OUR CENTRE
The Virtue and Values Education Centre (VEC) is an interdisciplinary research centre devoted to the study of virtues, character, and values for the promotion of human flourishing.
The general aim of the Centre is to promote virtue and character development in education, professional contexts, and generally in society, both locally and globally.
More specifically the Virtue and Values Education Centre, based on a rigorous and interdisciplinary research integrated with educational practice, aims to place character as the center of educational practice by means of:
♦ Promoting and strengthen character education in different educational stages, from schooling to university.
♦ Involving in character education all the actors of educational process and specially enhancing teachers education at the core of character education and as character shapers.
♦ To offer perspectives, guidelines, criteria and support to teachers (both actives or in trainee), practitioners and educational leaders to build the education of tomorrow, being a cutting-edge laboratory that integrates research and educational practice.
♦ Offer to schools and other communities support on planning and develop character education.
♦ To create synergies with other research groups within the University, as well as to establish or participate in international networks of researchers.
Integrated in the Faculty of Education and Psychology of the Francisco de Vitoria University, the Virtue and Values Education Centre dovetails with the university’s mission, committed with a whole person education and the flourishing of their students as the focal aim of education. The Center aims to putting into practice the Francisco de Vitoria University motto “education for transformation”, which informs all its educational model and the university activity to have a high positive transformational impact to society. All the activity of the Centre is developed under this purpose embracing both research and practice.
OUR TEAM
ADVISORY COMMITTEE
Our Advisory Committee brings together salient and experienced researchers and practitioners in character and virtue education
Prof. James Arthur, OBE
Former Director of the Jubilee Centre for Character and Virtues
University of Birmingham
Wojciech Kaftanski
Interdisciplinary Center for Ethics, Jagiellonian University.
Research Affiliate at the Human Flourishing Program, Harvard University
Maria Silvia Vaccarezza
Associate Professor of Moral Philosophy. Aretai Center on Virtues
Università degli Studi di Genova, Italy
Matthew Lee
Social Sciences and Humanities Professor, Institute for Studies of Religion. Baylor University.
Associate Researcher and Director of the Flourishing Network at the Human Flourishing Program, Harvard University
Liz Gulliford
Psychology Associate Professor, University of Northampton
Researcher at the Jubilee Centre for Character and Virtues.
Senior Psychology Advisor, Oxford Character Project
Claudia Navarini
Full Professor of Moral Philosophy
Università Europea di Roma. Aretai Center on Virtues
Gary Lewis
Executive Association for Character Education (ACE)
Edward Brooks
Executive Director The Oxford Character Project
Jorge López
Dean of the Faculty of Education and Psychology
Francisco de Vitoria University
Agustín Porres
Director Varkey Foundation, LATAM
Juani Savall
Vice-dean of Integral Educaction
Faculty of Education and Psychology
Francisco de Vitoria University
Carmen Romero Sánchez-Palencia
Coordinator of the Humanities Department
Francisco de Vitoria University
Jesús Alcalá
Professor of Educational Theory
Director of the Master’s Degree in Teacher Training Francisco de Vitoria University
ASSOCIATE RESEARCHERS
Our Associate Researchers gather interdisciplinary researchers from different fields, collaborating with the Centre’s research and the projects developed
Jorge López
Dean of the Faculty of Education and Psychology
Francisco de Vitoria University
Juani Savall
Professor of Educational Methodology
Vice-Dean of the School of Education and Psychology
Francisco de Vitoria University
Olatz López Fernández
Full Professor of Psychology
Faculty of Education and Psychology
Francisco de Vitoria University
Javier Aranguren
Professor of Ethics and Anthropology
School of Humanities
Francisco de Vitoria University
Javier de Cendra
Dean of the Faculty of Law, Business and Governance
Francisco de Vitoria University
Mª de los Ángeles Muñoz Martínez
Director of the School of Government and Leadership
Francisco de Vitoria University
Marcelo López Cambronero
Professor of Philosophy, School of Humanities
Francisco de Vitoria University
Patricia Castaño
Professor of Psychology, Accompaniment Institute
Francisco de Vitoria University
Jesús Alcalá
Professor of Educational Theory
Director of the Master’s Degree in Teacher Training
Francisco de Vitoria University
Juan Luis Fuentes
Professor of Educational Theory, Vice-Dean of the School of Education
Complutense University of Madrid
Salvador Ortiz de Montellano
Professor of Leadership Education
Francisco de Vitoria University
Paula Rodríguez
Professor of Evolutive Psychology and Education
Isabel I University
Paula Crespí
Professor of HCP
Francisco de Vitoria University
EDUCATIONAL PARTNERSHIP
MORE ABOUT VERÓNICA FERNÁNDEZ
I am a Faculty of Education and Psychology professor at the Francisco de Vitoria University (UFV). My teaching and research focus on educational leadership and virtue ethics applied to education. Some of my publications are: Fernández Espinosa, V & López González, J. (2023). Virtues and Values Education in Schools: A Study in an International Sample. Journal of Beliefs & Values, DOI: 10.1080/13617672.2022.2158018; Fernández Espinosa, V & López González, J. (2023). The Effect of Teacher Leadership on Students’ Purposeful Learning. Cogent Social Sciences 9 (1), 2197282, DOI: 10.1080/23311886.2023.2197282; (2021) Liderazgo docente y educación de la libertad, en Investigación e innovación académicas para una sociedad interconectada, Tirant; (2019) «Educar para la libertad: ¿autonomía o autodeterminación?» Relectiones 6, pp. 55-66; El ejercicio de la autoridad para llevar a la persona a crecer en madurez y libertad en el amor, en Liberi per amare. È possibile vivere i consigli evangelici nel mondo? Ateneo Pontificio Regina Apostolorum; I have also co-authored the volumes (2022) Pedagogía y virtudes. La excelencia en el camino del amor. Didaskalos; (2022) Liberi per amare. È possibile vivere i consigli evangelici nel mondo? Ateneo Pontificio Regina Apostolorum; and Arthur, J. & Fernández Espinosa, V. (2023). En vista del fin excelente: La educación del carácter en las universidades, McGraw Hill; I have authored (2023) La libertad como autodeterminación. Bases para la discusión de un modelo de formación docente, MacGrawHill.I am a consultant for the Valued Based Leadership project carried out by the Oxford Character Project at Oxford University. I collaborate with the European Character and Virtue Association and the Jubilee Centre for Character and Virtues, which have inspired our project.
I am passionate about people and, thus, about education. I have happily spent over twenty-five years as a school principal and assistant principal, and being especially dedicated to adolescent education. I have experience in training and team management in educational institutions at a national and international level. My professional life in education has convinced me about the need to put the teacher at the center of educational practice, where the character must be shaped (education in virtues and values) and which possesses freedom, love, and the call to fulfillment at its core. I care that each person not only does things but becomes someone, and therefore, I care very much that research is to transform education.
MORE ABOUT VIANNEY DOMINGO
Vianney Domingo is a research fellow at the Virtue and Values Education Centre (Francisco de Vitoria University). He was previously a research fellow at the Civic Humanism Center for Character and Professional Ethics (Institute of Culture and Society, University of Navarra), and a lecturer in Ethics and Moral Psychology at the International University of Catalonia (UIC). In this university he was director of the task force for the implementation of the Core Curriculum program (2017-2020). He has been visiting researcher at UCLA (University of California-Los Angeles), Rice University (Houston) and the University of Oxford. His research is devoted to issues on moral psychology, ancient and contemporary virtue ethics, and liberal education. Recent publications: (2019) «Epistēmē, Virtue and Possession in the Socratic Dialogues», Anuario Filosófico 52 (2), pp. 241-266; (2022) «El lenguaje moral en los diálogos socráticos», Acta Philosophica 31 (2), pp. 249-272; (2022) «Re-Thinking Management: Insights from Western Classical Humanism», Humanistic Management Journal 7, pp. 1-21; and (2023) «Ética de las virtudes y virtudes contemporáneas». In Fuentes, J. L., Fernández Salinero, C. & Ahedo, J. (eds.). Avances sobre la pedagogía actual. Propuestas de educación cívica y educación del carácter. Dykinson. Forthcoming. Currently his research interests are the applicability of virtue ethics and moral psychology in education (character education). He was part-time postdoctoral fellow at IESE Business School’s Business Ethics Department (2019-2020). He is also a professor in the master’s program “Educación del Carácter y de las Emociones” (“Character and Emotion’s Education) at UNIR (Universidad Internacional de la Rioja).
MORE ABOUT NICOLE HADDAD
Major in Hispanic Language and Literature from the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile, Master in Marriage and Family Sciences from the Giovanni Paolo II Institute in Rome and Master in Teaching, Francisco de Vitoria University (2021). I am passionate about humanities and education. I have specialised in editing and translating books as well as in teaching. In addition, I have worked in academia as a professor assistant in university chairs (Literature and History of Music) and in secondary and highschool in subjects as diverse as: Spanish literature, Critical Thinking and Anthropology. I give conferences on Theology of the Body and affectivity for young people and adults.
Thanks to the integral formation I received at the John Paul II Institute in Rome, I was able to discover a double passion: to spread through teaching and publishing the greatness to which human love is called, and to discover to the world a vision of the education of desire and character — based on virtues — which has love and the call to fullness at its core.
MORE ABOUT MIGUEL RUMAYOR
I hold a PhD in Educational Sciences from the University of Navarra (1998) and a PhD in Philosophy from the University of Murcia (2021). I am an Associate Professor in Theory and History of Education (Spanish ANECA accreditation), with two six-year research periods (CENEAI), and a researcher at the Values and Virtues Education Centre at the Francisco de Vitoria University. I also belong to Mexico’s National Research System(SNI). I have been a Research Associate Fellow at Oxford University (England), Notre Dame University (Indiana), Catholic University of America (Washington) and Duquesne University (Pittsburgh). I have presented papers at more than fifty international conferences and published similar academic works, including books, book chapters, and papers in Spain, the United States, Mexico, Turkey, Canada, Colombia, Chile, and Greece. Some of my recents papers are: (2023) “Amistad y educación del carácter, una revisión sistemática”. Z. Espinosa, J. Ahedo, M. Rumayor, Revista Española de Pedagogía, 81 (284), 143-169. DOI: https://doi.org/10.22550/REP81-1-2023-08; (2022) “Amistad y trascendencia: ¿Tiene sentido tener amigos si van a morir?”, in La familia: ¿es una escuela de amistad. AA.VV. Dykinson, pp. 131-140. My most recent books are: (2021) Vida académica y formación personal. La universidad hoy a la luz de John Henry Newman, and (2013) El Yo en Xavier Zubiri. I have also published several national press articles in Mexico and Spain. I am passionately dedicated to research and the education of university students.
MORE ABOUT VERÓNICA PÉREZ MENDOZA
Bachelor and Professor in Education Sciences from the University of San Andrés (Buenos Aires, Argentina) and Master in Direction and Management for the Quality of Educational Centres from the Francisco de Vitoria University (Madrid, Spain)
She has worked as a preceptor, tutor and teacher at secondary level. She has also collaborated with the educational consultancies Somos Red, Varkey and Pulso Educación as a specialist in innovation pedagogies and advisor to educational centres.
MORE ABOUT PATRICIA MAWXELL
I hold a degree in International Relations from the Francisco de Vitoria University, a Master’s Degree in Humanities, and an Expert Course in Affective-Sexual Education. I am also a student of Theology and Philosophy. I am passionate about international development and the humanities. My personal, academic, and professional journey has always been oriented towards transforming society through the individual, integral human development, and social action.
I the UK, I have worked in the education and in the publishing sector on politics and public affairs. I discovered my true vocation in the social field by contributing to sustainable development programmes with a Mexican NGO, specialising in programme creation, strategic development, and implementation monitoring for families in vulnerable situations. Driven by a deep interest in politics, philosophy, and social development, I love being actively involved in social causes.
Another of my great passions is organising, promoting, and delivering Theology of the Body conferences for youth and adults. Through this experience and my own vocational journey, I discovered the greatness of the vocation to love and the beauty of the human heart. I am convinced that only by understanding human beings, accompanying them to live fully, and illuminating their truth, can we understand the world, seek the common good, and face today’s social challenges.
Currently, I am responsible for projects in the Botín Foundation’s Talento Solidario programmes. Our goal is to strengthen the Third Sector in Spain and LATAM, helping NGOs to improve their internal efficiency, incorporate external talent, and promote innovation and collaboration in the sector.
MORE ABOUT BRENDA GONZÁLEZ
Doctor in Bioethics with over 20 years of experience in family education and counselling across various countries, including Italy, Ireland, Spain, and Mexico. My career began with a Bachelor’s degree in Education and Development, followed by a Master’s degree in Family Sciences from Universidad Anáhuac. I obtained my PhD in Bioethics from the Institute for Research in Bioethics, which has enriched my ability to address contemporary ethical challenges from a holistic perspective.
I have held management and leadership roles in various educational institutions. I have directed educational centres, taught classes, and promoted personalised accompaniment systems. I have collaborated on programmes such as Schools for Parents and coordinated initiatives on sexuality and bullying prevention, as well as diversity and inclusion. Recently, I have advised on family education and guidance, participating in initiatives such as the coordination of values and character education at San Roberto International School. Currently, I am a member of the National Mexican Academy of Bioethics of Nuevo León.
My experience has led me to the conviction that it is essential to provide training in values and character education, always seeking a positive and transformative impact.