Introducing Ethics Education in Schools...Information/Consultation Seminar: Introducing Ethics Education in Schools International Perspectives on the Teaching of Ethics in Schools

Information/Consultation Seminar: Introducing Ethics Education in Schools

International Perspectives on the Teaching of Ethics in Schools Louise Chircop and Lucianne Zammit

Information/Consultation Seminar

Introducing Ethics Education in

Schools

International Perspectives on the

Teaching of Ethics in Schools



2



3

• Educating into religion • Educating about religion

• Educating from religion •Humanistic curriculum

Different Approaches to the Teaching of Values



4

• One subject which incorporates Religious Education and secular Ethics e.g. England & Wales, Norway and the US

• One subject which is completely secular in nature e.g. France and Quebec, Canada

• Two subjects (Religious Education and secular Ethics) e.g. Germany, Ireland, Belgium and Australia

Different Models



5

• Religious Education is a statutory subject with a non-statutory programme of study

• non-religious philosophies

• can contribute to intercultural understanding and citizenship education

England and Wales



6

• six major religions: Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism and Sikhism

• ethics, philosophy and morals •General Certificate in Secondary Education (GCSE) - two

attainment targets: 1. students should ‘learn about’ religion and life stances 2. students should ‘learn from’ religion and life stances

https://www.gov.uk/national-curriculum/key-stage-3-4



7

• Spring 2005: new, non-sectarian programme in Ethics and Religious Culture

• It aims to develop in pupils three equally important skills:

1. competence in ethics

2. competence in religious culture

3. competence in dialogue

Quebec, Canada



8

• It replaced religion classes with a curriculum covering all the major faiths

• the program became mandatory in Quebec schools in May 2008,

• http://www.learnquebec.ca/en/content/curriculum/personal_dev/erc/



9

• Religious and Moral Education is taught in 92% of primary schools

• The Educate Together schools (2% of sector) employ the Learn Together programme,

• It combines ethics and values with a comparative view of world religions.

Ireland



10

• Strand 1: Moral & Spiritual

• Strand 2: Equality & Justice

• Strand 3: Belief Systems

• Strand 4: Ethics & the Environment

• http://www.educatetogether.ie/about/learn-together

http://www.educatetogether.ie/about/learn-together





11

• The New South Wales 2010 Ethics pilot programme was implemented as a complement or alternative to Special Religious Education.

• The overarching aim of the course is to ‘provide a secular complement for the discussion of the ethical dimension of students' lives’.

Australia



12

Lessons:

• a particular ethical question (e.g., ‘What makes a practice or action fair or unfair?’)

• a feature of the ethical decision making process itself (e.g. the use and nature of ethical principles).

• discussion-based ethical inquiry

• http://www.primaryethics.com.au/K-6.html

http://www.primaryethics.com.au/K-6.html













Introducing Ethics Education in Schools...Information/Consultation Seminar: Introducing Ethics Education in Schools International Perspectives on the Teaching of Ethics in Schools

Documents