Moral Courage and the Normative Professionalism of Teachers

In the past two decades there has been a growing concern in politics and schools to pay more attention to norms and values. Teachers and schools are confronted with normative problems, school violence and students who sometimes seem to have lost their way when it comes to norms and values. Teachers play a crucial and exemplary role in the process of developing students’ awareness of norms and values in school and in society as a whole. This is a complex process that requires a great deal of moral courage of teachers. Confronted with an increase in the number of pedagogical duties the question arises what the teachers’ view is on their normative professionalism. The concept of teaching as a moral endeavour is a fundamental element in the series of studies presented in this book. One of the aims of this book is to be of importance for educational practice, educational policy and teacher education. It can be used in courses of pedagogy, curriculum studies and teacher education to stimulate the reflection about the practical consequences of the societal and educational policy debate about moral and democratic education for the daily work of the teacher. The common focus of this book is on the role of teachers, the moral courage which is demanded of them and the joint commitment with moral and democratic education.