These are quite common virtue goals within educational organisations. 

We often refer to developing reasoning and reflection with our students in academic terms, but these are vital personal traits to develop and practise for personal and interpersonal relationships.

Autonomy is an important virtue for helping people feel empowered and taking ownership of situations. This is something that us as teachers can help develop explicitly or implicitly.

In our society truth and justice are inculcated from an early age in education. This is then developed to become more sophisticated as we become aware of different truths and explore differing forms of justice. As a teacher you will come across situations that are ‘just’ and ‘un-just’. Developing the virtues to deal with this is important.

All other virtues need to be anchored in this strand. This is because you may have other virtues, such as resilience or motivation used in criminal behaviour if not grounded in moral virtue.

Enables ‘pro-social’ behaviours. Develops the sense of what is right for the individual, but also what is right for others.

Moral dilemmas are present in schools all the time, so exploring compassion, humility and integrity is important for all involved within the organisation, not just students. As a teacher you may well be presented with a moral dilemma that involves colleagues.

One of the challenges with moral virtue is that we all have a different idea of morality through our experiences, background and thoughts etc. In schools there needs to be a shared idea, driven by the leadership, about how important the virtues of honesty, justice, compassion and gratitude are for example.

Important for the common good. There is an expectation on students to behave in a certain way and display positive attitudes to learning - these are examples of contributing to the common good on a daily basis within schools. 

Covered through academic subjects: PSHE, Citizenship. However, there are many opportunities for non-academic, sought out examples that students can be involved in. Charitable causes, play leaders, school council etc. All of these are powerful examples of how our society works positively for the benefit of all.

Non-academic opportunities help develop this virtue: volunteering, service etc.

These are widely used virtues in educational settings. We often talk about motivation, resilience and determination with our students. These virtues are often instrumental in enabling other virtues.

Often these are directed at achieving academic outcomes, but they have a place in personal development.

People need to have the confidence to take their place in society, knowing that they are contributing and making positive personal and social choices.

Living a life puts challenges in our way that we try and overcome. Developing the resilience to cope with these challenges and to try again is seen in schools everyday. We encourage our students to always try again.

Teachers need resilience. Our profession is full of challenges that can occur everyday. We need to think about our resilience and determination so that we can overcome challenges and provide the best for our students.