OUR AREAS
A vision suggesting a more holistic and socially engaged understanding of higher education is increasingly present and recognized in the university’s mission worldwide. Universities are more committed to promoting students’ development, well-being, and flourishing. At this juncture, character education is experiencing further development in universities as a promoter of students’ potential or flourishing and further enhancement of their contribution to the good of society. Prestigious universities worldwide are consistently developing research on character and virtue and implementing character education programs.
The Centre, sharing the conviction that the university is a proper setting for character and virtue education, develops research and character education programs.
“Leaders of Character Program”
The Leaders of Character Program (LCP) is a virtue and character-based leadership program for university students that promotes the acquisition of virtues and character traits for responsible leadership. The program’s virtues are purpose, prudence, humility, temperance, resilience, gratitude, service, and hope.
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“Character Education for Professional Life: An Urgent Mission for Teachers and Psychologists”
Following the Centre’s commitment to the primary formation of character education for teachers and educators, a specific course for the Faculty of Education and Psychology students is in progress. The course focuses on the importance of character and virtue literacy and education for the particular professional domains of future teachers and psychologists while highlighting some relevant virtues specially involved in their professional performance. The program works on virtues like prudence or resilience, among others.
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Teachers and Staff
Consistently with the Centre’s conviction that a sound character education involves placing the character education of educators at the core of any educational attempt, some introductory courses on virtue and character for university staff, such us “Character Education for Excellence in the University”, are being developed .
Schools of Character
“Schools are perfectly designed for the results we are getting. If we don’t like the results, we need to redesign schools”.
(Paul Houston, former Executive Director of the American Association for School Administrators).
Character development is vital to human flourishing. Character flourishment involves the development of our whole being, from our thoughts, affections, or emotions to our desires, leading progressively to proper decision-making and actions, as well as to love and the recognition of the good. Character education is inevitably developed throughout our lifetime and nurtured in the many fields that constitute our lives, from personal to relational or professional domains.
Besides, character education can be intentionally developed in specific educational stages and contexts. Schools are a unique educational setting for character education and human flourishing, leading to schools of character in which teachers and students flourish together. Character education in schools allows schooling to be personally transformative and not only confined to academic success or future professional instruction but also an environment for the integral development and flourishment of the students, in which the teacher is at the centre of educational practice as a character shaper.
There is no blueprint for character education, as it must be tailored to the children’s and the community’s needs. However, we believe it must be planned, intentional and integrated throughout the school to be truly transformative, enabling character to be ‘seen’, ‘thought/taught’ and ‘acted’ in meaningful ways.
"Education for transformation" and the accredited Schools of Character
The Virtues and Values Education Centre believes that knowledge and education should lead to real personal and cultural transformation in organizations and communities. That is why, besides providing formation and training on character education for teachers and educators, we work alongside schools and communities in their transformative process towards a culture of virtues and values education. In this accompaniment on the path to creating communities of character, we work closely with the Association for Character Education (ACE), and we are authorized to bring the Character Quality Mark accreditation process in Spain and Latin America.
This accreditation ensures that character education is delivered explicitly, planned, and thoughtfully, cultivating virtues for human flourishing. It helps to turn good intentions into action and offers a tool to ensure that the centre’s training and practices favour transformation.
Seen: Character can be seen or perceived in the school community, in formative relationships and where there is a clear ethos, through an intentionally designed plan that encompasses all the realities of the school (360º approach).
Thought & Taught: Character education is reflected within the classroom, through the curriculum, teaching and learning strategies, activities and resources, etc.
Acted: The school has intentionally chosen and developed extracurricular and out-of-school experiences that enable teachers and students to act and apply virtues, and to be actors in the service of their community.
Teacher Welfare and Leadership: that teachers feel valued by both management and students, that they have opportunities for professional and personal development, and that there are quality human relationships in the school.
Teachers in Focus Programme
This programme focuses on character education in schools, pursuing to transform the school in a community of character and virtue education through the training and accompaniment of “Character Ambassadors”: a group of leaders who will be the vanguard group for the implementation of character education in the school. Over approximately 3 years, it helps to put the focus on character education, culminating (if the school wants to) in the “Character Quality Mark” accreditation from the Association for Character Education (ACE), the leading UK’s Character Education Community for teachers, leaders and practitioners. The aim is to develop not only excellent students, but also people who have a positive impact on society.
To this end, we have devised an itinerary with four steps, which are repeated over the 3 years or more of the programme.
1. First stop. Where are we? (initial diagnosis): find out the starting point of the schools through diagnostic instruments and introduce to the management team and teachers what it means to educate character.
To do this, we conduct surveys: a) to the school Principal and his team; b) to teachers. Based on a 360º evaluation of school culture, our diagnostic tool assesses the following areas: Character Seen, Character Thought & Taught, Character Acted, and Teacher Welfare and Leadership.
An introductory session on virtue education and school culture is given to the teachers and the management team.
2. Second stop. Where do we want to go? (setting goals): We work together with the school’s management team and “Character Ambassadors” to develop concrete objectives and draw up the lines of action that will enable them to achieve them.
3. Third stop. Small steps, big horizons (training and accompaniment): Putting the action plan into practice, combining the school’s own proposals with others offered by the CEV. A specialist from our Centre holds fortnightly meetings with the “Ambassadors of Character” to accompany and help them in the process.
4. Fourth stop. Enjoying the view and setting new challenges (re-evaluation): At the end of the year, we evaluate what the school has achieved and celebrate what it has accomplished. In this final stage, new goals will be set: a) Re-evaluation through survey; b) On-site visit to the school and interviews; c) Delivery of report; d) Meeting with Management Team and Character Ambassadors to set new targets and continue training.
Other courses for schools or educational communities and institutions
We deliver introductory courses on the “Fundations of Character Education,” designed for educators and parents, through our specialized sessions for parenting schools or teacher training courses.
For more information, please contact us at cevsecretaria@ufv.es.
We believe that education, like growth in virtue, is a permanent task. For this reason, at VEC, we offer different educational formats for those interested in continuing their education.
Workshops and Seminars
“AI and Phronesis”. A conference by Prof. Liz Gulliford, Associate Professor in the Jubilee Centre for Character and Virtues
The era of AI has been inaugurated and there seems to be no turning back. Along with its benefits, it also brings us dilemmas and causes us concern: what are uniquely human characteristics? Can human intelligence be surpassed/replaced by artificial intelligence? What role does the virtue of practical wisdom have in human life or has it entered a phase of obsolescence? These and other questions will be addressed by Dr. Liz Gulliford in this conference, aimed especially at professors and students of our UFV university community, but open to anyone who is interested.
Dr. Liz Gulliford is Associate Professor in the Jubilee Centre for Character and Virtues and teaches at the University of Birmingham’s MA in Character Education. She is also an Associate Fellow of the Oxford Character Project. She was previously an Associate Professor in Positive Psychology at the University of Northampton.
Liz has an interdisciplinary background with an MA in Theology (Trinity College Oxford), an MPhil in Theology and Religious Studies (Queens’ College, Cambridge), and a BPS-accredited BSc in Psychology from Anglia Ruskin University.
She has devoted her research to the theoretical and practical work in positive psychology, positive education, exemplar narratives’ role in cultivating character, and character education and specific virtues (conceptual and empirical) like gratitude, forgiveness, or hope, among other questions.
Liz has given numerous invited presentations internationally to both academic and lay audiences. To the latter end, she published four children’s books on forgiveness, gratitude, courage and hope.
Date: 30 May 2024
Time: 4-5.30pm
International Schedule:
Santiago de Chile (GMT -3): 1.15pm
Ciudad de Méjico (GMT -6): 11.15am
Hora Nueva York (GMT -5): 12.15pm
London (GMT -1): 4.15pm
Location: Francisco de Vitoria University. Madrid. Central Building, room 4.5C,
Organizes: Virtue and Values Education Centre
Contact: vianney.domingo@ufv.es / veronica.fernandez@ufv.es
Cultivating Virtue in the University. Deepening the Why and How.
A conference by Prof. Edward Brooks (Oxford Character Project, Oxford Univerity)
Universities worldwide are currently embracing a more holistic and socially engaged understanding of higher education in their missions. Higher education institutions are more committed to promoting students’ development, well-being, and flourishing. At this juncture, character education is experiencing further development in universities, allowing this promotion of students’ potential or flourishing and further enabling their contribution to the good of society. Prestigious universities worldwide are consistently developing research on character and virtue and implementing character education programs.
Edward Brooks is the Executive Director of The Oxford Character Project, held at the University of Oxford, which is one of the leading centres for character and virtue education at the university level. He is also co-editor of the volume Cultivating Virtue in the University (Oxford University Press, 2022), which gathers several contributions to character and virtue education worldwide.
The conference will offer insights into how many universities worldwide include character and virtue education in their mission and statements. It will present several initiatives on character education for universities, with particular attention to the Oxford Character Project’s courses. It will finally suggest specific developments for effective character and virtue education in the university.
A required reading that helps one prepare for active participation in the seminar will be offered (Lamb, M., Brant, J., & Brooks, E. (2022). Seven Strategies for Cultivating Virtue in the University. In J. Brant, M. Lamb & E. Brooks (Eds.), Cultivating Virtue in the University (1st ed., pp. 115-156). Oxford University Press). Upon registration you will receive access to the reading
Date: 6 February 2024
Time: 5.15-6.30pm
International Schedule: 3 cities
Santiago de Chile (GMT -3): 1.15pm
Ciudad de Méjico (GMT -6): 11.15am
Hora Nueva York (GMT -5): 12.15pm
London (GMT -1): 4.15pm
Location: Francisco de Vitoria University. Madrid. Conference Hall. Building H.
Organizes: Virtue and Values Education Centre
Contact: vianney.domingo@ufv.es / veronica.fernandez@ufv.es
How to Educate Character and Virtue in the University
A conference & workshop by Prof. Michael Lamb (Wake Forest University)
Universities worldwide are currently embracing a more holistic and socially engaged understanding of higher education in their missions. Higher education institutions are more committed to promoting students’ development, well-being, and flourishing. At this juncture, character education is experiencing further development in universities, allowing this promotion of students’ potential or flourishing and further enabling their contribution to the good of society. Prestigious universities worldwide are consistently developing research on character and virtue and implementing character education programs. Program of Leadership and Character held at Wake Forest University is one of the pioneering and leading programs for character and virtue education for university students. Prof. Michael Lamb is the Executive Director of the Program. He is also coeditor of the volume Cultivating Virtue in the University (Oxford University Press, 2022), which gathers several contributions to character and virtue education worldwide. He has also authored (2021). How is Virtue Cultivated? Seven Strategies for Postgraduate Character Development. Journal of Character Education, 17 (1), pp. 81–108.
The seminar offers two related sessions. The first session will include a more general introduction to character and virtue education in the university, ranging from its legitimacy to the analysis of its increasing momentum and suggestions for further development. The second session will consist of a practical workshop that explores strategies to develop character and virtue education in the university.
Date: 8 January 2024
Time: 10am-1pm.
International Schedule: 3 cities
Location: Francisco de Vitoria University. Madrid. Room “Salón de Grados”.
Organizes: Virtue and Values Education Centre
Contact: vianney.domingo@ufv.es / veronica.fernandez@ufv.es
MA in Virtue Pedagogy
The VEC offers a Master’s Degree focused on virtue education and its pedagogy. The Master is geared to all actors in the educational process (teachers, parents, advisers, tutors, coaches, etc.). The CEV organizes it with The Postgraduate School of the Francisco de Vitoria University and the Stella Maris Foundation.
Other Educational Iniciatives
The Centre further organizes conferences, workshops and occasional or more specialized courses related to different issues on virtue and character education, accessible to educators of all levels.
Last Courses Offered
“Teaching and Evaluating Competencies with the Help of Artificial Intelligence” , in collaboration with Edunexis.
“Ambassadors of Character: Leading Character Education in Your School”, by Gary Lewis (President of the Association for Character Education, ACE).
Presentation “The importance of character education and teacher training” by Verónica Fernández and María Pilar Ponce Velasco (October 7, 2024)
Conference by Chris Clyne “Rebuilding Broken Foundations” (October 7, 2024)
Conference by Gary Lewis “Navigating the Path: Strategic Leadership for Character Integration ” (October 7, 2024)
A workshop by Lyndsey Bolton “Empowering Educators: Staff Development Session” (October 7, 2024)
Conference by Prof. Edward Brooks, Oxford Character Project
“Cultivating Virtue in the University. Deepening the Why and How”(February 6th, 2024)
Conference by Prof. Michael Lamb, Wake Forest University
“How to Educate Character and Virtue in the University”(January 8th, 2024)
