Traditionally, higher education study programs in Europe have been framed as content-focused, drawing on pre-agreed canons of knowledge delivered through a systematic didactic approach. The strict curricula and the lecture-based format can be said to allow for limited spaces for indulging into societal concerns or discussing values and beliefs. On the other hand, the history of Higher education offers an abundance of normative considerations regarding its role as a civilizing force within complex societies and the democratic regime. In this context, multiple questions are raised as to the role Higher education can play in building Citizenship Education in Europe. Nowadays, the demands of good citizenship stretch beyond the requirement for “proper behavior in the public space” to a series of other competences, i.e. how one reasons, acquires evidence, and assesses argumentation when one discusses and responds to individuals. The ‘recipe’ for healthy democracy requires refraining from ‘demonizing’ people and attitudes to practicing a range of intellectual virtues, such as “open-mindedness”, “fair-mindedness”, “intellectual carefulness”, “perseverance” and “intellectual autonomy”. Therefore, the first goal of this paper is to examine which intellectual virtues should be promoted in higher education. I will show how these virtues relate to both students’ academic development and the competences of citizenship education. Via problem-based learning examples or literature narratives in the context of different disciplines, I will explore how the teaching and learning process at university can build future professionals and citizens, i.e making connections between the inner knowledge of self and the outer knowledge of the world.

Authors:
Vassiliki Delli, University of Patras, Greece

About the Presenter(s)
Ms Vassiliki Delli is currently an ESP/EAP Instructor at the Foreign Language Unit of the University of Patras.
Her research interests include Intercultural Communication, Citizenship Education and Higher Education pedagogy.

See this presentation on the full schedule – Monday Schedule

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