The answer to this question is a resounding and emphatic “Yes!” Nearly every teacher and administrator upholds the importance of becoming a “lifelong learner,” fostering a “love of learning,” and training students to become competent, self-motivated learners. What is less clear, however, is how many teachers or administrators could give a psychologically robust and nuanced account of what exactly these things amount to, for example, of the specific beliefs, attitudes, feelings, values, or habits that comprise a “love of learning” or that make a person a “lifelong learner.”

This is where the educational vision of IVA truly shines. For intellectual character virtues are the very substance of a love of learning and of what it is to be a competent, self-motivated, and lifelong learner:

Intellectual virtues are character traits that flow from and contribute to a genuine love of learning. A person with intellectual virtues is curious, inquisitive, and reflective, and therefore prizes reflection, knowledge, and inquiry; these values occupy an important place within her overall “worldview” and motivational structure.

As such, an intellectually virtuous person is also highly self-motivated. She is intellectually diligent, tenacious, persevering, and courageous. Her commitment to learning is not driven primarily by external rewards or consequences.

An intellectually virtuous person’s love of learning and commitment to her own education ensure that she will continue to learn and grow well beyond her years of formal education. These qualities will be engrained in her overall psychology so as to last a lifetime and to make her a lifelong learner.

A competent learner possesses a wide range of intellectual skills and abilities. These include the skills and abilities proper to a wide range of intellectual virtues like intellectual attentiveness, carefulness, thoroughness, circumspection, adaptability, and rigor.

The organizing principle of IVA is a commitment to fostering a wide range of intellectual character virtues. As such, IVA is deeply and fundamentally aimed at promoting a genuine love of learning and enabling students to become self-motivated, competent, and lifelong learners.