0000000000548313

AUTHOR

Rafaela García

Ethical and Civic Education and the Social Commitment of University Students

Recent decades have seen growing international concern about the lack of social commitment among young people, shown in their failure to participate in social affairs, scant interest in formal politics, and low turnout at elections.
 First, the international framework which forms the background to our paper is outlined. The ethical and civic education which university students receive is discussed, in the context of the social mission of the university and the European Higher Education Area. We then move on to examine one of the most promising initiatives in this field: service learning. We conclude with a proposal containing some suggestions of relevance to higher education. The need …

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Action research as a school-based strategy in intercultural professional development for teachers

Abstract Teacher professional development is a key factor for transforming professional and school culture. This article describes a case study undertaken in a Spanish school during the 2007–2008 academic year. Our aim is to explain how action research methodology was applied to encourage professional and school culture towards an intercultural and inclusive approach. Our results show that the training process challenged teachers’ pre-existing deficit theory perspectives and empowered them as leaders for school change. The conclusions identify the key factors that enabled teachers to engage in critical reflection, and to implement strategies for collaborative work and community participatio…

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