ABSTRACT

The concept of teaching and learning intellectual virtues, such as curiosity or courage, has emerged (or re-emerged) in the recent literature as an important purpose of higher education. Chapter 5 takes the current trend as a starting point to propose several intellectual virtues for leading higher education. We focus on the use of deliberative communication in teaching and research because both are relevant for academic staff in their daily work, regardless of discipline or university. The chapter lays out how the conversations and reflection that occur through deliberative communication can be a resource for bringing to light intellectual virtues that academics may not realise they possess or acknowledge that they need. We show how academic developers might use deliberative communication to provide colleagues with opportunities for collective and individual reflection on intellectual virtues, as well as how the approach might have potential for everyone, including leaders, in the university communities.