Introduction to the Special Section. Character and Citizenship: Towards an Emerging ‘Strong Program’?

The principal questions addressed in this special issue concern a crucial dimension of the educational agenda for 21st century Western societies: in the complex, uncertain, rapidly changing world we live in, which character traits matter most? How are they related with the development of a cohesive society with better rates of employability and innovation, especially among young generations? And how are they best developed? Within this context, special attention must be devoted to citizenship: what are the skills and virtues required for young people to play their role as fully integrated citizens in the emergent European economic, political, social and cultural space? And how can character education improve their social and political participation? Therefore, the scholarly challenge to be met consists of developing the theory of character education and its relation with citizenship education within a sound conceptual frame. This involves integrating approaches, models, data and research methods concerning character traits and citizenship education in Europe.