This document provides an overview of character education presented by Gary Walsh at the 2015 ResearchEd Scotland conference. It discusses why character education is important, what it entails, how it is implemented, whether programs are effective, and conceptual and ideological issues. Character education aims to develop students' character and values but can be defined narrowly around virtues or broadly as any approach that cultivates positive qualities. Research on character education programs shows mixed results, with some evidence of improved behavior but no consistent academic or social-emotional impacts. The field faces challenges around defining character, theoretical foundations, and ensuring programs further democratic rather than authoritarian goals.

1. CHARACTER EDUCATION IN SCOTLAND:
WHY, HOW AND SO WHAT?
29th August 2015:
ResearchEd Scotland conference
Gary Walsh
gary.walsh@character-scotland.org.uk

2. What I am going to cover…
• Why focus on character education?
• What is character education, really, and where does it ‘sit’ in
the research literature?
• How is character education done and does it work?
• What are the conceptual & ideological problems with character
education?
• So what? Why bother with character education, and should
teachers & researchers work together on it?

3. What kind of people does the world need?
What kind of world do people need?
What is Character Education about?

4. Values and character formation
Emotions What we feel
Attitudes What we think and feel
Beliefs What we think and feel to be true
Values The beliefs which guide how we live our lives
Motivations The beliefs and desires which make us want to behave in
certain ways
Behaviour Our actions: what we do
Our habits: what we regularly do
Character Who we are: what we value, how we think and feel, what we do
Mowat & Walsh 2014, unpublished

5. Why focus on character education?
• It is increasingly being seen as a way of ensuring the
curriculum is ‘broad’ and ‘holistic’
• Worries that we are too focussed on the ‘academics’ of
education and not enough on the ‘formative’
• Understanding of what we mean by the ‘four capacities’,
attributes and capabilities
• Data showing that ‘social and emotional skills’ strongly
correlated with life outcomes (OECD 2014)

6. Character Scotland conference
See www.character.scot/conference for post-event
materials
Conference documents including a summary report by Dr
Joan Mowat (University of Strathclyde) will be available
here:
http://www.character-
scotland.org.uk/conference#publications
Some conference survey results as follows…

15. Which values?

16. Warning!
“To enter a discussion about character and, even more,
about character education is to enter a minefield of
conflicting definition and ideology” (Arthur 2003: 1)

17. What is character education?
Two types of character education:
‘Narrow’ and ‘broad’ (Kohn 1997)
Narrow:
• Traditionalist – defined strictly by moral virtues or values
(Molnar 1997)
• Seeks to justify itself as a singular discipline (Lapsley and
Narvaez 2007)
• It is “any approach to moral education that foregrounds the
cultivation of moral character and moral virtue” (Walker et al
2013: 1)
• It is “the deliberate effort to help people understand, care
about, and act upon core ethical values” (Lickona 1991: 51)

18. What is character education?
McLaughlin and Halstead (1999): ‘non-expansive character ed’
• aimed at explicitly shaping or forming behaviour;
• claims moral decline or crises as the basis of need;
• rejects Kohlbergian moral development and abstract moral
reasoning;
• assumes that deference to authority is desirable;
• dedication to ‘core’, ‘basic’ or ‘fundamental’ values;
• “often seen as part of the neo-conservative social and cultural
agenda and linked to the call to return to traditional values and
teaching methods” (McLaughlin and Halstead 1999: 138)

19. What is character education?
Broad character education:
• “The process of defining what is the ethically correct action and
having the integrity, or character, to do the right thing…”
(Howard et al 2004: 189)
• Does not seek to justify itself as a singular discipline
• Understood as an outcome of any method aimed at the
development of ‘good’ personal qualities, the prevention of
unwanted behaviour such as bullying, or the general positive
development of young people (Berkowitz and Bier 2004)
• Doesn’t necessarily claim to be about the development of
character or virtue (Lapsley and Narvaez 2007)
• Based around the requirements of citizenship in a ‘liberal
democratic society’ (McLaughlin and Halstead 1999)

20. Problems with ‘broad’ CE
“The term character education is applied to such a wide array of
educational initiatives that it is difficult to generically answer
whether such a mixed set of programs "works."” (Berkowitz and
Bier 2004: 74)
“…character education comes with the territory of teaching and
schooling. It is not a question of whether to do character
education but rather questions of how consciously and by what
methods” (Howard et al 2004: 210)
BUT if we cannot ‘NOT’ do character education, why make a
case for it? (Purpel 1999)

21. How is it done, does it work?
• Character Education Inquiry (Hartshorne and May 1930)
• 10,865 young people across 23 communities in the United
States
• Interventions aimed at improving levels of honesty and
service, typically by didactic methods
• Failed to make any measurable difference due to the fact
that these attributes were situation-dependent i.e. if a
student was honest in one situation, it did not necessarily
follow that they would be honest in another

22. How is it done, does it work?
• 3-year longitudinal study undertaken by the Social and
Character Development Research Consortium (2010) to
measure the effectiveness of ‘universal, school-based
programmes to promote social and character
development of third- to fifth-grade students’
• 84 schools and over 6,000 students were involved in the
study, with six data collection reports from children,
primary caregivers, teachers and school principals
Conclusion as follows…

23. How is it done, does it work?
“On average, the seven programs did not improve students’
social and emotional competence, behavior, academic
achievement, and student and teacher perceptions of
school climate. In addition, although the numbers of
schools and students in each program were not always
sufficient to support firm conclusions at the program level,
the patterns of estimated impacts for each program were
largely similar: students’ outcomes were not affected.”
(SCDRC 2010: liii)

24. How is it done, does it work?
KIPP Charter Schools
• 183 schools across 20 states
• aims “to create a respected, influential, and national
network of public schools that are successful in helping
students from educationally underserved communities
develop the knowledge, skills, character and habits
needed to succeed in college and the competitive world
beyond.”
(taken from KIPP website - www.kipp.org/about-kipp)

25. How is it done, does it work?
KIPP Charter Schools: Independent study (Tuttle et al 2013):
• ‘Substantial’ positive impact on academic achievement,
demonstrated across a range of subject areas
• “…no statistically significant effect on a variety of measures of
student attitudes…”
• “…no statistically significant effect on several measures of
student behavior…However, KIPP has a negative estimated
effect on a student-reported measure of undesirable behavior,
with KIPP students more likely to report behaviors such as
losing their temper, arguing or lying to their parents, or having
conflicts with their teachers.” (Tuttle et al 2013: 68)

26. How is it done, does it work?
KIPP Charter Schools: Review by Lack (2011)
• KIPP is heralded as an agent of radical reform in education
• Close examination reveals that it emphasises traditional
teacher-centred instruction
• KIPP’s mission is “…clearly driven by market ideals” (Lack
2011: 75)
• “KIPP’s Pillars to Success are inherently undemocratic and
smack of an individualistic orientation that ultimately rewards
and punishes students to the extent that they themselves are
willing and able to work hard to overcome the conditions of
poverty. Moreover, the social climate at KIPP schools is imbued
by a distinctly capitalistic and militaristic ideology. In short,
KIPP’s approach does little to address the plight of low-income
students or alter the status quo.” (Lack 2011: 75)

27. How is it done, does it work?
• Leming (1993) shows that some character education
programmes show promise…
BUT…
• Character education “lacks either a theoretical
perspective or a common core of practice” (Leming 1997:
41)
• “…it has to be admitted that there is no rational
consensus on character education.” (Arthur 2003: 70)

28. Conceptual & ideological problems
Does ‘character’ even exist?
• Moral ‘naturalist’ tradition: “Character is a set of personal traits
or dispositions that produce specific moral emotions, inform
motivation and guide conduct” (Jubilee Centre for Character
and Virtue, 2013: 2)
• Human behaviour is determined in the main by situations,
social factors and psychological schema, rather than the
indelible ‘mark’ of one’s character, although this is contested
(Lapsley and Narvaez 2007)
• “it would appear that a common core of trait attributes for
character and moral personality can be identified empirically”
(Lapsley and Narvaez 2007: 9)

29. Conceptual & ideological problems
Philosophers vs psychologists
“…moral education of real human value is a matter not just of the
promotion of rational pro-social skills or virtues, but of cultivation
of meaningful personally formative knowledge that significantly
transcends or evades natural and/or social scientific
understanding and explanation.” (Carr 2014: 501)
“Whilst developmental psychology exercises an enormous
influence on education, there has been little attention given to
ideas of human character in the mainstream of the discipline.
The main reason for this is that psychologists have often disliked
working with the ethical nature of the subject matter in character
and have felt more comfortable with the concept of personality.”
(Arthur 2003: 59)

30. Conceptual & ideological problems
Aristotelian Virtue Ethics claimed as the best substantive theory
for character development (Jubilee Centre 2013)
BUT…
• Aristotelian notions of virtue are intimately linked with the
aristocracy and the elite of society;
• There is a vagueness about how virtues relate to one another
in the Aristotelian model (Arthur 2003)
• Aristotle “felt constrained to defend slavery because it seemed
necessary in a well-run society… even though some of his
contemporaries saw the evils of slavery” (Noddings 2012: 167)
• There is an emphasis on traditional values and authority
(Noddings 2012)

31. Confused yet?

32. Character Education needs critical
examination
“The courage of a warrior may, for example, be so admired
that members of the society do not think (or dare) to
criticize war itself.” (Noddings 2012: 167)

33. Ideology of character education
• It is claimed that the ideology of the ‘traditional’ character
education movement is one of neo-conservatism and
neoliberalism that emphasises stability, maintenance of
the status quo, protection of existing power relations,
competition, material success and the development of a
compliant and industrious workforce (Purpel 1999, Winton
2008)
• “Character education requires a strong community but not
necessarily a good one. Fascist and other totalitarian
states have been especially enthusiastic about character
education, and schooling under such regimes tends to be
highly moralistic, but not necessarily moral.” (Noddings
2002: 5)

34. Why bother with character education?
“In order to foster a democracy that is reflective and
deliberative, rather than simply a marketplace of competing
interest groups, a democracy that genuinely takes thought
for the common good, we must produce citizens who have
the Socratic capacity to reason about their beliefs.”
(Nussbaum 1997: 19)
“The purpose of education is to help construct a socially
established normative culture that provides security and
builds the capabilities for democracy. These might include
techniques of debate and legal eristic, of meeting
procedure and political activism.” (Olssen 2004: 263)

35. Why bother with character education?
“The fundamental challenge facing educators within the
current age of neoliberalism is to provide the conditions for
students to address how knowledge is related to the power
of both self-definition and social agency. Central to such a
challenge is providing students with the skills, knowledge,
and authority they need to inquire and act upon what it
means to live in a substantive democracy, to recognize
anti-democratic forms of power, and to fight deeply rooted
injustices in a society and world founded on systemic
economic, racial, and gendered inequalities.”
(Giroux 2004: 34-35)

36. Character Education needs to…
• … be clear about its aims e.g. commit itself explicitly to
democracy, equality and justice
• … be constructed and understood within a broader sociological
framework e.g. ‘thin communitarianism’ (Olssen 2004)
• … develop a core theoretical basis that includes ‘relational’ and
social aspects (Noddings 2002)
• … develop approaches that ‘mandate pluralism’ and Socratic
enquiry (Nussbaum 1997)
• … move beyond the character of the individual to that of
groups, communities, places and societies
• … work constructively with disciplines of psychology, sociology
and care theorists
• … engage in an iterative, dialogic process of enquiry involving
young people, parents, teachers, communities AND
researchers

37. References
Arthur, J. (2003) Education with character: the moral economy of schooling London: RoutledgeFalmer
Berkowitz, M.W. and Bier, M. C. (2004) Research-Based Character Education, Annals of the American Academy of
Political and Social Science, Vol. 591, Positive Development: Realizing the Potential of Youth (Jan., 2004), pp. 72-85,
Sage Publications, Inc. in association with the American Academy of Political and Social Science [online] URL:
http://www.jstor.org/stable/4127636
Carr, D. (2014) Metaphysics and methods in moral enquiry and education: Some old philosophical wine for new
theoretical bottles, Journal of Moral Education, 43:4, 500-515, DOI: 10.1080/03057240.2014.943167
Davis, M (2003) What’s Wrong with Character Education? American Journal of Education Vol. 110, No. 1 (November
2003), pp. 32-57 [online] DOI: 10.1086/377672
Giroux, H. (2004) Critical Pedagogy and the Postmodern/Modern Divide: Towards a Pedagogy of Democratization,
Teacher Education Quarterly Winter 2004, pp.31-47 [online] URL:
http://www.teqjournal.org/backvols/2004/31_1/giroux.pmd.pdf
Hartshorne, H. & May, M.A. (1930) A Summary of the Work of the Character Education Inquiry, Religious Education:
The official journal of the Religious Education Association, 25:7, 607-619, [online] DOI: 10.1080/0034408300250702
accessed 24/08/15
Howard, R.W., et al (2004) Politics of Character Education, Educational Policy, Vol. 18 No. 1, pp.188-215 [online] DOI:
10.1177/0895904803260031
Jubilee Centre (2013) A Framework for Character Education in Schools [online] URL:
http://jubileecentre.ac.uk/userfiles/jubileecentre/pdf/other-centre-papers/Framework..pdf

38. References
Kohn, A. (1997) The Trouble with Character Education in The Construction of Children’s Character, Ed. Molnar, A., Illinois:
University of Chicago Press
Lack, B. (2011) Anti-Democratic Militaristic Education: An Overview and Critical Analysis of KIPP Schools, Counterpoints, Vol.
402, assault on KIDS: How Hyper-Accountability, Corporatization, Deficit Ideologies, and Ruby Payne Are Destroying Our
Schools, pp. 65-90, published by: Peter Lang AG [online] URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/42981077
Lapsley, D.K. and Narvaez, D. (2007) Character Education, Handbook of Child Psychology, IV:1:7, DOI:
10.1002/9780470147658.chpsy0407
Leming, J.S. (1993) Synthesis of research: In search of effective character education,Educational Leadership, Volume 51, Number
3, Character Education, pp. 63-71 [online] URL: http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-
leadership/nov93/vol51/num03/Synthesis-of-Research-~-In-Search-of-Effective-Character-Education.aspx
Leming, J.S. (1997) Research and Practice in Character Education: A Historical Perspective, in The Construction of Children’s
Character, Ed. Molnar, A., Illinois: University of Chicago Press
Lickona, T. (1991) Educating for Character: How Our Schools Can Teach Respect and Responsibility, New York: Bantam Books
McLaughlin, T.H., and Halstead, J.M. (1999) Education in Character and Virtue in Education in Morality, Ed. Halstead, J.M., and
McLaughlin T.H., London: Routledge
Molnar, A. (1997) The Construction of Children’s Character, Illinois: University of Chicago Press
Noddings, N. (2002) Educating Moral People: A Caring Alternative to Character Education, New York: Teachers College Press
Noddings, N. (2012) Philosophy of Education Colorado: Westview Press

39. References
Nussbaum, M.C. (1997) Cultivating Humanity: a classical defense of reform in liberal education, Cambridge
Massachusetts: Harvard University Press
OECD (2014) Skills for Social Progress: The Power of Social and Emotional Skills URL:
http://www.oecd.org/edu/skills-for-social-progress-9789264226159-en.htm
Olssen, M. (2004) Neoliberalism, globalisation, democracy: challenges for education, Globalisation, Societies
and Education, 2:2, 231-275, DOI: 10.1080/14767720410001733665
Purpel, D.E. (1999) The Politics of Character Education, in Moral Outrage in Education, 83-97, New York:
Peter Lang
Social and Character Development Research Consortium (2010) Efficacy of Schoolwide Programs to
Promote Social and Character Development and Reduce Problem Behavior in Elementary School Children
(NCER 2011–2001). Washington, DC: National Center for Education Research, Institute of Education
Sciences, U.S. Department of Education. [online] http://ies.ed.gov/ncer/pubs/20112001/
Tuttle et al (2013) KIPP Middle Schools: Impacts on Achievement and Other Outcomes [online] URL:
http://www.kipp.org/files/dmfile/KIPP_Middle_Schools_Impact_on_Achievement_and_Other_Outcomes1.pdf
Walker, D.I., et al (2013) Towards a new era of character education in theory and in practice, Educational
Review, 67:1, pp. 79-96, DOI: 10.1080/00131911.2013.827631
Winton, S. (2008) Character Education: Implications for Critical Democracy, International Critical Childhood
Policy Studies, 1:1, pp. 42-63 [online} URL: http://journals.sfu.ca/iccps/index.php/childhoods/article/view/4/7