MORAL AUTONOMY AS THE CORE OF COEXISTENCE AND CITIZENSHIP IN THE SCHOOL ENVIRONMENT: A PEDAGOGICAL PROPOSAL FOR ETHICAL EDUCATION.

Abstract

The development and citizenship of students are also influenced in the school context by their capacity for moral autonomy. Our pedagogical study focuses on how education in moral autonomy encourages students to exercise their emancipation and dignity with responsibility while critically reflecting on school norms. It is a qualitative study in that it is derived from the theoretical, bibliographic, and systematic review of authors such as Kohlberg and Rawls on moral autonomy and citizenship for the inquisitive citizen, aiming to study the impact of autonomous citizenship on the self-legislation of moral norms. Autonomous citizenship is the ability to decide independently and ethically, and to surpass self-imposed and externally imposed norms that do little for the common good. The results show that teaching moral autonomy as part of social studies contributes to social cohesion, mutual respect, and the moral and social commitment of students. Notable increases in the sense of responsibility, conflict resolution, and participation in a constructive learning environment were observed. Limitations such as institutional apathy and a lack of teacher training make the proper application of these ideas challenging. As mentioned, moral autonomy must be accompanied by adequate teacher retraining and strong institutional support. Therefore, it is important to create participatory spaces where students can engage in the creation and review of school norms.