The purpose of this study is to make a survey of the aims of education and the ways in which they have been achieved. Special attention is given to the influences which have been influential in producing changes in these aims, and to the modifications which have been made.

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / This work aims to apply virtue epistemology in the specific context of educational practice and theory. With its focus on intellectual character traits, such as inquisitiveness, open-mindedness and intellectual autonomy, I explore the nature of intellectual virtues, its relationship with emotions, the reasons to treat them as an aim of education, the criteria for the selection of relevant intellectual virtues in school environments and some didactic strategies to cultivate them in the school community. Chapter 1 approaches the nature of intellectual virtues, where I argue that an intellectually virtuous person is characteristically a person that possesses a valuable intellectual condition, a critical and well-informed assessment of her own intellectual condition and for being responsible for the stability and improvement of her own intellectual condition. In this chapter, I also present and explore two kinds of relations between intellectual virtues and emotions. In chapter 2, I develop three arguments in favor of the idea that we should take intellectual virtues as an aim of education. Some objections about the desirability of this idea are raised and answered. Next, I articulate five criteria for the selection of relevant intellectual virtues in school environments. Chapter 3 is dedicated to the elaboration of general strategies for the teaching of intellectual virtues. Some specific intellectual virtues are selected to show how these general strategies would look like in practice. The selection of such virtues follows one or another criterion of selection stipulated in the previous chapter. / Este trabalho é uma tentativa de aplicar a epistemologia das virtudes no contexto específico da prática e teoria educacional. Com o foco em traços de caráter intelectual, tais como inquisitividade, mentalidade arejada e autonomia intelectual, eu exploro a natureza das virtudes intelectuais, suas relações com as emoções, as razões para tratá-las como um fim da educação, os critérios para a seleção de virtudes intelectuais relevantes em ambientes escolares e algumas estratégias didáticas para cultivá-las na comunidade escolar. O capítulo 1 aborda a natureza das virtudes intelectuais, onde se argumenta que uma pessoa intelectualmente virtuosa se caracteriza por ser possuidora de uma condição intelectual celebrável, de uma avaliação crítica e bem-informada sobre sua própria condição intelectual e por ser responsável pela estabilidade e aperfeiçoamento de sua própria condição intelectual. Ainda neste capítulo, apresento e exploro duas relações que as virtudes intelectuais e as emoções estabelecem entre si. No capítulo 2 eu desenvolvo três argumentos favoráveis à ideia de que as virtudes intelectuais devem ser tomadas como um fim da educação. Algumas objeções quanto à desejabilidade desta ideia são apresentadas e respondidas. Em seguida, passo à articulação de critérios para a seleção de virtudes intelectuais relevantes em ambientes escolares. O capítulo 3 se dedica à elaboração de estratégias gerais para o ensino de virtudes intelectuais. Algumas virtudes intelectuais específicas são selecionadas para exemplificarmos como seria uma educação voltada às virtudes intelectuais na prática. A seleção de tais virtudes é feita com respeito a um ou outro critério de seleção estipulado no capítulo anterior.

This thesis deals with organizational forms of teaching at higher professional schools. One of the aims of this work is to define these schools within the Czech educational system. The study of problems of organizational forms of teaching proceeds through categorisation of schools and subjects of study to education objectives. An important part of the study preceding the research itself are general theories of forms of teaching. These theories are supplemented with information on the forms of teaching at higher education institutions. The aim of the research is to find out which organizational forms of teaching are really used at higher professional schools from the point of time and a way of interaction of students in a classroom. The research also deals with out-of-school education. I used a form of qualitative research which was done at two Prague schools providing higher professional education. The design of qualitative research is a case study. Key words tertiary education, higher professional school, higher professional school legislature, forms of teaching, educational aims, professional experience, modular teaching