Seeking a more inclusive approach, according to ethical and democratic principles, in the daily practice of Brazilian public schools is one of the objectives of a study group that is being created at Unicamp's Institute for Advanced Studies (IdEA), in partnership with Instituto Unibanco. On Tuesday (5/10), at 17 pm, a talk with educator Marvin W. Berkowitz, professor of Character Education and co-director of the Center for Character and Citizenship at the University of Missouri-St. Louis (UMSL), marks the Group's inaugural activity.
Composed of researchers internal and external to Unicamp, the group defends the promotion of a free, quality, emancipatory and socially referenced public school. At a time when the federal government introduces reductionist policies to deal with conflicts in the school environment (such as the National Program for Civic-Military Schools) it is imperative to bring this type of discussion to the public debate and encourage dialogue with excellent researchers, says professor Telma Vinha, coordinator of the Group.
“It is a source of great joy to launch our group with a lecture by Professor Berkowitz, one of the greatest references in the area of moral development and character education”, highlights the researcher, who is a professor at the Faculty of Education at Unicamp. “Professor Berkowitz has developed programs in this area and will contribute to the discussion of the project 'Ethical and democratic coexistence in school and society', which we are developing cooperatively to be developed in public education networks.”
The theme of the lecture (in English, with simultaneous translation into Portuguese and broadcast via IDEA YouTube page) will be “The role of schools in developing autonomy and building the future”. Director of the Character Education Leadership Academy, Berkowitz was born in New York, earned his BA (1972) in Psychology from the State University of New York at Buffalo, and his PhD (1977) in Lifespan Developmental Psychology from Wayne State University in Detroit.
In an interview with Unicamp website, Berkowitz explains that character education encompasses initiatives that encourage human kindness, understood as the motivation and ability to become an agent for promoting values for the benefit of the community. This concept includes the ability to do the best in any endeavor (performative character), seek knowledge (intellectual character) and foster responsible citizenship (civic character).
For Berkowitz, character education and citizenship education are overlapping disciplines in school environments in democratic societies. “Being a competent, participatory and responsible democratic citizen presupposes other aspects of character. Citizenship requires the skills, dispositions and knowledge necessary to be a good citizen. Such dispositions include moral, performance, and intellectual character. It is necessary to serve the common good guided by truth and knowledge, and be able to persevere in the face of opposing forces”, declares the professor. “Therefore, a comprehensive and effective character education is a critical part of forming a democratic citizen.”
He cites success stories in this area in the United States during the administrations of Presidents Bill Clinton (1993-2001) and George W. Bush (2001-2009), at the municipal and state levels, encouraged by federal legislation. According to the expert, both character education and socio-emotional education are subject to legislation in some North American states. Countries such as Singapore, the United Arab Emirates, South Korea, China and Indonesia have also turned their attention to these issues.
Berkowitz points out that, initially, socio-emotional education tended to focus on content and curricula and the prevention of psychological problems, such as depression, violence, suicide and substance abuse, through the development of social and psychological skills. Character education was more diverse, focusing on personality and values, and using a wide range of strategies, such as curricula, relationships and school mission. “As time went by, each recognized the strengths of the other and began to be broader and with targeted results. Many approaches are now described by both or just one of the labels. ”
Coexistence problems – how bullying, indiscipline, violence and prejudice – and the effects they have on the school climate, pedagogical practices, interpersonal relationships and human development, have been the subject of research in the area of education. Despite being issues common to several countries, they are more common in Brazil, given our structural needs, argues Telma Vinha. “Inequalities of race, gender and socioeconomic level, among other factors, are also manifested in lower performance, greater severity and frequency of punishments in schools”, highlights the FE teacher, also noting that black, poor and homosexual students are the biggest victims of bullying.
“This is, therefore, a great challenge that points to the need to seek strategies capable of improving the quality of interpersonal relationships in schools, tackling inequalities and, at the same time, promoting citizenship training, towards moral autonomy. ”
The activities of the “Ethics, Diversity and Democracy in Public Schools” Group will cover advanced projects, studies and seminars, meetings and debates with national and international researchers, participation in research centers and networks and holding events and dissemination actions aimed at the external public. . In Brazil, the great challenges in this area and the limited scope of programs to prevent and mitigate violence and promote positive coexistence demand more contributions from academia.
“As it is a place to interact with diversity and experience in public space, schools can be the ideal place to learn to live together in a participatory, inclusive and respectful way, strengthening democratic values. But successful experiences in this area in Brazilian public schools are still isolated, almost artisanal initiatives”, concludes Telma Vinha.
The new IdEA study group is made up of the following researchers: Adriana Braga (EFLCH/Unifesp/Guarulhos), Adriano Moro (GEPEM/Fundação Carlos Chagas), Ana Maria de Aragão (FE/Unicamp), Ângelo Cortelazzo (IB/Unicamp) , Carlos Vogt (Labjor/Unicamp), Cesar Augusto Nunes (GEPEM/Instituto Unibanco), Flávia de Campos Vivaldi (GEPEM), Luciene Tognetta (FCLAR/Unesp/Araraquara), Maria Suzana Menin (FCT/Unesp/Presidente Prudente), Mirela de Carvalho (Instituto Unibanco), Ricardo Henriques (Instituto Unibanco) and Telma Vinha (FE/Unicamp), with technical support from Elvira Pimentel (PhD student at FE/Unicamp).
Lecture “The role of schools in developing autonomy and building the future”
Speaker: dr. Marvin W. Berkowitz
Date: 5 October 2021
Hour: 17h to 19h
Language: English with simultaneous translation into Portuguese
Streaming: www.youtube.com/c/InstitutodeEstudosAvançadosUnicamp
