Pedagogical practices promoting the development of wisdom in university students

Dealing with complex problems requires of future professionals more than knowledge, skills and expertise; it requires wisdom. Recently, the question how to develop wisdom in university students has been raised. Most theoretical models of wisdom include cognitive, affective-social, ethical-existential and action dimensions. The aim of this study was to examine (1) whether the four-dimensional theoretical structure of the wisdom concept can be empirically verified in the higher education context, and (2) what kinds of pedagogical practices explain the development of attributes related to wisdom in university students. Participants of the study were third-year university students (n = 535) representing several disciplines. Data were collected through a survey in which students evaluated their development in wisdom attributes with 46 items and answered 57 items concerning pedagogical practices used on their courses. Exploratory factor analysis and regression analysis were used to analyse the data. The analyses concerning the four-dimensional model of wisdom yielded four factors: cognitive, ethical–existential, affective, and social dimensions, thus partly verifying the theoretical structure. Regarding the pedagogical practices, activities aimed at developing scientific thinking, and sharing and learning from practical experiences explained most the development of attributes of wisdom. Collaboration between students, independent studying, and integration of theory and practice also played an important role. In general, diverse forms of teaching and learning seem to be crucial for the development of prerequisites of wisdom in higher education. Practical implications of the findings are discussed.