Educación en valores en la escuela italiana y española, desde la perspectiva de educar ciudadanos.

Our analysis is focused on the importance of values in education in the context of a globalized world. As recommended by EU guidelines about the development of personal, interpersonal, intercultural competencies, this kind of education is finalized to support the respect for human rights and the concept of “active citizenship”. We consider, among all European countries, the case of Italy and Spain, observing their educational systems’efforts in conjuncting human virtues (paideia) with social virtues (politeia) inside school, through values as justice and solidarity, freedom, equality, pluralism and participation. All these values, upholded by their teachers, should be the basis for a good coexistence among students, as a model for their future life of active citizens. For this purpose, pupils need to be more involved in practical situations, learning how “to stay in the world”.