"With this project we have been able to verify that peace building is strengthened; character formation, of course; it improves the organizational climate, the social fabric and the generation of knowledge."
Secretary of Education of Jalisco, Juan Carlos Flores Miramontes
ZAPOPAN, Jalisco; March 29, 2023.- With the objective of reflecting on the nature and relevance of character education, to present the results of the project "Leadership in character formation in public schools in Mexico", also known as the "Educaracter Forum" project, and also to awaken interest in educational issues in other educational agents in Mexico, the School of Pedagogy and Psychology of the Universidad PanamericanaCampus Guadalajara, in collaboration with the University of Navarra and the Secretary of Education of Jalisco, presented the "Educaracter Forum". National Forum on Character Education 2023. Both the project and this event are sponsored by the World Templeton Charity Foundation.
Educaracter Forum 2023
The Forum was attended by national and international speakers, who through their presentations sought to describe what character education is and why its formation in schools is important. Within the framework of the forum , the preliminary results of the project developed by Panamericana in collaboration with the University of Navarra, the Secretary of Education of Jalisco and the Center Character and Citizenship of the University of Missouri St. Louis were presented.
"Character is the set of characteristics that motivate and enable a person to function as a moral agent, do his or her best work, collaborate effectively in the commons to promote the common good, and effectively inquire into and pursue knowledge and truth" University of Missouri at St. Louis Professor Marvin Berkowitz
The first day of the event included an academic colloquium, conferences and the official inauguration, which was attended by Juan Carlos Flores Miramontes, Secretary of Education of Jalisco. In the afternoon, the documentary "Educating character, a new school culture" directed by Roberto Girault was presented, which showed the implementation process of the project, reflecting the results of the research-action plan that has been carried out in secondary schools in the past 2 years, with the participation of 5,435 students and 419 directors, teachers and administrative staff from six schools. The second day included a discussion, presentation of school projects, a conference on the importance of school principals' leadership in character formation and a closing ceremony, accompanied by lunch.
In general, the event was a space for reflection and dialogue to promote knowledge about character education. This space was led by international and national experts, as well as educational and academic authorities.
The project's researchers, as well as Dr. Marvin Berkowitz from the Center for Character Education and Citizenship, highlighted the implementation of the project in other countries, in addition to Mexico, since it is certified by scientific support. In other words, this program has proven with scientific evidence, the improvement in schools and the reduction of violence rates.
The Universidad Panamericana is proud to be part of the citizenship education through the Educaracter National Forum and the project that stems from it, in addition to contributing to the integral growth of the Jalisco high school student community.
