Description of the 2011-12 Faculty Seminar: Character Pedagogy in Higher Education
Gone are the days in higher education of “values clarification”–when we “knew” what values ought to be clarified, taught, or even promoted. Simplistic views of values education have turned many of us away from acknowledging the reality of our potentially profound and important influences on the consciences of our students.
With that in mind, we have chosen to focus our current Lilly Faculty Seminar (2011-12 academic year) on the many and complex issues related to character education for this century’s diverse and globally-oriented college students. In so doing, we hope to raise fresh questions for this rich classical concept as well as explore the question of what roles, if any, we have in teaching values.
Contemporary research into where today’s students are with regard to religion, ethics, spirituality, basic moral decision-making, and other aspects of character development guide our discussions. Lively dialogue based on common readings deepen our understanding of ourselves, our students, and the university’s mission to provide education that responds to “character and values.”