This book brings together recent work by international researchers from nine countries in the fields of moral development and citizenship education. The book consists of twelve chapters and it is divided into three parts.

This open access book provides a comprehensive overview and in-depth coverage of contemporary aspects of leadership in the field of education in Finland. It brings together Finnish scholars to critically explore and discuss leadership in education in the context of the Finnish education system and in relation to international discourses around the topic. It discusses the phenomenon of leadership in educational contexts through several novel empirical and theoretical research designs. It includes themes such as distributed leadership and collaborative governance, changing aspects in the leadership profession, and contradictions in everyday organizational practices and realities. The work also combines conceptual discussions in educational and pedagogical leadership to analyze and to clarify the theoretical and conceptual multidimensionality and ambiguities.

Society is a complex phenomenon, characterized by constant change, often entailing conflict. This is seen in our own times where philosophies and movements of individualism, pluralism and globalization intersect and often collide. Still, even in this fast-moving and highly materialist world, religion and spirituality remain crucial aspects of human and social living, and therefore must be among the many focusses of the modern school. Teachers of Religious and Spiritual Education (RSE) are therefore expected to support students’ religious and spiritual understanding as well as their overall development. How can they best meet this challenge? This book is comprised of various interdisciplinary research findings drawn from international scholarship. The findings are of a different order from each other but all have in common an element of surprise, sufficient to impel reflection and re-thinking of many of the assumptions that normally underpin RSE. The book therefore constitutes a contribution to ongoing understanding of the role played by religious and spiritual education and of the proper interface between RSE and the modern school, contemporary curricula and the teacher of today. Contributions by Robert Crotty, Ola Erik Domaas, Michael Fricke, Liam Gearon, Adrian-Mario Gellel, Eija Hanhimaki, Laura Hirsto, Tapani Innanen, Terence Lovat, Klaas Macha, Emanuel P. Magro, Adil Mamodaly, Fritz Oser, Ulrich Riegel, Inkeri Rissanen, Sturla Sagberg, Kirsi Tirri, Theo van der Zee, Karen Wenell

This book identifies the cultural and moral foundations of country-specific educational governance and school leadership and presents the principles of justice and the diversity of common goods that guide leadership practices in schools. It contributes to an existing research field that studies diversity and ethical leadership in schools. The social dimension of school leadership is not limited to issues related to equality and equity, or social inclusion. The capacity of leaders to promote civic-mindedness and social cooperation, consensus and acceptance of others, the right balance between freedom and duties, and reciprocity of obligations, are essential to maintain democratic rights and facilitate the life together while respecting ethnic and cultural differences. Therefore, the book gathers contributions from a range of international authors capable of reporting these moral and cultural features, while broadening the research perspectives on school leadership.

In Professionals’ Ethos and Education for Responsibility, Alfred Weinberger, Horst Biedermann, Jean-Luc Patry and Sieglinde Weyringer offer insights into different concepts and applications of professionals’ ethos focusing on teachers’ ethos. Ethos refers to the responsibility of a professional, and it is considered a key element of a professional’s work. The first time mentioned in ancient Greece denoting character and habit, the word ethos nowadays has several definitions and meanings. This book intends to explore the variety of meanings, with authors in this volume drawing from established concepts of ethos and empirical research to push the field forward.

In the past two decades there has been a growing concern in politics and schools to pay more attention to norms and values. Teachers and schools are confronted with normative problems, school violence and students who sometimes seem to have lost their way when it comes to norms and values.

This volume presents how high performing education systems over the world are constantly innovating their educational policies to nurture their citizens for the challenges of the future economy and the anticipation of the unknown. This volume includes a state-of-the-art review of the literature in this field, several commissioned focal chapters focusing on the distinctive case of Singapore and internationally commissioned chapters of several other accomplished education systems around the world. A comparative study of Singapore against other high performing education systems is included to provide greater insights to the possible applications to other education systems.

This book addresses issues related to ethics and integrity in teacher training. Authors pay special attention to the role ethics plays in teaching practice and the importance of establishing expectations for students to learn with integrity from a young age. The book celebrates global perspectives on ethics and integrity for pre-service teachers, acknowledging that although some aspects of ethics are universal, the ways in which these are implemented can vary. Contributors present original research, case studies, and recommendations for practice and teaching. The book draws on a range of theoretical and conceptual foundations including applied ethics, academic integrity, and moral education.

What makes teaching a moral endeavor? How can we prepare classroom practitioners for engaging in that moral endeavor in meaningful and effective ways? This volume brings together leading scholar who draw upon both their academic expertise and substantial wisdom of practice to offer a variety of perspectives on the challenge of preparing today’s teachers for the moral work of teaching. Book Features: Examines the role that teacher preparation and development can play in addressing the moral work of teaching.Highlights the work of leading scholars from educational psychology, educational philosophy, and teacher education.Provides compelling insights for identifying the next generation of our nation’s best teachers. Contributors: Wolfgang Althof, Karen D. Benson, Marvin W. Berkowitz, Donald Blumenfeld-Jones, Elizabeth Campbell, Julie Canniff, Mary Crawford, Lana Daly, Rebecca Evers, Cathie Fallona, Gary Fenstermacher, Anthony Holter, Lisa E. Johnson, Daniel Lapsley, Darcia Narvaez, Virginia Navarro, Larry Nucci, Joy Pelton, Virginia Richardson, Don Senneville, David Shields, Barbara Stengel, Jonatha W. Vare, Marilyn Watson Matthew Sanger is associate professor of Educational Foundations in the College of Education at Idaho State University. Richard Osguthorpe is associate professor and chair of the Department of Curriculum, Instruction, and Foundational Studies at Boise State University. “The editors and contributors help us appreciate that many teachers come to the work precisely because of abiding moral commitments —to help others, to make a difference in the lives of the young, to give something back to society. But they also help us see how crucial it is to give candidates systematic support in coming to grips with the meaning of these commitments, and how to translate them into pedagogical action for the well-being of students and society alike.” —From the Foreword by David T. Hansen “This book sheds light into the core of professional morality. It should be a ‘must’ for each student teacher and for each practitioner around school life.” —Fritz Oser, professor of education and educational psychology, University of Fribourg, Switzerland “Lest we forget that teaching is inherently moral work, Sanger and Osguthorpe explain what this means for teachers and teacher educators. The combination of conceptual analysis and cases of teacher education practice make this book a valuable resource and welcome antidote to the current preoccupation with test scores.” —Sharon Feiman-Nemser, Brandeis University