The aim of the pilot study was was to find out the attitude to develop moral virtues and moral training of Three Russian school leaders. The schools had similar characteristics and the ratio was two females to one male to reflect the gender ratio of school leaders in Russian education, making the study more trustworthy and reliable. The project was in four stages. First, we explained to all respondents the objectives of the study as per the symposium overview and they answered the questionnaire and were interviewed in a structured manner. Second, they had two weeks to read the recommended materials as professional learning (Taysum, 2017a; 2017b; 2016; Collins Ayanlaja and Taysum, 2018). Third, we had a detailed discussion with participants and administered the questionnaire again. Finally we compared the data collected before the professional learning was implemented with the data collected after the professional learning was implemented. Findings revealed moral education was very important to the participants. They believed educational leaders need to be role models with characteristics of: determination, sense of justice, self-confidence, self-esteem, developed critical thinking, willingness to express their own opinion, respect for the law. Respondents noted the main change in the Russian education system they most liked is the placement of the child’s personality and their needs, interests and individual characteristics at the centre of the educational process. The respondents named the Finnish education system distinguished by: democracy; tolerance and trust in the teacher and the student; no paternalistic care over the school by the education authorities; the teacher is free in their work; no total control over the student; no competition on marks, nor average score of examinations; personal achievements of the student and the teacher are important, but not the average and figures. The participants hope that the formalism and bureaucracy in the education system will decrease, and attention to the individual development of each subject of education; the leader, teacher, and student will increase. The pilot allowed examination of the possibility of changes in terms of eliminating the shortcomings of the education system and building trust in the moral virtues through moral training so that what suits the state aligns with what suits the people. Participants were attracted by the opportunity to create favourable conditions for personal and professional growth of teachers in school. There is a lack understanding of what is possible and further research is recommended.

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