The Center for Education in Virtues and Values (CEV), part of the School of Education and Psychology at Francisco de Vitoria University, is an interdisciplinary research center dedicated to the study of virtues, character, and values for the promotion of human flourishing.
The center’s primary objective is to promote virtue and foster character in education, the professional world, and society at large, both nationally and internationally.
Mission
To promote character education (educación en virtudes y valores) at the national and international levels, collaborating with other institutions toward this goal. To also place teachers at the center of educational practice.
Vision
To be a cutting-edge laboratory that integrates research and educational practice in schools and universities. To transform education by fostering the growth of teachers and students.
The CEV has dedicated a research track to the study of critical aspects related to the foundations of character and moral psychology that underpin virtue ethics and virtue education. Specifically, the main themes of this line of research focus on: a) the various types of virtues and their interrelationships, with special emphasis on specific virtues such as practical wisdom or phronesis, among others; and b) affective and emotional integration in virtue, moral development, and moral life. Research is conducted in an interdisciplinary manner, particularly at the intersection of ethics or moral psychology, education, and psychology, employing both theoretical and empirical approaches. In addition to contributing to knowledge in these areas, this research line is also dedicated to the ongoing development of the Center’s framework
This line of research is dedicated to the study of contemporary leadership models, with a particular focus on character-based models. The CEV is developing its own leadership model, known as Positive Action Leadership (López González, Fernández Espinosa, Ortiz de Montellano 2023), which views leadership as a virtue of character. This leadership model informs several courses and programs at our Center. This line of research is carried out by the “Leadership Education” research group, which brings together scholars from Francisco de Vitoria University and other institutions of higher education, such as Finis Terrae University in Chile and Anáhuac University in Mexico.
There is a growing awareness of the need to develop character in the workplace, leading to an emerging demand for individuals with virtue and character in the professional world. Research on professionalism and professional ethics shows that professional performance and success require not only specific technical skills but also the development of particular character traits and ways of being. This line of research focuses precisely on the development of virtue and character in professional contexts. Rather than focusing solely on the general relevance of character and virtue in professional settings, it is conceived as a continuation of the character education promoted by the Center at other educational levels, particularly in character education at the university level. Professional ethics based on character and virtues are developed specifically for each degree program. Therefore, this line of research is dedicated to investigating and developing the professional character and virtues of students in each programme , as well as those of university professors and faculty members who teach in these various fields of study.
programme of Character”programme
The programme of programme (LCP) is a programme grounded in virtues and character development, designed for college students with the aim of fostering the acquisition of virtues and character traits necessary for responsible leadership. Among the virtues highlighted in the programme purpose, prudence, humility, temperance, resilience, gratitude, service, and hope. This programme closely linked to a research project that explores the programme content, its educational implications, and the empirical evaluation of its impact.
Fostering Digital Wisdom and Digital Virtues
This research project focuses on analyzing adolescent behavior on social media. Specifically, it examines how adolescents make moral decisions, what types of decisions these are, and how they react to moral dilemmas in the social media environment; it also seeks to develop a model of online behavior and relationships based on moral and phronic decision-making (sabias). This model is grounded in various virtues such as honesty, compassion, sincerity, respect, generosity, moderation, truthfulness, and empathy.
Fostering Virtue and Personal Growth in Various Social Contexts
This project is developing a character programme for school leaders and teachers in Latin America.
ECVA Project
This project is being carried out in collaboration with the European Character and Virtue Association (ECVA), involving scholars from various universities. Its aim is to promote the dissemination of character education among teachers and families. The primary goal of this research is to assess the attitudes and beliefs of parents and teachers in Spain regarding character education in schools, and to compare these findings at the national and international levels.
Project involving schools in Spain, Argentina, Chile, and Mexico
This research project applies ACE accreditation (Association for Character Education) to several schools in different countries.
Phone
+34 91 324 80 64