ABSTRACT
The aim of this part of the book is to answer the following research question: How can attributes associated with wisdom be nurtured in educational contexts and what kinds of pedagogical practices might serve this purpose? For understanding the characteristics related to wisdom, we use the HWM presented in Part I, as this model is based on a broad review of psychological wisdom research and offers a synthesis of different wisdom models and metamodels. As described in Part I, the HWM presents wisdom as a multidimensional and holistic phenomenon consisting of the following four main dimensions: (1) Cognitive, (2) Affective-social, (3) Ethical-existential, and (4) Action; each of which has subject-based and context-based polarities that are in constant interrelation. In the HWM, wisdom is seen as ideal behaviour and action concerning practical, ill-defined, or existential life problems. Wisdom is described as the subject’s intention to find ethical solutions to problems through integration of cognition, reflection on affective-social processes, practical action, and self-transcendence for the common good. Guided by the HWM and based on both wisdom research and educational research, we examine here the potential of formal education and various approaches to pedagogy for nurturing characteristics related to the four dimensions of wisdom.
