The book “Una mirada femenina de la educación moral” has just been published by Desclée De Brouwer and edited by Dr Maria Rosa Buxarrais and Dr Isabel Vilafranca, both lecturers at the University of Barcelona.

Abstract:

El siglo XX ha sido el siglo de las mujeres, no solo por la masiva incorporación de la mujer al mercado laboral sino, también, por su visibilidad en la esfera pública. La mujer ha dado un paso adelante, dejando de centrarse exclusivamente en la vida privada –el cuidado de los menores, las personas dependientes y el hogar– y tomando cada vez mayor protagonismo en el escenario social, cívico, intelectual, en definitiva, público. Este fenómeno ha permitido gestar un nuevo paradigma pedagógico mundial que, avalado por instituciones educativas internacionales, reclama una educación para la igualdad.

Esta obra viene a cubrir varios vacíos: por una parte, la necesidad de una antología pedagógica de mujeres desde una sensibilidad femenina y, por otra, un homenaje a todas aquellas autoras que desde diferentes discursos, tiempos y espacios, han aportado cuestiones relevantes al ámbito de la Educación Moral. Un libro que pretende hacer visible que los discursos sobre educación moral no deben abordar únicamente una perspectiva de virtudes androcéntricas o universalistas, sino incorporar nuevas formas de argumentación moral que han quedado tradicionalmente desvalorizadas.

The table of contents cover these topics, analysed by the following authors:

– Foreword, by Marina Subirats.
– Introduction, by Isabel Vilafranca y Maria Rosa Buxarrais.
– 01. Edith Stein, by María Azevedo.
– 02. María Zambrano, by Antonieta Carreño.
– 03. Hannah Arendt, by Ingrid Agud y Ana Novella.
– 04. Astrid Lindgren, by Núria Obiols.
– 05. Simone Weil, by Marta Burguet Arfelis.
– 06. Nel Noddings, by María Rosa Buxarrais y Melania Muñoz.
– 07. Virginia Held, by Yolanda Montero y Maria Rosa Buxarrais.
– 08. Carol Gilligan, by Montserrat Payà Sánchez y Laura Rubio Serrano.
– 09. Victoria Camps, by Isabel Vilafranca.
– 10. Martha Nussbaum, by Amèlia Tey y Elena Noguera.
– 11. Amy Gutmann, by Ana Ayuste y Mariona Graell.
– 12. Seyla Benhabib, by Mónica Gijón y Xus Martín.
– 13. Judith Butler, by Raquel Cercós y Karina Rivas.

The table of contents, the prologue and the introduction can be freely downloaded in pdf here.

The book can be purchased in the editor’s website.

Last month, the article “Profile, Motivation and Academic Satisfaction of the Master Students: the Case of Social and Legal Sciences” was published in the journal Estudios sobre Educación. The authors of this article (written in Spanish) are Pilar Figuera, Maria Rosa Buxarrais, Juan Llanes and Marta Venceslao.

Abstract

This article presents the results of a research aimed at analysing the motivations and academic satisfaction in the transition to master’s studies in Social and Legal Sciences. A total of 453 students from 8 master’s degrees from the University of Barcelona and Autonomous University of Barcelona have participated. The results show differences between the typology of master and reasons for choice and satisfaction with studies and the relationship between academic satisfaction and the motives of choice. The specificity of the transition processes to these studies and the importance of establishing guiding actions are confirmed.

The article is available to download in the article section.

The article “Beyond Kohlberg: Ethical Learning for Coherence between Judgement, Feelings and Moral Actions”, written in Catalan by Dr. Amèlia Tey and Dr. Maria Rosa Buxarrais, has recently been published in the Anuari de Psicologia de la Societat Valenciana de Psicologia.

Abstract

Moral development is still a matter of concern within the educational community. Different education agents devote time and effort to a topic that currently shows a clear separation between theory and practice, between reasoning and moral actions. The objectives and intentions of schools and families are laudable, but children and teenagers act too impulsively and find it difficult to acquire certain behaviours.

Kohlberg’s approach, focuse don’t hedevelopment of judgement and moral reasoning, seems to provide students with formal discursive elements. However, there is not enough of the deep reflection that would make students adopt his approach as part of their own personalities. In other words, the evolution of the approach to analyse value-laden situations has no direct correlation with a real capability to take decisions at the same level.

Based on this analysis, we propose an inclusive view of the person in order to enhance their moral development. Ethical learning, like any other type of learning, implies a transformation of theway of interpreting and reacting to all that happens in the world. This transformation must take place in the superior psychological processes and in motivation, based on sensitivity and interiority, to promote awareness of the consequences of actions and their real scope.

The article is available to download in the article section.