This work gives a brief description of Thomas Lickona's character education theory. It a brief history of character education and reasons for character education are taken care of. The work also concerns itself with how character education can be related to the three domains of learning. It finally ends with educational implications for teachers.

1. THOMAS LICKONA’S CHARACTER
EDUCATION THEORY
BY
FREDERICK QUAYSON

2. INTRODUCTION/PROFILE
 Thomas Lickona was born in 1943. He is an American development
psychologist and educationalist.
 He attended Siena College, where he got his Bachelor’s of Arts in 1964
and Ohio State University where he got his Master’s Degree in 1965.
 Lickona’s area of specialization is character education.
 He was the president for the Association for Moral Education in the
1990s and is currently a consultant for the Washington DC-based
Character Education Partnership (CEP).

3. INTRODUCTION/PROFILE CONT’D
 Lickona was not influenced by psychologist or
theory other than that of values education
 There is the Belief that character education has its
place at home
 Basically, Lickona felt that values and morals are the
job of society as a whole and not just the job of the
parents at home.

4. CHARACTER EDUCATION DEFINED
 The term character rooted from the Greek word
‘charakter’. The term character has come to mean the
constellation/gathering of strengths and weaknesses
that form and reveal who we are. Thus, assessing our
character means taking an inventory of our dominant
thoughts and actions (Templeton Foundation, 1999).

5. CHARACTER EDUCATION DEFINED..
 character is a morally neutral term describing the
nature of a person in terms of major qualities.
 When we talk about a person’s character we are
referring to the sum total of his or her moral
qualities possibly balanced against his or her
imperfections.

6. CHARACTER EDUCATION DEFINED..
 According to Martin Luther King Jr.,
 Goal of true Edu. = Intelligence + Character
 Thomas Lickona (1992) defines character education as
the deliberate, proactive effort to develop good
character in kids-or, more simply, to teach children
right from wrong.

7. CHARACTER EDUCATION DEFINED..
 It assumes, according to Lickona (1992), that right and
wrong do exist, and that there are objective moral
standards (respect, honesty, responsibility, and
fairness) that transcend individual choice which need
to be taught to children.

8. BRIEF HISTORY OF CHARACTER EDUCATION
 Character education is as old as education itself
(Lickona, 1992).
 Declined in the 20th century as a result of
 Individualism- the worth, autonomy, sub. of the persn
 People fighting for their right
 Technological advancement.
 etc

9. BRIEF HISTORY OF CHARACTER EDUCATION.
 The 1970s saw a return of values education, but in new
forms: values clarification and Kohlberg’s moral
dilemma discussion (Lickona, 1992). They made
tremendous contributions to moral education.
 Fortunately in the 1990s, a new character education
movement surfaced. Scholars began investigating the
relationship b/n x’ter and performance/achievements.

10. REASONS FOR CHARACTER EDUCATION
Thomas Lickona gave ten reasons for character
education.
1. There is a clear urgent need for character education
2. Society needs character education both to survive
and to keep itself intact.
3. Children get little moral teaching from their parents

11. REASONS FOR CHARACTER EDUCATION..
4. There is a common ethical ground even in our
(American) value-conflicted society
5. Democracies have a special need for moral
education. The people must care about the rights of
others and the common good and be willing to
assume the responsibilities of democratic
citizenship.

12. REASONS FOR CHARACTER EDUCATION…
6. Also, there is no such thing as value-free education.
Everything a school does teaches value, including the
way teachers and other adults treat students, the way
the principal treats teachers, the way the school
treats parents, and the way students are allowed to
treat school staff and each other.

13. REASONS FOR CHARACTER EDUCATION…
7. The great questions facing both the individual
person and the human race are moral questions
(Lickona, 1992).
8. In order to attract and keep good teachers
9. Lickona pointed out that character education is a
doable job

14. RELATING X’TER EDU. TO THE THREE DOMAINS OF LEARNING
 The cognitive side of character includes six specific moral
qualities.
 Awarene of the moral dimension of the situation at ha
 Knowing moral values and what they require of us
 Perspective taking
 Moral reasoning
 Thoughtful decision making
 Moral self knowledge

15. RELATING X’TER EDU. TO THE THREE DOMAINS OF LEARNING…
 These rational moral thought are required for full moral
maturity and citizenship
 Lickona argues that the affective or emotional side of
character education serves as the bridge between judgment
and action. It motivates the individual to put into practice
whatever he or she learnt.
 It includes qualities such as conscience, self-respect,
empathy, loving the good, self-control, and humility.

16. RELATING X’TER EDU. TO THE THREE DOMAINS OF LEARNING…
 Psychomotor (moral action)
 Lickona stressed that students are constructive
learners, and they learn best by doing.
 Learners need many and varied opportunities to apply
values such as responsibility and fairness in everyday
interactions and discussions.

17. EDUCATIONAL IMPLICATIONS
 Teachers must know their students very well.
 Teachers must work hand in hand with parents in order to achieve effective
character education.
 Teachers must serve as role models to learners.
 Teachers must create classroom environment that will help learners develop
good characters. There should be a democratic environment where each
learner will feel free to share his or her ideas. Teachers should encourage group
discussion in order to address students’ need of belonging, competence,
autonomy, et cetera . By this, students will learn to care for one another and
accept responsibility.