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collective learning Archive

Forming genuine courage is not an individual project: A reflection on guided practice in developing character

Conceptual painting with two people climbing a mountain together, one helping the other to reach the top peak.

In the first installment of a new series, Aaron D. Cobb, ECI’s Director of Collective Learning, invites us to consider whether courage is something we can truly develop on our own. As Aaron puts it, simply practicing by ourselves is not enough to help us grow in real courage. We need guides: people who can help shape how we learn and show us what good practice looks like.

Categories: Educating Character Initiative News

Searching for joy

Virtues & Vocations: Higher Education for Human Flourishing magazine cover, Spring 2026

“This letter describes what my imagined companions—sociological archetypes to draw out complexities beyond my own experience and knowledge—might encoun­ter together on the path to joy,” writes Senior Research Scholar & Associate Director of Partnerships Emily Hunt-Hinojosa in this month’s Virtues & Vocations magazine.

Categories: Educating Character Initiative News

Gathering for the common good: Reflections from a convening of faith-based institutions at George Fox University

ECI Community members pose for a group photo

This fall, George Fox University hosted ECI Community members united in exploring the formation of student character in faith-based higher education. Together, this group of thoughtful leaders represents a growing subset within the ECI Community: faith-based institutions committed to forming students with the qualities they need to serve the common good.

Categories: Educating Character Initiative News

Three lessons from Anishinaabe principles to inform a contextualized approach to character education

relationality process reciprocity

In socially diverse contexts, character educators often struggle to articulate what “good character” means. They want to avoid both moral dogmatism and relativism. In this webinar, three distinguished presenters draw on Anishinaabe principles of relationality, process, and reciprocity to offer a third way, showing character educators how they can help students develop a contextualized understanding of good character.

Categories: Educating Character Initiative News

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