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DOI

10.22550/REP81-1-2023-09

Abstract

In recent years, several initiatives have attempted to integrate character education in universities. However, it is difficult at the university level to find initiatives aimed at generating communities in which their climate or culture contribute to character development, a relatively common approach at the school level in the character education movement. University residential centers may be an ideal setting for generating such communities. However, studies, guides, or programs along these lines are scarce or non-existent. A case worthy of study is that of Colegios Mayores, university residential communities in Spain with a centuries-old tradition that aim to contribute to the integral development of students. However, the literature on the educational dimension of this institution is also scarce and outdated. Contributing to outline its educational dimension, this study reports the results of a survey of directors of Colegios Mayores. The aims of this study are to: 1) explore whether the community of Colegios Mayores agrees in considering six practices as characteristic of this institution; 2) explore the level of implementation of each one of them; and 3) explore if the way in which the community members are involved in these practices responds to the social learning model of Communities of Practice proposed by Etienne Wenger. The questionnaire was answered by 19 directors, representing 15.2% of the population (N=125). Based on the results, it is reasonable to affirm that most directors of Colegios Mayores: 1) consider that the six practices proposed are characteristic of this institution; 2) already implement these practices in their centers; and 3) consider that the Communities of Practice model reflects the way in which the collegial community engages in these practices.

Please, cite this article as follows: Dabdoub, J. P., Salaverría, A. R., & Berkowitz M. W. (2023). Identificación de prácticas para promover el desarrollo del carácter en contextos residenciales universitarios: el caso de los Colegios Mayores | Identifying practices to promote character development in university residential settings: The case of Colegios Mayores. Revista Española de Pedagogía, 81 (284), 171-189. 10.22550/REP81-1-2023-09

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Author Biography

Juan P. Dabdoub is Lecturer at the School of Education and Psychology of the Universidad de Navarra, where he de- fended his doctoral dissertation in 2019. He is member of the Education, Citizen- ship, and Character Research Group since 2015, Secretary of the Association of Mor- al Education since 2021, and founder and co-Director of University Communities for Charcater Development. His lines of research focus on the theory and practice of character education, educational leader- ship, and the design, implementation, and assessment of interventions that promote character development.

https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3750-0685

Aitor R. Salaverría is a doctoral stu- dent at the School of Education and Psy- chology of the Universidad de Navarra, where he obtained his M.A. in Globaliza- tion and Social Integration Law in 2011. His research focuses on studying how to promote character development in uni- versity contexts. He collaborates closely with the Education, Citizenship and Char- acter Research Group since 2019 and is and founder and co-Director of University Communities for Character Development. He has been a Director and consultant of Colegios Mayores since 2011.

https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9894-2917

Marvin Berkowitz is the first San- ford N. McDonnell Endowed Professor of Character Education and co-Director of the Center for Character & Citizenship at the University of Missouri-St. Louis since 1998. His research focuses on char- acter education, moral development, and educational leadership. He is founder and co-editor of the Journal of Character Ed- ucation and founder of the Center for Ad- diction and Behavioral Health Research in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4335-6405

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Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License

Esta obra está bajo una licencia internacional Creative Commons Atribución-NoComercial 4.0.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License

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Palabras clave | Keywords

Character development, character education, Communities of Practice, residence halls