Context One of the main objectives of the Erasmus+ Programme is the promotion of European values in accordance with Article 2 of the Treaty on European Union: 'The Union is founded on the values of respect for human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law and respect for human rights, including the rights of persons belonging to minorities. These values are common to the Member States in a society in which pluralism, non-discrimination, tolerance, justice, solidarity and equality between women and men prevail'. Ethics education plays an integral role in the fostering of European values. However, ethics is studied in European secondary schools within a wide variety of curricula, ranging from philosophy (such as in The Netherlands and Slovenia) and civics (such as partly in Slovakia), to ethics as an independent curriculum (such as in Germany). This fragmentation of curricula, along with a fragmentation of pedagogical methods and goals, inhibits the opportunities for exchanges of best practices and mutual learning, which are two of the objectives of the strategic framework for European cooperation in education and training (ET2020). The Community of Ethics Teachers in Europe aims at overcoming these curricular differences through (digital) innovation, in order to promote the acquisition of skills and competences of European ethics teachers. Objectives, activities and impact The Erasmus+ project from 2017 with the title 'A Community of Ethics Teachers in Europe' (COMET; 2017-1-NL01-KA201-035219) established a network of ethics teachers by means of an online platform, which can now be visited at https://ethics.community. With the current project, 'A Community of Ethics Teachers in Europe 2' (COMET 2), we are expanding the online platform with the ethics curricula of five new partner countries: Bulgaria, Greece, Luxembourg, Norway and Spain. Coinciding with the development of the online platform, the research of the 2017 COMET project aimed at mapping and categorising the ethics curricula of the participating countries. One of the remarkable findings of the COMET project was that none of the participating countries employed a comprehensive methodology towards oracy in the ethics classroom: even though classroom discussions on ethical topics were common, a more systematic approach to debating moral dilemmas remained absent. This is noteworthy, as many studies have shown the positive impact of debate on the development of skills that are at the core of every ethics curriculum, such as critical thinking, empathy and respect for different viewpoints (see e.g. IDEA's Erasmus+ funded study from 2017, 'From Measuring to Learning: Evaluating the Impact of Debate on Critical Thinking and Democratic Values', especially §3.3: Impact on Values). In order to respond to this lacuna in European ethics education, the COMET 2 project will aim at the development of a teacher's guide with the provisional title: 'Teaching Ethics Through Debate', that will fit to the variety of curricula and approaches throughout the partner countries. The teacher's guide will consist of a systematic approach to debating ethical topics, supplemented with a collection of moral dilemmas that can be used as a starting point for classroom debates. The approach to debating ethical topics will be developed by drawing on the findings of the 2019 Erasmus+ strategic partnership with the title 'A Debate And Philosophy Typology' (ADAPT, 2019-1-NL01-KA201-060287). The teacher's guide will be presented to ethics teachers through Multiplier Events in eight of the COMET 2 partner countries, with the long-term benefit of establishing a network of schools in Europe where current ethical topics are discussed in a systematic manner. This will have a positive impact on the quality of ethics education in Europe. Participants The COMET 2 consortium consists of five universities (Tilburg University, The Netherlands; Sofia University, Bulgaria; Universidad Complutense Madrid, Spain; Oslo Metropolitan University, Norway; Matej Bel University, Slovakia), three secondary schools (Wolfert Bilingual School Rotterdam, The Netherlands; Gymnasium Weilheim, Germany; Lycée Classique de Diekirch, Luxembourg), and three associations (Za in Proti, National Debate Organisation of Slovenia; Udruga Mala Filozofija, Philosophical Association of Croatia; Institute of Educational Policy in Athens, Greece). Additionally, the COMET 2 project has three associated partners: Fédération Internationale des Sociétés de Philosophie (FISP), Association Internationale des Professeurs de Philosophie (AIPPh), and International Debate Education Association (IDEA).
Debating Ethical Dilemmas in the Classroom is a valuable resource for educators looking to foster critical thinking and ethical reasoning in their students. It presents a variety of thought-provoking ethical dilemmas and offers structured debate frameworks to help students develop the skills to articulate and defend their viewpoints. While debating values, principles, harms and benefits, students will not only learn how to analyze and evaluate ethical issues, but also how to respect and consider the perspectives of others.
The classical approach to education, which focuses mostly on receptive learning, no longer meets our needs. In this age of mass media, we require our students to be critical thinkers and active participants in civil society. There’s no better way to develop an active role in society and a critical stance than the art of debating.