Þessi grein varpar ljósi á siðferðis- og skapgerðarmenntun innan skóla og stöðu slíkrar
menntunar á Íslandi. Margt bendir til þess að þó að fræðimenn hafi á síðustu árum varpað
ljósi á mikilvægi þess að efla siðferðilega dómgreind nemenda, sem og félags- og tilfinningaþroska
þeirra, verði sá þáttur skólastarfsins iðulega útundan. Innleiðingu á lífsleikni
sem námsgrein í grunn- og framhaldsskóla má skoða sem einn þátt í þeirri viðleitni að
efla siðferðismenntun og heildstæða sýn á þroska nemenda. Jafnframt hafa grunnskólar
í auknum mæli tekið upp ýmis aga- og samskiptakerfi. Kennurum og fagfólki í skóla- og
tómstundastarfi gefast víða dýrmæt tækifæri til að efla siðferðisvitund nemenda. Þá eru
kennarar mikilvægar fyrirmyndir þegar kemur að því að leggja grunn að virðingu og umhyggju
í skólastarfi. Í þessari grein mun ég færa rök fyrir því að til að skapa skilyrði fyrir
siðferðis- og skapgerðarmenntun innan grunnskóla sé nauðsynlegt að beita hugmyndafræði
óformlegs náms, ekki síður og ef til vill fremur en aðferðum formlegs náms.
This article explores virtue and character education and the status of such education
in Icelandic schools. In recent years, scholars have emphasized the importance
of moral education of students, as well as their social and emotional learning. Moral
education does not align with global concerns, core academic outcomes and efficiency
in education. Thus, moral education is often marginalized in formal education.
I argue that moral education calls for informal learning methods and the active participation
of students. In this article, I draw from the writings of Kristján Kristjánsson,
professor and deputy director of The Jubilee Centre for Character and Virtues at
Birmingham University. Kristjánsson has been one of the leading advocates of virtue
ethics in the spirit of Artistotle. I also present some of the practical suggestions introduced
in the book Teaching character and virtue in schools (2017) which is built on
research at the Jubilee Centre. Virtue literacy involves knowledge and understanding
of virtue terms as well as the ability to apply virtues to real-life contexts. A holistic
approach in schools to virtue and character education calls for a clear policy on how
teachers and school personnel work in various ways to support virtue and character
education. The implementation of life skills as a subject in Icelandic elementary
and high schools can be seen as a step towards strengthening moral education, but
research indicates that life skills as a subject lacks a coherent structure and has become
a venue for various educational programmes, such as financial literacy and career
counselling. Moreover, Icelandic elementary schools have increasingly started
to use various behavioural and social-skills models, for example PBS and ART, and
other approaches, such as the Restitution Approach and Positive Discipline. Implementation of such models or approaches encourages teachers and school personnel
to work collaboratively to support school morale and atmosphere. However, it does
not ensure that reflective moral education takes place. The integration of character
education into school subjects is an important way to explore ethical questions and
create awareness of virtues in different contexts. Teachers can, for example, ask
open-ended questions to encourage discussion of virtues such as social responsibility,
honesty, respect and critical thinking in relation to science, history, literature,
health and sports, to name but a few subjects. Teachers are important role models
when it comes to developing respect and care in the classroom.
I argue that in order for moral and character education to flourish, it is necessary to
make significant use of the tools of informal learning and perhaps even more than
methods of formal learning. Informal learning is built on experiential learning; that
is, the notion that students build their knowledge on personal experience and reflections.
Out-of school programmes, such as youth centres and leisure-time centres,
offer a non-formal setting for children and young people to develop their character
by taking part in various activities with their peers and personnel. I conclude that in
order to strengthen virtue and character education in schools, an interdisciplinary
approach is needed that involves increased collaboration between teachers and leisure-time
pedagogues. Informal learning certainly takes place in schools; but knowledge
on how to apply the tools of informal and experiential learning is needed, not
least to strenghten character education.
