INVITATION

School of Character

Moral Reflection amid Ethical Education

Good Friendly School

Instructional Reflection in Teacher Communities

International Scientific Symposium at Smolenice Castle in Smolenice

6th – 7th October 2022

• At present, we witness many challenges and expectations in the field of school education. 

• Our schools are currently at the centre of fundamental changes and innovations, which concern, among other things, the content and processes of education, school management, and new didactic approaches by teachers. 

• A challenge, a demand for quality ethical and moral education, which would enable an authentic moral development of students focused on good character, emerges along with many other important topics.

• Naturally, such a challenge is not related only to individual students, it may be understood in the context of overall setting of school as a community or as a part of the search for meaningful education by teachers and teacher communities.  

• It is obvious that an actual shift toward a more meaningful school is possible only thanks to a common vision and synergy of teachers.

We would like to respond to the indicated challenges through a symposium entitled School of Character, which will deal with three essential topics:

1. Moral reflection amid ethical education;

2. Experiences with character education at schools;

3. Instructional reflection in teacher communities.

MORAL REFLECTION AMID ETHICAL  EDUCATION 

The first part of the symposium entitled Moral Reflection amid Ethical Education (6th October) will have a scientific-academic and international character. It will contain a discussion on theoretical (philosophical, psychological, pedagogical) aspects of moral reflection in ethical education and character education. The main intention will be to consider in dialog what type of moral thinking and reflection it makes sense to develop in moral education at schools, in the lessons of ethical education in particular.

Foreign guests and Slovak participants will deal with methodological questions of examination of the effects of character education and its partial components, especially the phase of moral reflection of a teacher with students. They will present the final and partial outcomes of collection of quantitative and qualitative data from research on ethical and moral thinking in the educational context. They will offer the possibility to interpret research findings with an overlap into educational practices.

Together we would like to search for answers to these key questions:

• What are the specifics of different types of moral reasoning and reflection?

• What are the fundamental differences between the Kohlbergian/ neo-Kohlbergian tradition of moral development and traditions based on ethics of virtue?

• What are the strengths and limitations of ethics of virtue and especially the concept of fronésis in the educational framework?

• What are the benefits and limitations of different approaches of moral reasoning and reflection for reconstituting or reconstructing moral education and specifically ethical education?

• What are the effects of normative moral education and dialogic character education?

• What are the possibilities of examination of the development of virtuous moral reasoning?

GOOF FRIENDLY SCHOOL

The second part of the symposium (7th October, in the morning) entitled Good Friendly School is intended for all who care about the improvement of ethical education of our students in school practice. It will create a space for presentation of experiences with moral education and character education in schools and a subsequent dialogue on topics related to strengthening the educational aspects of school. The moderated discussion will also represent a contribution to the ongoing curricular reform of primary and secondary education. It does not only create an essential space for strengthening ethical and value education in the state educational program, but also, it raises questions about the new role of the school subject ethical education in state and school curricula, developmental and innovative perspectives of character education in schools and school culture, or modelling educational design of schools. At the end of this part of the symposium, an association aimed at the support of ethical education and character education in schools will be introduced.

INSTRUCTIONAL REFLECTION IN TEACHER COMMUNITIES 

The third part of the symposium (7th October, in the afternoon) builds on the previous two parts events, at the same time, It expands their content focus on the teaching staff as a whole that gives schools a specific character. It will bear a subtitle Instructional Reflection in Teacher Communities and its aim will be to present the results of applied research in the implementation of methods of cooperative instructional reflection. It is designed for good headmasters and teachers from practice who care about improving the healthy professional culture. The participants will get acquainted and will be able to discuss the benefits and challenges of systematic cooperation of teachers in improving their own teaching, i.e. creation of professional learning communities in a school or in a network of collaborating schools. Eventually, important current issues of the support of teacher development will be opened - creation of comprehensive models for school development and establishment of Regional Teacher Support Centres.

The symposium will take place in the beautiful premises of the congress centre in Smolenice Castle near Trnava, surrounded by the forests and meadows of the Little Carpathians. 

The symposium is organized by the Department of Educational Studies, Faculty of Education, Trnava University in Trnava in cooperation with FILIA - Association for Ethical Education and Character.