concept of responsibility for community members, introducing knowledge of moral virtues, and building a relationship with God.     

Introduction to the Special Issue on Nebraska's Alternative Approach to Statewide Assessment

Nebraska's Standards-based, Teacher-led Assessment and Reporting System (STARS) is unique in its focus on locally developed, classroom-based assessments in lieu of a state test. The purpose of this special issue is to introduce the STARS model and discuss the problems inherent in such a system. Other articles in this issue address issues of quality control and comparability of assessments, the development of teacher assessment literacy, and teachers' reactions to the implementation of STARS.     

后现代道德教育观及其启示

后现代思潮是20世纪后半叶西方社会最具影响力的一种哲学化思潮，后现代道德教育观有关教育目的，教育方式，教育内容，教育关系，教育研究等方面的基本主张，向现代人类社会所因袭的道德教育传统提出了严峻挑战，基保的合理成分对加强和改进我国的道德教育工作富有启迪意义。     

Personality,moral purpose,and the leadership of an education for sustainable development

This paper describes how two primary head teachers, nationally recognised as role models for the development of an education for sustainable development (ESD) in their schools, manage the implementation of this area. In doing so, it shows how they adopt two very different approaches to ESD and to their job generally, and suggests that whilst there are some commonalities between them, educational leadership needs to be seen as driven by a moral purpose, engaging and re-engaging with each situation, entering into a dialectic with others’ visions, leading to the re-conceptualisation of problems in different ways. This not only suggests a continued tension between such uniqueness and standardised approaches to headship, but raises questions about current policy imperatives for developing models of sustainable leadership.     

创新德育理念 增强德育实效

探索篇 高职院校德育如何体现高等职业教育规律和特点,适应学生身心发展规律,提高德育的实效性和针对性,是摆在高等职业教育工作者面前的重大课题.     

Towards a more systematic approach to continuing professional development in vocational education and training

Vocational education and training (VET) teachers and trainers have a key role in ensuring that workers in business and industry are upskilled and up-to-date in a rapidly changing industrial, economic and technological environment. It follows that the VET practitioners should themselves keep up to date, not only with industry developments but also with the pedagogical skills needed to embrace technology and adapt to new sites for learning. However, in Australia and other Western nations, continuing professional development for VET practitioners has been spasmodic and not always well supported, in contrast to the ways it has been established and accepted in other professions. This paper examines the professional development approaches of some of those other professions and identifies the key features that might be adopted in any genuine attempt to develop a more purposeful and systematic provision of ongoing learning for teachers and trainers in VET. The paper concludes with a number of recommendations aimed at Australian VET practitioners in particular, but which might be applicable to VET in any developed country.     

高校德育的困境与提高德育效力的对策

社会生活的极大变化、道德的世俗化和多元化、教育的重知主义倾向以及大学生自身因素的共同影响 ,使当前我国高校德育面临着支持系统乏力和效力欠佳的困境。必须通过营造良好的德育环境、激活学生的道德需要、重塑合理的道德理念、确定恰当的德育目标、开辟多样的德育途径等措施 ,来提高高校德育的效力。