Nancy Bouchard

Ethics education seen through the lens of Habermas’s conception of practical reason: the Québec Education Program

This paper examines the Québec Education Program (QEP), particularly the new course in ethics and religious culture (ERC), in the light of Habermas’s conception of the moral and ethical uses of practical reason. Habermas’s discursive theory of morality is used to assess the program’s understanding of what it means to be competent in moral matters. Specifically, the paper considers whether or not the program limits the exercise of practical reason to its purely pragmatic form, and the extent to which the program takes into account the intersection between the subjective and social world of learners. The Québec program serves as a context for thinking about the level(s) of practical reason an ethics education program ought to cultivate in learners.

Enthusiasm and Ambivalence: Elementary School Teacher Perspectives on the Ethics and Religious Culture Program

The implementation of the Ethics and Religious Culture Program has generated a great deal of controversy. Amidst all the controversy we rarely, if ever, hear what teachers think about the program. In this article, the authors present the perspectives of elementary school teachers. First a teacher discusses her experience with the program. This teacher is especially enthusiastic about the program, particularly the way in which it opens up new possibilities for reflection and dialogue. We then present the preliminary findings of a survey of teachers. This survey is the first non-governmental study of teachers. The findings point to considerable ambivalence regarding certain aspects of the program. Finally, we discuss some of the major challenges arising for teacher education, particularly the importance of providing an integrated disciplinary formation in both ethics and religion.