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Introduction
The global community has increasingly recognized education as a pivotal factor influencing growth, development, and intellectual advancement; it is widely acknowledged as a key instrument for achieving both national and global success (Annan-Diab & Molinari, 2017). In contemporary discourse, academic professionals consider education to be the primary catalyst for enhancing an individual's quality of life and social standing. Conversely, the lack of inadequacy of education is viewed as a substantial deficiency that has the potential to instigate various disruptions within society (Demo, 1983). As a result, emphasis is placed on the transformative power of education, not only in fostering individual well-being but also in contributing to broader societal stability and progress. This recognition underscores the centrality of education as a strategic tool for shaping the trajectory of both individual lives and the collective destiny of communities and nations on a global scale (Kruss et al., 2015).
It is intriguing how certain overlooked aspects within the educational sphere often emerge as critical determinants of the overall success of the education system. This interconnected process involves various stakeholders, spanning from students and teachers to the highest echelons of government. These overlooked dimensions significantly influence the overarching objective of education: to impart knowledge to the youth and cultivate high-caliber professionals for the global stage. The global community has persistently aimed to deliver education that possesses international impact and multifunctional dimensions, aligning with predetermined objectives and adhering to globally sanctioned educational standards. The conventional viewpoint on education and development has transformed into a system that prioritizes the implementation and attainment of specific educational goals (Carr, 2009). These objectives encompass shaping well-rounded individuals equipped with a steadfast and determined set of value coordinates, thereby establishing a robust foundation for self-development. In this evolved perspective, educational professionals bear the responsibility of ensuring that societal needs are effectively addressed. This entails transmitting values, societal norms, and pertinent issues to the next generation, integrating this understanding into the upbringing of today's youth (Rehren & Sauer, 2022). As a collective endeavor, professionals in the field of education contribute to the cultivation of a responsible and informed citizenry capable of meeting the evolving demands of society.
Currently, the goal of education has gone far beyond the didactic and instructive familiarization with the value orientations. It now includes, introducing the education of readiness to make a conscious choice in favor of positive values, flexibility of the individual, and tolerance in social communications. Every individual is exposed to the most diverse and complex influences of formal and informal social institutions that often impose their own meanings, values, and norms. Social media, TV, the internet, and word of mouth are just a part of the bombardment of information each person faces on a daily basis (Dun, 2022). Sometimes this exposure takes place simply by running ordinary errands or looking up something online. Especially since the internet culture has arisen, this bombardment often goes unnoticed and seems ordinary. Accordingly, the search for ways to form a person who has a stable system of moral guidelines and who takes responsibility for their actions is of particular importance (Rosenstand, 2017). In this regard, the global community is looking for new ways to improve education. Research is being conducted worldwide in order to determine the best combinations of practice, methods and outcomes that will have a positive effect on the education system as a whole. Modernization of education suggests the implementation of various tools and instruments in the educational process (Althof, 2003).
In our opinion, this context has gradually highlighted the relevance of moral education. As "moral education" we understand the systematic process of instructing individuals on ethical and moral values, principles, and behaviors. Its overarching goal is to cultivate the moral reasoning and judgment of individuals, empowering them to make ethical decisions and conduct themselves in alignment with moral principles (Hand, 2017; Simon, 2020). Moral education holds a fundamental position within the broader spectrum of education, being indispensable for the shaping of social personalities and the cultivation of various capacities in individuals, enhancing their adaptability to societal norms and contributing to the betterment of the societal environment.
Taking into account the points mentioned earlier, the objective of this investigation is to shortly discuss the role of moral and patriotic education for society, focusing on the Azerbaijani educational system and how it shapes future generations in alignment with societal norms and values. In this regard, we advocate for the implementation of patriotic education as a means to instill responsibility not only as citizens of their respective countries but also as global citizens. While this may appear contradictory, as patriotism is usually associated with nationalism, we believe that love for one's homeland and national traditions is a preliminary step toward becoming global citizens because, despite the differences among communities, there are more things that bind us together.
Development
Global unity means the completion of each member’s part in providing the world with intelligent, responsible, and positive-minded citizens that are willing to live peacefully, sustain the planet, and protect its resources for a better future. Such citizens are the main reason for the positive impacts on societies globally, whether it is through their work, life experience, or knowledge. This process starts individually and then continues throughout the family, community, and society (Kumashiro, 2000). The feeling of belonging is natural for human beings. People possess the need to express love and care for a particular social group that represents their family, school, and country etc. The importance of belonging starts within the family structure and continues to grow into the feeling of being a part of a larger community - society. This sense of belonging is a need of every citizen to represent their country and culture at any given moment. Today, each culture communicates with its citizens through the voice of the patriotic spirit, calling them to educate absolutely everyone, young and old, in the spirit of patriotic unity. Even though there are many challenges to accomplishing this feat, patriotic education is absolutely necessary in order to attain global peace (Murzina & Kazakova, 2019).
The modern era of education has implemented patriotic education and psychological training into the curriculum. On one hand, this eliminates the shortcomings of teaching methods of the past and opens up new opportunities for educators. On the other hand, due to the flexibility, universality, and virtual aspect of patriotic education, this also creates new challenges for standardizing governance and providing people with the proper viewpoint of patriotism (Beane, 2002). Since the time of the Greek philosophers, the concept of patriotism has conveyed ‘a citizen's love for the world’. Later, in the Roman Empire, it was combined with religious cults as "polis patriotism." Officially, the term "patriotism" was first used in the 18th century in France, and then it spread to Great Britain and the Americas (Bouchard, 2002).
The Azerbaijani society has largely preserved its ancient traditions. It has continuously raised honorable sons and daughters, who are the pride and joy of the country and its history. The Azerbaijani language is a sonorous and melodious language that predisposes its users to creativity. Our literature is rich with pearls of folklore and classics in equal measure. Both the folk and classical literature colorfully convey the struggles and bravery of patriots throughout history. Patriotism’s role and significance in Azerbaijan have always been leading forces in the country. The national leader of Azerbaijan, Heydar Aliyev, emphasized the importance of education in society by highlighting the role of teachers. He stated, “A person who devotes himself to teaching is the most honorable person. Azerbaijani education, based on the foundation created so far, will continue to improve. Azerbaijani teachers are people with the highest morals and the highest sense of citizenship.”
Today, Azerbaijan is undergoing significant changes. These changes are directly related to equipping infrastructures with innovative technologies, advanced resources, and the latest systems. A thorough restructuring is taking place at all levels. Innovative methods of control and management require modern pedagogy to be involved in the process of training highly professional personnel. The main tasks for state policymakers to plan personnel policy, strengthen and train future personnel, and broaden the range of resources available in the country. Certain actions are required for the sake of education and the sole purpose of progress, in terms of educating the younger generation to be responsible citizens in a global society. This task involves pedagogical resources to execute educational processes by using methods that introduce the sense of belonging to the people in each country. As a result, this will motivate individuals to care about their countries and the global community. In turn, the younger generation will be ready to face and solve existing issues, while preventing any potential global and political issues that might arise.
In theoretical and practical pedagogy, various levers, tools and teaching methods have been used for the optimization of education and the effectiveness of the teaching process. The education system, as the centralized tool for managing the educational process, is directly responsible for the efficiency and effectiveness of the chosen methods. The unity between the education system and the pedagogical science facilitates the processes in each area of education, makes decisions in a coordinated manner, and centralizes the role of the teacher at all levels of education. In order to more effectively promote patriotic education, it is especially important to use scientific methods in accordance with the changes in emotional behavior for the sake of demonstrating the theoretical logic of patriotic education in accordance with the characteristics of the logical structure of the psychology of patriotism (Battistoni, 1997).
Related to the above, the modern meaning of patriotic education goes beyond the normal understanding and application of this term. For example, the love for the Motherland that the younger generation holds today has been instilled from influential moments in their lives, the memories of proudly raised flags on Victory Day, and the infinite rows of people holding carnations on Remembrance Day of Martyrs and War Heroes. For Azerbaijan youth, patriotism is here and now (Allahverdiyev, 2021). They call themselves patriots and are ready to voluntarily protect the country, guard its borders from the enemy, and maintain freedom. A patriot is an individual who identifies with the social groups around him, which provides a sense of belonging and security that impacts the evolution of an individual. Furthermore, patriotism plays a role in shaping each individual’s social habits. As stated before, the issues concerning morality and spiritual values in education are global priorities being of great interest the respect and tolerance towards the culture, traditions, religious beliefs, and political views of other people and nations are highly valued. In Azerbaijan, these teachings are integrated in the educational process alongside honor and respect for the country. Furthermore, the loyalty and readiness to fulfill civic duty are being cultivated. Therefore, patriotism is based on love for and loyalty to the motherland since the responsibility for the well-being of a country is equally divided between all its citizens.
Patriotic education and its impact on an individual’s life and the society have been discussed by such great scientists as V.G. Belinsky, N.G. Chernyshevsky, K.D. Ushinsky, Ibn Sina, and Nizami Ganjavi. Traditionally, the complex impact of methods, practices and theoretical preparation of students is studied for analytic purposes. This approach reveals the effectiveness of patriotic education in general, while it is difficult to determine the effectiveness of a particular method for improving pedagogical activity. This way, the review of several studies on the pedagogy of patriotism reveals a lack of information regarding the instructional content and influences on the various methods of patriotic education.
The significance of methodologies in moral and patriotic education lies in their capacity to effectively convey ethical and civic values to individuals. As it has ben said, moral and patriotic education seeks to cultivate values such as integrity, responsibility, respect, compassion, and civic duty among students. Then, the methods employed in imparting these values play a pivotal role in determining the efficacy of such education. Conventional teaching approaches, such as lectures, textbooks, and rote memorization, have proven insufficient for authentic character development. To shape the hearts and minds of youth, more interactive, experiential, and student-centered methods are deemed essential. These may include discussions on moral dilemmas, reflective writing, service-learning projects, role-playing real-world scenarios, etc. This way, in the pedagogical practice of patriotic education we identified 7 main strategies:
Visual Strategy - This method develops students’ awareness of patriotism and helps them gain knowledge through pictures, presentations, illustrations, layouts, event maps, etc. The main goal of this method is to use the creative potential of the students. When visually presenting to an audience, students not only combine all the skills and knowledge gained during the educational process but also successfully maintain individuality. This has a fruitful effect on the student's progress, and most importantly the message of patriotism impacts the entire audience.
Historical Strategy - This method includes studying the laws, acts, agreements, examples of classical and folk literature, epos, and dastans (an ornate form of oral history from Central Asia, Iran, Turkey and Azerbaijan), etc. Materials based on a country’s history increase the patriotic spirit of students, give them a sense of belonging, and creates a motivational atmosphere. The influence of folklore and literature on students’ learning is confirmed by many studies. In particular, Dastan “Kitabi Dede Gorgud” describes the events of the 11th12th centuries in the songs about the valiant sons who bravely fought for the Motherland.
Artistic Strategy - This method includes staging scenes, role-playing games, and writing a letter on behalf of the hero of a story using the appropriate vocabulary and culture of that time. The main purpose of this method is to elicit raw emotions from acting out the assigned role.
Film Strategy - This method is quite popular in education. It is widely used not only in patriotic education, but also in education in general because it is liked by students and has a highly positive impact on progress and motivation.
Research Strategy - This method promotes patriotic education through research. Students select a specific topic regarding patriotism and thoroughly investigate it. Afterward, the students can present their viewpoints and thoughts on the topic. The process of patriotic education must take place in accordance with their academic studies. This method requires constant involvement, control, and monitoring from the educator at all stages of the research process.
Extra-curricular Strategy - This method creates a patriotic atmosphere for learning by getting the students directly involved in the learning process. Possible activities are guest speakers, meetings, performances, exhibitions, workshops, and excursions to museums and theaters. This method opens up excellent opportunities for the teachers, by allowing them to personally observe the reaction of students and collect analytical data. The overall impact of these extracurricular events is assessed later in a classroom discussion.
Interactive Strategy - Another successful method is organizing activities to get the students engaged in the learning process. This includes using mind games like crossword puzzles, discussions and debates. Of these, discussions and debates are very effective tools for monitoring and addressing the issues of patriotic education. When determining the methods for patriotic education, it is important to consider the many factors that can influence its effectiveness. Since a comprehensive approach to patriotic education implies a conscious perception of the student’s knowledge and acquisition of patriotic qualities, the parameters of influence include external and internal, conscious and unconscious, objective and subjective, and natural and social factors.
The chosen methods should prioritize promoting critical thinking over indoctrination. Engaging students in moral reasoning, fostering cultural understanding, and enhancing their capacity for ethical judgment are paramount. Deliberation, debate, consideration of conflicting viewpoints, and the application of principles to resolve moral issues have a more profound impact than moralizing lessons. However, the effective implementation of these methods necessitates adequately trained teachers who can facilitate open, thoughtful dialogue, encourage value clarification, and shape the culture and climate of their classrooms (Mead, 2022).
Finally, among the major hurdles facing moral and civic education today we can mention several phenomena such as: 1) ethical relativism stemming from the postmodern view that universal moral truths do not exist; 2) globalization and multiculturalism which expose students to varied, conflicting value systems and traditions; 3) information overload and competing perspectives enabled by technology, making critical analysis difficult; 4) negative influences through media and peers spreading intolerance, selfishness and antisocial trends counter to good citizenship; and 4) crowded curricula centered on STEM fields rather than the humanities, leaving minimal space for character and civic development. Moving forward requires greater institutional consistency, teacher training for value-based instruction, active teaching methods, partnerships between families-schools-communities, and education policies that re-prioritize fundamental moral and democratic learning for the 21st century. Overcoming relativism and disconnects to embed ethical thinking and national identity into modern youth remains crucial.
Conclusions
Education in moral and civic values constitutes a fundamental dimension in the comprehensive development of students, contributing to both their personal growth and the construction of democratic, peaceful, and solidarity-based societies. Instilling shared ethical principles, along with a sense of identity, belonging, and commitment to one's own nation, is essential for preparing reflective individuals who are socially responsible and engaged with their community. In this regard, beyond the academic transmission of knowledge, the true mission of contemporary educational systems should aim for humanistic formation. This involves educating individuals and citizens capable of coexisting while respecting diversity, distinguishing between right and wrong, making responsible decisions guided by justice, empathy, and the common good, actively participating in public affairs, critically valuing their cultural heritage, and contributing to societal progress, both locally and globally.
To achieve these ambitious yet indispensable objectives in the current context of profound changes and uncertainty about the future, there is a need to revalue the ethical and civic dimension of educational tasks. States must actively commit to forming new generations through reforms, clear policies, and curricular re-legitimization, encouraging them to embrace their legitimate national roots while also assuming a cosmopolitan citizenship, committed to peace, human rights, and planetary sustainability. The challenges are enormous, considering the hegemony of economic discourses that tend to undervalue this formative aspect in pursuit of unregulated global capitalism. However, the path to integral human development, both individually and collectively, can only be traversed by rescuing the intentional cultivation of virtues, genuine aspirations of transcendence, and shared purposes for the common good. Ultimately, as discussed in this work, a thoughtful selection of pedagogical methods will make the difference between moral education devoid of real meaning and one that effectively shapes moral character and engages the will to build a more just society.
