Showing papers in "Journal of Moral Education in 2010"
TL;DR: In this article, the authors provide a theoretical reconstruction of sub-Saharan ethics that they argue is a strong competitor to typical Western approaches to morality, and highlight respects in which the African approach provides a unitary foundation for a variety of normative and empirical conclusions that are serious alternatives to dominant Western views.
Abstract: In this article we provide a theoretical reconstruction of sub-Saharan ethics that we argue is a strong competitor to typical Western approaches to morality. According to our African moral theory, actions are right roughly insofar as they are a matter of living harmoniously with others or honouring communal relationships. After spelling out this ethic, we apply it to several issues in both normative and empirical research into morality. With regard to normative research, we compare and contrast this African moral theory with utilitarianism and Kantianism in the context of several practical issues. With regard to empirical research, we compare and contrast our sub-Saharan ethic with several of Lawrence Kohlberg's views on the nature of morality. Our aim is to highlight respects in which the African approach provides a unitary foundation for a variety of normative and empirical conclusions that are serious alternatives to dominant Western views.
256 citations
TL;DR: The authors examined teacher care for African American secondary students, through a theoretical lens of critical race and care theory, as it was represented through the counter stories of eight "successful" African American teachers.
Abstract: Growing research evidence on the ethic of care suggests that caring should be an integral part of the pedagogical methods implemented in schools. However, the colour blind ‘community of care’ often described in the literature does not disaggregate lines of ethnicity or race and much of this existing literature concerns elementary‐ and middle‐school students. This phenomenological study examined teacher care for African American secondary students, through a theoretical lens of critical race and care theory, as it was represented through the counter stories of eight ‘successful’ African American teachers. Findings revealed that teachers’ definitions and perceptions of care reflected a blend of traditional care literature, critical race theory and the literature on African American teachers before and after the US Supreme Court’s landmark Brown decision on integration. Findings also reveal the possibility of a pedagogy that I refer to as ‘culturally relevant critical teacher care’.
129 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors argue that the stories of Germans who defended Jews, Tutsis who stood alongside Hutus and Afrikaners who fought alongside blacks must be, and were, stories of struggles for freedom.
Abstract: South Africa, Rwanda-Burundi and Germany and suggests that, in addition to the main narratives of what happened, the stories of Germans who defended Jews, Tutsis who stood alongside Hutus and Afrikaners who fought alongside blacks must be, and were, stories of struggles for freedom. When those stories are heard, students learn that no group has a genetic predisposition towards hatred or discrimination; there is ultimately no knowledge in the blood. This book is an outstanding text for moral educators and researchers, especially in higher education. It is no simple case study or mere descriptive account. Instead, it delves into rich theoretical areas with eminently practical application. It is an astute gift to all concerned with the moral dimensions of race, conflict and transformation. This is essential reading.
126 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examined teachers' attitudes and experiences regarding the use of pets in the classroom, revealing the way in which animals were used in their teaching practices, as well as their views on some of the advantages of using pets in classrooms.
Abstract: An increasing amount of research has emerged in recent years regarding the benefits that household pets have for individuals, much of which focuses on child–pet relationships. A number of studies have explored the role of pets in elementary classroom settings and what advantages their presence might have. Current curricula aimed at promoting humane education are also related to the use of animals as teaching tools in classrooms. This study examined teachers' attitudes and experiences regarding the use of pets in the classroom. Both quantitative and qualitative data were collected from approximately 75 elementary classroom teachers, revealing the way in which animals were used in their teaching practices, as well as their views on some of the advantages of using pets in the classroom. The majority of teachers surveyed believed that the use of live pets in the classroom contributed positively to increased empathy, as well as socio‐emotional development, in students, much of which is supported by current res...
122 citations
99 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examined the link between care-based moral reasoning and three different aspects of empathy (perspective taking, sympathy and personal distress) and found that women at ECI Level 2 scored higher on sympathy than did all others.
Abstract: This study examined the link between care‐based moral reasoning and three different aspects of empathy—perspective taking, sympathy and personal distress. Participants were 30 female and 28 male students, ranging in age from 20 to 42 years. As expected, results showed that perspective taking uniquely predicted care‐based moral reasoning levels (positively), as assessed by Skoe’s Ethic of Care Interview (ECI). Personal distress, in contrast, was uniquely negatively related to the ECI. There was a curvilinear relationship between sympathy and the ECI for women only; women at ECI Level 2 (self‐sacrificing care for others) scored higher on sympathy than did all others. Moreover, women scored significantly higher than did men on the emotional aspects of empathy (i.e. sympathy and personal distress) but not on cognitive perspective taking or on the ECI. These findings support the theory that empathy plays a significant (and positive) role in adults’ moral reasoning. They also highlight the complexity of sex dif...
92 citations
74 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors investigated relationships between care and justice reasoning, dispositional empathy variables and meta-ethical thinking among 128 students from a university of applied sciences, and found that levels of care reasoning were positively related to the post-conventional schema and negatively related to personal interest schema in justice reasoning.
Abstract: The aim of this study was to investigate relationships between care and justice reasoning, dispositional empathy variables and meta‐ethical thinking among 128 students from a university of applied sciences. The measures were Skoe’s Ethic of Care Interview, the Defining Issues Test, Davis’s Interpersonal Reactivity Index and Meta‐Ethical Questionnaire. The results showed that levels of care reasoning were positively related to the post‐conventional schema and negatively related to the personal interest schema in justice reasoning. Age, meta‐ethical thinking, the post‐conventional schema and perspective taking predicted care reasoning. Sympathy was positively related to both modes of moral reasoning among men and predicted their care reasoning. The results point out common elements for care and justice reasoning, underscore the importance of perspective taking for moral reasoning and indicate that the relationship between affective‐based empathy and moral reasoning is gender‐specific and far more complex th...
71 citations
TL;DR: This paper argued that unless appropriate programmes of teacher professional development are put in place to open the space for teachers to engage with painful personal legacies of the past, the aim of transforming society through the education system has little chance of succeeding.
Abstract: One of the priorities of societies emerging from identity‐based conflict is to signal a new society, with new values that stand in stark contrast with the old. Education policy becomes a critical arena for highlighting these political values when schools, particularly teachers, are identified as key agents of social change. However, the legacy of the conflict, especially with regard to teacher identities shaped during conflict, is seldom taken into account. This paper argues that unless appropriate programmes of teacher professional development are put in place to open the space for teachers to engage with painful personal legacies of the past, the aim of transforming society through the education system has little chance of succeeding. Using South Africa as the case study, this article analyses the post‐Apartheid history curriculum and discusses a teacher development programme, Facing the Past, which, it is argued, provides the necessary conditions for teachers to engage with the past in a way that enabl...
68 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors investigated the relationship between empathic concern, perspective taking and personal values measured by the Portrait Value Questionnaire on moral schemas measured by Defining Issues Test was investigated among 599 students from a university of applied sciences.
Abstract: The aim of this study was to clarify the relationships between empathy variables, personal values and moral reasoning. The impact of empathic concern, perspective taking and personal values measured by the Portrait Value Questionnaire on moral schemas measured by the Defining Issues Test was investigated among 599 students from a university of applied sciences. The results revealed that perspective taking contributed to the post‐conventional schema, even after values were added on the hierarchical regression model, and that the personal interest schema was predicted by both individualist values (hedonism) and collectivist values (benevolence and tradition). Conformity and security predicted positively the maintaining norms schema whereas universalism and self‐direction served as negative predictors for the maintaining norms schema but positive predictors of the post‐conventional schema. Implications for professional ethics education are discussed.
67 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors consider some empirical research into the modelling of moral values in schools, which highlights the hidden impact of working environments on classroom relationships, and reveal four particular types of empathy used in learning relationships: fundamental, functional, profound and feigned.
Abstract: This paper considers some empirical research into the modelling of moral values in schools, which highlights the hidden impact of working environments on classroom relationships. After an initial survey and pilot study, a range of primary, secondary and student teachers, selected for their empathy, were interviewed and observed in order to understand the nature of empathy in different contexts. The findings revealed four particular types of empathy used in learning relationships: fundamental, functional, profound and feigned. Of these, functional, used in large classes, was the most common, but revealed considerable negative implications for the moral model offered by state education. Profound empathy, more rarely seen, developed through close and frequent interaction and held the most beneficial consequences for moral modelling, learning relationships and achievement. However, the economic values embedded in the structures and systems of the state education sector, typified by large classes, restrict the...
TL;DR: Nieuwenhuis et al. as discussed by the authors, 2007 Pretoria, South Africa, Van Schaik Publishers ZAR 264.95 (pbk), 245 pp. ISBN 978'0627'02'668'3 The cover of Growing human rights and...
Abstract: Jan Nieuwenhuis (Ed.), Johan Beckmann and Sakkie Prinsloo, 2007 Pretoria, South Africa, Van Schaik Publishers ZAR 264.95 (pbk), 245 pp. ISBN 978‐0627‐02‐668‐3 The cover of Growing human rights and ...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors discuss the problem of how to improve the quality of the data collected by the data collection system, and propose a solution to solve it by using the information of the user's behavior.
Abstract: 막스 베버는 청교도 윤리가 자본주의 정신 확립에 영향을 미쳤다고 평가한다. 예정설에 기초한 청교도의 금욕주의는 노동을 소명으로 해석하여 근대 자본주의 사회의 노동윤리를 확립하는 데 기여하였다. 청교도는 직업을 성실히 수행한 결과로 획득한 부를 자신이 신의 부름을 받은 증거라고 규정함으로써 근대 직업윤리 형성에 기여한다. 그러나 청교도주의는 현대 사회의 문제로 지적되는 개인주의와 합리주의 형성에도 영향을 미쳤다. 전통을 합리주의적 시각에서 배격하고 인간의 모든 활동을 노동으로 환원시키는 것은 청교도 윤리에서 파생된 문제라고 할 수 있다.
TL;DR: This paper found that very few children were inclined to donate any money after viewing a promotional UNICEF film about children suffering from poverty and only after gentle probing by an experimenter were most children willing to donate some of their money.
Abstract: In this paper we argue that moral behaviour is largely situation‐specific. Genetic make‐up, neurobiological factors, attachment security and rearing experiences have only limited influence on individual differences in moral performance. Moral behaviour does not develop in a linear and cumulative fashion and individual morality is not stable across time and situations. To illustrate our position we present two studies on children’s willingness to donate their money to a charity (UNICEF) as a prime example of pro‐social behaviour. In two samples of seven‐year‐old children we found no evidence for a role of attachment, temperament or parenting. Using a twin design we did not find any evidence for a genetic component either. The most striking finding in both studies was that very few children were inclined to donate any money after viewing a promotional UNICEF film about children suffering from poverty. Only after gentle probing by an experimenter were most children willing to donate some of their money. The ...
TL;DR: The levels of moralisation model as discussed by the authors describes four qualitatively distinct levels at which a preference can be held: no moralisation, moralisation for the self, moralization for others, and public expression of moralization.
Abstract: Moral sensitivity has generally been interpreted in a normative sense, as the ability to notice moral features present in a situation. This paper outlines an alternative, descriptive conception of moral sensitivity: the levels of moralisation model. This model describes four qualitatively distinct levels at which a preference can be held: no moralisation; moralisation for the self; moralisation for others; and public expression of moralisation. Empirical research supporting the existence of these levels as well as processes that move a preference across the levels are discussed. In addition, the practical utility of the model is demonstrated with regard to moral education and conflict resolution programs.
TL;DR: The Leadership for Learning books as mentioned in this paper address a broad range of knowledge and skills that school superintendents, exceptional principals, and researchers believe are essential to ensure effective education review, and are supported by the American Association of School Administrators.
Abstract: Strike \" s text is one book in a series of books dedicated to enhancing the capacity of school leaders to improve the quality of teaching so that all students learn at high levels. This is in part of a series of books supported by the Leadership for Learning initiative of the American Association of School Administrators (AASA) The AASA is the largest association in the world representing school system leaders and, in particular, school district superintendents. The Leadership for Learning books address a broad range of knowledge and skills that school superintendents, exceptional principals, and researchers believe are essential to ensure effective education review // reseñas educativas editors: gene v glass gustavo e. fischman melissa cast-brede a multilingual journal of book reviews
TL;DR: Trout as mentioned in this paper wrote a review of this book and agreed to write a review, but only to a small extent, and only to the extent that the book was about empathy.
Abstract: J. D. Trout, 2009 New York, Viking Penguin $25.95 (hbk), 306 pp. ISBN 9‐780‐67002044‐7 When I agreed to write a review of this book I thought it was about empathy. It is—but only to a small extent....
TL;DR: In this article, the focus is on tolerance as an attitude, encouraging people to be tolerant, but where the public debate is concerned, the focus becomes a question of what should be tolerated and what the law should allow or proscribe.
Abstract: Those who would defend liberal democracy in today’s changing world face a new toleration debate. While we still want to help our children grow up to see the world from other perspectives than their own, we are no longer as sure as we were that we know what toleration means or what it entails. Where education is concerned, it seems the focus is on tolerance as an attitude—encouraging people to be tolerant—but where the public debate is concerned, the focus is narrower. It becomes a question of what should be tolerated and what the law should allow or proscribe. But however interpreted, the underlying unclarity remains and it inevitably affects educational choices. Must we approve as well as permit? Must we refrain from judgement? Is tolerance something that is due to people themselves or does it include their views and opinions? And how should we respond if it should turn out to be impossible to tolerate one group or view without discriminating against another? In this paper I discuss two particular aspect...
TL;DR: This paper explored the idea that moral thought/reasoning and moral actions are actually two separate phenomena that have little relationship to each other and suggested that moral action is actually a form and an originating source of social capital and moral thought is an important form of cultural capital.
Abstract: This paper explores the idea that moral thought/reasoning and moral actions are actually two separate phenomena that have little relationship to each other. The idea that moral thinking does or can control moral action creates a difficult dualism between our knowledge about morality and our everyday actions. These differences run parallel to the distinction between social capital and cultural capital—where social capital is based on cooperation and trust and leads to purposeful solutions to real time social problems and cultural capital serves as a shorthand sign that certain individuals should be recognized as accepted members of an ongoing community. Social capital and cultural capital, like moral action and moral thought, are related and sometimes even dependent on each other, but they are different phenomena sometimes working towards different purposes. We suggest that moral action is actually a form and an originating source of social capital and moral thought is an important form of cultural capital...
TL;DR: The Quick-Racial and Ethical Sensitivity Test (Quick-REST) as mentioned in this paper is based on the ethical principles commonly shared by school-based professional organisations and James Rest's model of moral decision making.
Abstract: This article presents the psychometric qualifications of a new video‐based measure of school professionals' ethical sensitivity toward issues of racial intolerance in schools. The new scale, titled the Quick‐Racial and Ethical Sensitivity Test (Quick‐REST) is based on the ethical principles commonly shared by school‐based professional organisations and James Rest's model of moral decision making. The validation of the measure is established through two separate studies: one conducted with 238 school professionals, including teachers, administrators, psychologists, coaches and others who work in diverse schools; and the other conducted with 57 student teachers. The results, with regard to the internal reliability of the items and convergent and overall construct validity, showed that the Quick‐REST is a psychometrically sound measure of school professionals' ability to recognise violations of ethical principles as depicted in two five‐minute videotapes illustrating instances of racial intolerance in school...
TL;DR: The ownership of wealth has been used as the measure for the determination of status in a community or society as discussed by the authors and the nature and extent of power within the narrow confines of the family and the wider political context was defined on the basis of ownership.
Abstract: Throughout the centuries the ownership of wealth has been used as the measure for the determination of status in a community or society. Exactly what constituted wealth differed from one period to the next. The nature and extent of power within the narrow confines of the family and the wider political context was defined on the basis of ownership of wealth. Wealth power was transmuted into the authority to influence government and social morality. ‘What I have’ superseded ‘I am a human being’ and was thus decisive in the determination and adjudication of justice in human relations. This experience and concept of human relations in the sphere of politics was manifest in ancient Greece. It has persisted in different forms in the evolution of Western political philosophy and is an enduring reality of our time. Concretely, it left democracy intact only in name and replaced it with timocracy, or rule by money. This replacement is politically disturbing as it is a surreptitious negation of the principle of popu...
TL;DR: Kant argued that virtuous acts must be performed out of respect for the moral law itself, not due to habituation as mentioned in this paper, and demonstrated Kant's significant contribution to moral education by showing how a catechistic moral education establishes the foundation necessary for autonomous action.
Abstract: Kant’s deontological ethics, along with Aristotle’s virtue ethics and Mill’s utilitarian ethics, is often identified as one of the three primary moral options between which individuals can choose. Given the importance of Kant’s moral philosophy, it is surprising and disappointing how little has been written on his important contributions to moral education. Kant argues for a catechistic approach to moral education. By memorising a series of moral questions and answers, an individual learns the basic principles of morality in the same way that Martin Luther believed an individual should learn the tenets of Christianity. The difficulty, however, is that this approach appears to violate a central tenet of Kantian morality: virtuous acts must be performed out of respect for the moral law itself, not due to habituation. This paper demonstrates Kant’s significant contribution to moral education by showing how a catechistic moral education establishes the foundation necessary for autonomous action.
TL;DR: In a recent study concerning effective HIV/AIDS-prevention education, conducted in Tanzania and Kenya among teacher trainees and their tutors, the notion of mila potofu (defined by educators as deceptive cultural practices) emerged as a key reason for educators' difficulties in teaching HIV prevention education in schools and for high HIV infection rates.
Abstract: In spite of numerous HIV/AIDS‐prevention education efforts, the HIV infection rates in sub‐Saharan Africa remain high. Exploring and understanding the reasons behind these infection rates is imperative in a bid to offer life skills and moral education that address the root causes of the pandemic. In a recent study concerning effective HIV/AIDS‐prevention education, conducted in Tanzania and Kenya among teacher trainees and their tutors, the notion of mila potofu (defined by educators as ‘deceptive’ cultural practices) emerged as a key reason for educators’ difficulties in teaching HIV/AIDS prevention education in schools and for high HIV infection rates. Since these cultural practices cause harm, and in many cases lead to death, they are of moral concern. This paper outlines some of these cultural practices identified by educators, including ‘wife inheritance’, ‘sexual cleansing’ and the taboo against certain foods, and discusses how these practices contribute towards HIV/AIDS vulnerability. It then offer...
TL;DR: The authors surveys the historical contribution made by sociologists to the study of morality and introduces two sociological notions of importance to moral education research and practice: "moral ecology" and "moral capital" to describe the moral life as an ecology of interconnecting systems, complex antinomies, diverse codes, multiple positionings, discordant processes and competing influences.
Abstract: Research and pedagogy in the field of morality and moral education has long been dominated by philosophical and psychological disciplines. Although sociological studies and theorising in the field have not been absent, it has been limited and non‐systematic. Drawing on a study that investigated the lived morality of a group of young South Africans growing up in the aftermath of Apartheid and in the townships of Cape Town, this paper surveys the historical contribution made by sociologists to the study of morality and introduces two sociological notions of importance to moral education research and practice: ‘moral ecology’ and ‘moral capital’. Employing Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory it describes the moral life as an ecology of interconnecting systems, complex antinomies, diverse codes, multiple positionings, discordant processes and competing influences, over time and on multiple levels. Moral capital, draws on Bourdieu’s work on capitals and is described in two ways. First, as a dialectic, s...
TL;DR: Although Almond argues that the contemporary West has lost touch with the value of tolerance, the authors argues that that value applied to those of different religions and sexual orientations is too minimal a standard for a pluralistic society.
Abstract: Although Almond argues that the contemporary West has lost touch with the value of tolerance, I argue that that value applied to those of different religions and sexual orientations is too minimal a standard for a pluralistic society. I suggest, in the spirit of the work of Charles Taylor and Tariq Modood, the more robust standard of respect and acceptance. In addition, I have criticised Almond’s privileging of parental values over school values, seeing in that privileging a failure to recognise both the civic function of schooling in a pluralistic society and the professional responsibilities of teachers to provide a safe and stigma‐free environment of learning (a goal both educational and civic in character). I argue that Almond’s briefly presented rejection of same‐sex marriage and privileging of ‘biological’ families is insufficiently defended. Moreover within the philosophical framework of her own concerns about the weakening of a commitment to marriage in Western society in the past several decades,...
TL;DR: Small but positive changes were found in moral atmosphere, but not in moral reasoning or fair play attitude, and changes in antisocial behaviour were not affected by the changes in moral team atmosphere.
Abstract: The aim of this pilot study was to examine the possible effects of a forum theatre intervention on moral team atmosphere, moral reasoning, fair play attitude and on‐ and off‐field antisocial and prosocial behaviour in male adolescent soccer players from 10 to 18 years of age (n = 99). From pre‐test to post‐test, small but positive changes were found in moral atmosphere, but not in moral reasoning or fair play attitude. Changes were also found in on‐field antisocial behaviour, which showed a significant decrease one month after the intervention. However, the changes in antisocial behaviour were not affected by the changes in moral team atmosphere. Off‐field antisocial behaviour and both on‐ and off‐field prosocial behaviour did not show a significant change. The results suggest that more extended efforts built on a similar approach are worth investigating.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examined the impact of parenting and adolescent fearfulness on adolescents' pro-social values and prosocial and antisocial behaviour, as well as their perceptions of maternal attachment and maternal appropriateness.
Abstract: The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of parenting and adolescent fearfulness on adolescents’ pro‐social values and pro‐social and antisocial behaviour. A total of 134 adolescents (M age = 16.22, 72 girls, 62 boys) responded to questions regarding their own fearfulness, pro‐social values and pro‐social and antisocial behaviour, as well as their perceptions of maternal attachment and maternal appropriateness. Results revealed few main‐effect findings, most notably a negative relation between attachment and antisocial behaviour. However, findings pointed to several multiplicative relations as a function of parenting, adolescent fearfulness, and child gender, including: (1) maternal appropriateness was more important for boys than for girls, (2) maternal attachment was related to greater importance of pro‐social values and higher pro‐social behaviour for boys low on fear and (3) maternal appropriateness was related to lower antisocial behaviour for boys low on fear. The discussion focuses on th...
TL;DR: The case study method seems like a useful and effective tool for engaging educators in discussion and reflection on the types of ethical dilemmas they will encounter over the course of their careers.
Abstract: example, in one case study, a young teacher on a hiring committee has to respond to a colleague who dismisses a promising candidate with the assertion that: ‘An African American male really would not fit in that well here’ (p. 49). Certainly there are teachers willing to be so explicit about their prejudices, but, in an age where many have learned what words and phrases not to say, novice educators might also benefit from considering a case study in which a colleague’s prejudices are hidden behind more subtle language. Finally, although a number of the case-studies explored appropriate boundaries between novice teachers and their colleagues and supervisors, few of the case-studies focused directly on appropriate relationships between teachers and students. Particularly for a generation of young teachers for whom cell phones, instant messaging, Facebook and MySpace are commonplace, a case study that considered professional boundaries and these new digital media would have been helpful. Of course, it is all too easy to note the scenarios not included in a particular volume. Perhaps these critiques, then, might be better characterised as suggestions to the authors for a second volume of ethical dilemmas. In short, the case study method seems like a useful and effective tool for engaging educators in discussion and reflection on the types of ethical dilemmas they will encounter over the course of their careers. More teacher education programs would do well to raise these topics with their pre-service teachers, and school principals and department heads might likewise consider engaging their faculties in discussion and reflection of these issues. Quite a number of the case studies embedded in Tough choices for teachers would be ideal for such endeavours.
TL;DR: The development of moral education (ME) in Botswana from pre-colonial times to the present day has been discussed in this article, where the authors trace how moral education has undergone three distinct phases of development, each emphasising a particular ideology.
Abstract: This article traces the development of moral education (ME) in Botswana from pre‐colonial times to the present day. It shows how during this time ME has undergone three distinct phases of development, each emphasising a particular ideology. In pre‐colonial times ME was offered as part of indigenous education in the home and community, both formally and informally, directly and indirectly. During the missionary/colonial period (1870s–1966) and in the first three decades of Botswana’s independence (1967–1998), ME was taught in the formal school curriculum as an aspect of religious education. During this period religious education was confessional, using Christian moral values as a yardstick in exploring the material content of the syllabus. Since the national educational reforms of the 1990s, ME has undergone a paradigm shift, whereby it has become disengaged from religious education and secularised as a stand‐alone subject in the junior secondary curriculum. This paper examines each of these three phases o...
TL;DR: The Moral Education Programme of the Roman Catholic Church in Burundi as discussed by the authors is an active-participatory approach, in which learners try to appropriate and apply in their daily lives the moral precepts they learn in the classroom.
Abstract: Burundi, like the rest of the Great Lakes region, has been shaken by widespread inter‐communal divisions and violent conflict. It is commonly believed that the troubled history of Burundian society has been due to the lack of a consistent moral dimension in school curricula. It is this obvious gap that the Catholic Church, through its Moral Education Programme initiated in 2005, sought to address. The new curriculum, implemented gradually in Burundian schools, takes inspiration from traditional human values. The programme is community‐ and situation‐based and places emphasis on an active‐participatory approach, in which learners try to appropriate and apply in their daily lives the moral precepts they learn in the classroom. In a post‐conflict context, it is incumbent upon parents, teachers and the churches (preferably in partnership) to erect the pillars of peace by teaching moral values to the younger generation which will prevent future conflict.