International Moral Education Congress

The International Moral Education Congress was an international academic conference held in Europe six times between 1908 and 1934. It convened because of an interest in moral education by many countries beginning a decade before the inaugural event. The movement for moral education had an ardent champion in the Ethical movement. The idea to hold the congress was at the behest of the International Union of Ethical Societies; its greatest proponents were Professor Friedrich Wilhelm Foerster and Gustav Spiller, the secretary of the Union. The first congress was held in 1908, and except for one 10-year beak (1912-1922), the congress met every four years in various cities. The official languages were German, English, and French.

The Moral Education League of London was founded in 1897. This organization exercised a considerable influence, not only in the United Kingdom but in various parts of the British Empire and throughout the world. Its president was John Stuart Mackenzie. Among its members were Catholics, Anglicans, Jews, Unitarians, Hindus, Muslims, Buddhists, Nonconformists, Ethicists, Rationalists, Positivists, and others. Its secretary was Harrold Johnson, who was later appointed Hon. Secretary of the International Moral Education Congress Executive Council. The league also employed a demonstrator, Frederick James Gould, who acquired an international reputation for his numerous books on moral lessons. This League succeeded in 1906 in inducing the Board of Education to make provision for moral instruction in the education code for England and Wales.

In 1905, a new Italian Education Code was published, laying the utmost stress on moral education and making detailed regulations with regard to moral instruction. In the following year, a new Hungarian Education Code was issued. In 1905, a new Austrian Education Code came to light. In Portugal, a manual of Moral Instruction for Primary Schools, as distinct from Religious Instruction, was officially published in 1906. In the United States, schemes of moral instruction were elaborated in many places. In Germany, the Reading Books for Elementary Schools contained abundance of ethical matter. In Switzerland, several Cantons took distinct steps in the direction of drawing up Moral Instruction Programmes. In Belgium, Moral Instruction Syllabuses for Primary Schools and for Training Colleges existed. In France and Japan, where moral instruction was introduced, the subject was being studied with redoubled interest. In Russia, the authorities were turning their attention to this subject. And, finally, in England, the Code of the Board of Education for 1906 stated that "Moral instruction should form an important part of every school curriculum". Educationists generally laid increasing emphasis on the moral factor in education, while men in every walk of life came more and more to feel that the training of the intellect must be accompanied by the development of character if the school is to serve effectively the nation and humanity. This movement for moral education had an ardent champion in the Ethical movement.

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