��������

One of the functions of research is to help you develop reflexive thinking and a passion for exploring contexts diversified by the human equation. Training in research skills and abilities normally reserved for aspiring academicians equips you with important observational strengths, combining inquiry skills with systematic problem-solving ones. What Paulo Freire once wrote of teaching applies equally to educational leadership: “There is no such thing as teaching without research and research without teaching.”

An understanding and appreciation of human agency and a strong ethical compass require you to know yourself first on the path of generating new knowledge as a globally minded leader. “Of all branches of learning,” wrote the Renaissance humanist John of Salisbury, “that which confers the greatest beauty is Ethics, the most excellent part of philosophy, without which the latter would not even deserve its name.” Ethically-oriented leadership is a critical condition for fair and just societal change.

Going back to ancient times, the liberal arts describe scholarly disciplines designed to expose future leaders to a variety of subjects, from math and science to literature and philosophy, and most importantly to the connections between them, in order to better enable people to overcome their challenges and lead “contributive lives.” In all its depth and breadth, the goal of such an education is to develop, in Plato’s words, “the synoptic person,” the synoptic person being “the dialectic person”: a person versed in the art of dialogue and discussion with ethics at the center.