An Explanation and Critique of Educational Moral Values in Paideia Proposal

Abstract

Teaching moral values in educational systems has always been an issue throughout the world. Any kind of setback in this field may lead to the failure of the educational system. The Paideia Proposal is a reaction to the cultural and moral decline of the educational system of the West and its study and critique may strengthen the theoretical perspective. In this article, the origins of philosophical thinking of moral values, the relationship of such an educational system with objective, content and method have been explained by descriptive - analytic method and it was criticized (internally and externally). Given the fact that this proposal is based on a cognitive aspect of action, and that consideration was placed on the reasoning of moral concepts in seminar classes, findings of this article suggest the need for experienced and qualified teachers in seminar classes, the necessity for practical activity in order to achieve responsibility and confronting the learner with the consequences of their actions and motivating them to quit or continue the operation, and also the necessity for some conditions such as work–based learning in vocational education to understand values related to nature, human and social values, and were just some of the internal criticisms of this proposal. On the other hand, emphasis on the cognitive aspect of action was not enough; thus, it is necessary to design a curriculum with miscellaneous dimensions on the principle of other action: inclination and will.

Keywords

• moral values
• education
• paideia proposal