Fostering Wisdom in Youth through Moral Education in a Bahá'í-inspired School

Abstract: This article reports a focused ethnographical study that examined the practices of an independent Bahá’í-inspired school that aspires to deliberately foster students’ acquisition of wisdom as well as their capacity to be moral citizens who will contribute to the common good. The school’s starting point is a Bahá’í belief that all humans have an innate potential for developing wise thinking and noble dispositions. Its key strategy is the deliberate use of an ethos-driven moral curriculum framed by nineteen moral capabilities designed to promote a deep understanding amongst staff and students of moral and prosocial thought and action. The aim is twofold: to enable students to develop wise thinking and noble behavior, and to equip them to contribute to the positive transformation of society. Drawing on the first author’s sustained dialogue with the school leadership and immersive observation of the school’s life world, this study explores the means used to advance these aims, and draws some preliminary conclusions about their effect. It finds that the day-to-day practices through which the nineteen moral capabilities framework is operationalized do incrementally transform students by fostering their wise thinking and moral action.