DOCSLIB.ORG

Character Education I

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Character Education I Character Education I. Background to Character Education: Issues, Theories Controversies Daniel K. Lapsley Darcia Narvaez A. How is Character Defined?: Psychological considerations Ball State University University of Notre Dame 1. The Problem with Habits 2. The Problem with Traits Handbook of Child Psychology 3. The Problem with Virtues B. Philosophical considerations Abstract 1. Bag-of-Virtues and Foundations 2. Character and Virtue Ethics Character education is both popular and controversial. A psychological 3. Virtues and Character Education approach to understanding its central constructs is proposed. We review C. Educational considerations philosophical conceptions of virtues and conclude that character education 1. Genre of Discontent cannot be distinguished from rival approaches on the basis of a distinctive 2. Broad Character Education ethical theory. We review several educational issues, such as the manner in 3. Direct and Indirect Methods which the case is made for character education, the implications of broad 4. Mimesis and Transformation conceptions of the field, whether character education is best defined by 5. Oratorical and Philosophical Traditions treatments or outcomes, and whether character education is best pursued D. New Approaches to Character Psychology with direct or indirect pedagogies, a debate that is placed into historical 1. Identity, Exemplars and the Moral Self context. We note that character education requires robust models of 2. A Social Cognitive Approach to the Moral Personality character psychology, and review several new approaches that show II. Approaches to Character Education promise. Six general approaches to character education are then A. The Eleven Principles of Effective Character Education considered. Integrative Ethical Education is described as a case study in B. Caring School Communities order to illustrate theoretical, curricular and implementation issues. We C. Service Learning and Community Service summarize issues of implementation that are challenges to research and D. Positive Youth Development practice. We conclude with several challenges to character education, chief E. Social Emotional Learning of which is the need to find a distinctive orientation in the context of F. Character Education in Higher Education and the positive youth development. Problem free is not fully-prepared, but fully- Professions prepared is not morally complete. III. A Case Study: Integrative Ethical Education (IEE) A. Character as Expertise Development B. Pedagogy for Cultivating Character Expertise To appear in Vol 4 (A. Renninger & I. Siegel, Vol. Eds.) Handbook of Child C. Self Regulation for Sustainability Psychology (W. Damon & R. Lerner, Eds.). New York: Wiley. D. An Implementation of IEE: The Community Voices and Character Education Project E. Lessons Learned IV. Issues of Implementation V. Open Questions and Future Directions 1 Character Education “Enlightenment Project.” I. Background to Character Education: Issues, Theories This ideological division sometimes surfaces as a technical Controversies argument about pedagogy, for example, should one endorse direct or indirect methods of instruction. It shows up in how one conceives The moral formation of children is one of the foundational goals of fundamental questions concerning, for example, the source of our moral socialization. The ambitions that most parents have for their children values or the epistemological status of our moral claims. It shows up in our naturally include the development of important moral dispositions. Most understanding of the very goals and purposes of education in liberal parents want to raise children to become persons of a certain kind, persons democratic polities; and in our understanding of what an ethical life who possess traits that are desirable and praise-worthy, whose personalities consists of — what it means to be a moral agent, to possess virtue, and to are imbued with a strong ethical compass. Moreover, other socialization live well the life that is good for one to live. It shows up, too, in the sort of agents and institutions share this goal. The development of moral character developmental literatures, constructs and metaphors that one finds is considered a traditional goal of formal education. It is a justification for compelling. the work of youth organizations, clubs and athletic teams. It is the object of homily and religious exhortation. It shows up in presidential speeches. It There is a certain value, of course, in casting large, fundamental has preoccupied writers, educators, curriculum experts and cultural scolds. and deeply felt perspectives into such stark relief. It often is useful to draw The number of titles published on character and its role in private and sharp boundaries around contesting points of view in order to discern better public life has increased dramatically over past decades. So have curricula their strengths and weaknesses. Yet Dewey (1938) warned of the folly of for teaching the virtues in both schools and homes. Several prominent construing educational options in terms of Either/Or. In so doing, he foundations have thrown their resources behind the cause, and professional argued, one runs the danger of advancing one’s view only in reaction meetings dedicated to character education are marked by significant against the rival, which means that one’s vision is controlled unwittingly by commitment, energy and fervor. And in 2003 a new periodical, the Journal that which one struggles against. “There is always the danger in a new of Research in Character Education, was launched to bring focus to movement,” he writes, “that in rejecting the aims and methods of that which scholarly inquiry. it would supplant, it may develop its principles negatively rather than positively and constructively” (Dewey, 1938, p.20), with the result that it Yet for all the apparent consensus about the need to raise children fails thereby to address “a comprehensive, constructive survey of actual of strong moral character, and for all the professional attention devoted to needs, problems and possibilities” (Dewey, 1938, p. 8). the cause it is a striking fact that character education occupies contested ground in American society. Indeed, the issues that surround character In this chapter we review the literature on character education but education are riven with such partisan rivalry that the very terms of in a way that avoids, we hope, the dangers of Either/Or. It will be reference seem to function like code words that betray certain ideological necessary, of course, to sketch the contours of the great debates that have and political commitments. Whether one is for or against the character characterized this field. Fortunately, however, there has emerged in recent education movement is presumably a signal of whether one is a liberal or years a literature that has attempted to bridge conceptual and ideological conservative; whether one is sympathetic towards traditional or progressive divide (e. g., Benninga, 1991a,b; Berkowitz & Oser, 1985; Nucci, 1989; trends in education; whether one thinks the moral life is more a matter of Goodman & Lesnick, 2001; Ryan & Lickona, 1992a), or at least to face it cultivating excellence than submitting to obligation, or whether moral squarely. Our search is for the via media that provides, in Dewey’s words, evaluation is mostly about agents than about acts; or whether one prefers the “comprehensive, constructive survey of actual needs, problems and the ethics of Aristotle and classical philosophy to that of Kant and the possibilities.” 2 We do not approach our task in complete neutrality. Our own How is Character Defined? view is that character education would profit from advances in other domains of psychological science (Lapsley & Narvaez, 2005). Indeed, Character is derived from a Greek word that means, “to mark” as character is a concept with little theoretical meaning in contemporary on an engraving. One’s character is an indelible mark of consistency and psychology, although it has been the source of ethical reflection since predictability. It denotes enduring dispositional tendencies in behavior. It antiquity. An approach to character education that is deeply points to something deeply rooted in personality, to its organizing principle “psychologized” would look for insights about moral functioning in that integrates behavior, attitudes and values. There have been numerous contemporary literatures of cognitive and developmental science, in the attempts to define character more precisely. It is a “body of active literatures of motivation, social cognition and personality. Of course, tendencies and interests” that makes one “open, ready, warm to certain aims researchers in these areas rarely draw out the implications of their work for and callous, cold, blind to others” (Dewey & Tufts, 1910, p. 256). It is understanding the moral dimensions of personality and its formation. Yet it made up of dispositions and habits which “patterns our actions in a is our contention that a considered understanding of what is required for relatively fixed way” (Nicgorski & Ellrod, 1992, p. 143). It refers to the effective character education will be forthcoming only when there emerges good traits that are on regular display (Wynne & Ryan, 1997). Character is a robust character psychology that is deeply informed by advances in an individual’s “general approach to the dilemmas and responsibilities of developmental, cognitive and personality research. Moreover, effective
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Chinese Foundations for Moral Education and Character Development
    Cultural Heritage and Contemporary Change Series II. Asia, Volume 2 Series VI. Foundations of Moral Education, Volume 5 Chinese Foundations for Moral Education and Character Development Edited by Tran Van Doan, Vincent Shen and George F. Mclean The Council for Research in Values and Philosophy 1 Copyright © 1991 by The Council for Research in Values and Philosophy Gibbons Hall B-20 620 Michigan Avenue, NE Washington, D.C. 20064 All rights reserved Printed in the United States of America Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Chinese foundations for moral education and the character development / edited by Tran Van Doan, Vincent Shen, George F. McLean. p.cm. — (Cultural heritage and contemporary change. Series III. Asia ; vol. 2) (Cultural heritage and contemporary change. Series VI. Foundations of moral education ; vol. 5) Includes bibliographies and index. 1. Moral education—China. 2. Moral education—China—History. 3. Series. I. Tran, Van Doan. II. McLean, George F. III. Shen, Ch’Ch’ing-sung. IV. Series. V. Series: Cultural heritage and contemporary change. Series VI. Foundations of moral education ; v. 5) LC315.C5C447 1991 91-58113 370.11’4’0951—dc20 CIP ISBN 1-56518-033-X & 1-56518-032-1 (pbk.) 2 Table of Contents Preface v Introduction 1 Part I. Classical Chinese Resources for the Formation of Character 1. The Metaphysical Foundations of Traditional Chinese Moral Education 7 by Peter Kun-Yu Woo (National Taiwan University, Taiwan) 2. Human Nature and Human Education: On Human Nature as Tending Toward 19 Goodness in Classical Confucianism by Pei-Jung Fu (National Taiwan University, Taiwan) 3. Hsin-Techniques and Hsin-Leadership Psychological Aspects of 29 Confucian Moral Philosophy by Hang Thaddeus T'ui-chieh (National Chengchi University, Taiwan) Part II.
    [Show full text]
  • The Educational Thought of Confucius
    Loyola University Chicago Loyola eCommons Dissertations Theses and Dissertations 1980 The Educational Thought of Confucius Helena Wan Loyola University Chicago Follow this and additional works at: https://ecommons.luc.edu/luc_diss Part of the Education Commons Recommended Citation Wan, Helena, "The Educational Thought of Confucius" (1980). Dissertations. 1875. https://ecommons.luc.edu/luc_diss/1875 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses and Dissertations at Loyola eCommons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Loyola eCommons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License. Copyright © 1980 Helena Wan THE EDUCATIONAL THOUGHT OF CONFUCIUS by Helena Wan A Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School of Loyola University of Chicago in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy May 1980 Helena Wan Loyola University of Chicago THE EDUCATIONAL THOUGHT OF CONFUCIUS The purpose of this study is to investigate the humanistic educational ideas of Confucius as they truly were, and to examine their role in the history of tradi- tional Chinese education. It is the contention of this study that the process of transformation from idea into practice has led to mutilation, adaptation or deliberate reinterpretation of the original set of ideas. The ex­ ample of the evolution of the humanistic educational ideas of Confucius into a system of education seems to support this contention. It is hoped that this study will help separate that which is genuinely Confucius' from that which tradition has attributed to him; and to understand how this has happened and what consequences have resulted.
    [Show full text]
  • NASP Position Statement on Effective Character Education
    NASP Position Statement on Effective Character Education The National Association of School Psychologists believes there is a pressing need in our nation’s schools to foster not only the intellectual and academic growth of our children, but to rededicate our commitment to helping children develop into citizens of good character – citizens with the moral and ethical backbone to positively contribute to the democracy in which we live. The generally accepted term for this type of education is character education and is considered within the context of cultural beliefs and values. There are, however, multiple perspectives to consider in defining this term. One conception of character education involves the transmission of a culture's moral values and wisdom while inspiring in the young a commitment to leading a virtuous life. It is about "developing virtues – good habits and dispositions that lead students to responsible and mature adulthood." Other approaches to character education focus on the building of just or moral communities – communities that support the development of students' moral reasoning and their commitment to the virtues that hold a community together, virtues such as trust, care, and responsibility. Some approaches stress the role of caring relationships, the importance of educating the moral sentiments, and strengthening the capacity for empathy. Others in various ways stress democratic values and civility and focus on creating democratic, or moral communities. Still others stress the hidden curriculum, arguing that good character in youth is primarily acquired through a kind of moral apprenticeship with teachers of good character. As a national non-profit resource center, the Character Education Partnership (CEP) in Washington, D.C.
    [Show full text]
  • Brilliant Star: Moral Character Development
    MORAL AND CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT 1 Moral and Character Development Gordon Vessels and William Huitt Citation: Vessels, G., & Huitt, W. (2005). Moral and character development. Paper presented at the National Youth at Risk Conference, Savannah, GA, March 8-10. Retrieved [date], from http://www.edpsycinteractive.org/papers/chardev.pdf Moral character development has been a topic of concern for thousands of years. It was central to the development of American schooling, but lost favor in the middle of the 20th century. Over the last several decades there has been increased attention paid to the importance of moral character as central to the purpose of schooling. This paper reviews the most important theories related to moral character development and suggests methods for including it in the school setting. The development of moral character has been the subject of philosophical and psychological investigation since Aristotle theorized three levels of moral character development: an ethics of fear, an ethics of shame, an ethics of wisdom (Kraut, 2001). Philosophers, psychologists, and educators as diverse as John Locke, John Stuart Mill, Herbert Spencer, Emile Durkheim, and John Dewey, and as ancient as Confucius, Plato, and Aristotle have viewed the development of moral character as the primary purpose of schooling (Purpel & Ryan, 1976). From the beginning of American public education in the 1600s until the first third of the 20th century, our nation’s educators, working closely with parents and the community, performed this moral-educational role with commitment (McClellan, 1992). In the middle of the 20th century, moral character education in the schools (hereafter used interchangeably with the term character education) began to decline as a result of increased cultural diversity, perplexing and seemingly prohibitive First Amendment decisions, uncertainty about what values to teach and how to teach them, a preoccupation with social movements, and a Cold War emphasis on increasing academic achievement (Vessels & Boyd, 1996; Wynne & Walberg, 1997).
    [Show full text]
  • U.S. Teachers' Perception of Confucian Teaching Philosophies
    New Waves Educational Research & Development 20 December, 2017, Vol. 20, No. 2, pp. 20–34 U.S. Teachers’ Perception of Confucian Teaching Philosophies and Methodologies Tak Chan Binbin Jiang Kennesaw State University Mei Mei Xu University of Georgia Abstract The purpose of this study is to solicit the perceptions of United States teachers to examine the extent of their agreement with the Confucian teaching philosophies and methodologies. A mixed research methodology was used in this study. Sixty elementary, middle, and high school teachers from 24 schools of five urban school districts of Georgia were randomly selected and invited to participate in the study. Thirty-two teachers (53.3%) representing 17 different teaching areas responded by returning an author designed survey. Quantitative data were analyzed by using descriptive statistics and qualitative data were analyzed by examining emerged themes and patterns. The findings of this study indicate that teachers strongly support the application of Confucius teaching philosophies and methodologies in the classrooms of the United States. Introduction Confucianism represents many ethical characteristics of the Chinese society. Chinese teachers, therefore, have inherited the lofty mission of Confucian culture (Hong, 2014). Evidently, the practice of Confucian philosophies has become an important component of the teaching of the Chinese language and culture in China. Therefore, the teachers in China have been responsible for instilling a set of Confucian moral values to their students in class. However, as Hong (2014) pointed out, “the basis of Confucianism as enlightenment through education has encountered industrialized society, biased and narrow minded values, and the pressure of a bureaucratic system, rendering Confucian teachings solely an embellishment to teaching materials.” To a certain extent, the rigid teaching of Confucianism in Chinese language and culture classes may lead to dislike among students (Chen, 1997).
    [Show full text]
  • Character Education for the 21St Century: What Should Students Learn?
    Character Education for the 21st Century: What Should Students Learn? February 2015 Prepared by: Maya Bialik Michael Bogan Charles Fadel Michaela Horvathova With many thanks to: The Department of Education of Alberta, The Department of Education of New South Wales, Scott Cody, Jennifer Groff, Jordan Magid, Peter Nilsson, and Bernie Trilling for their contributions. With sincere thanks for the generous support to the: Center for Curriculum Redesign Boston, Massachusetts www.curriculumredesign.org February 2015 Copyright © 2015 Center for Curriculum Redesign. All Rights Reserved. Table of Contents Center For Curriculum Redesign Overview ......................................................... ii Why Learn Character Qualities ........................................................................ 1 How Would Character Qualities Be Learned ......................................................... 3 Character Qualities Framework ....................................................................... 4 Mindfulness .......................................................................................... 7 Curiosity ............................................................................................. 10 Courage .............................................................................................. 13 Resilience ............................................................................................ 16 Ethics ................................................................................................. 19 Leadership .........................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • A Framework for Character Education in Schools
    A Framework for Character ‘Good character is the Education in foundation for improved Schools attainment and human flourishing.’ INTRODUCTION ‘successful’ persons. Schooling is concerned centrally with the formation of character and benefits from an intentional Developing children’s characters is an obligation on us and planned approach to character development. all, not least on parents. Although parents are the primary educators of character, empirical research shows that they Human flourishing is the widely accepted goal of life. want all adults who have contact with their children to To flourish is not only to be happy, but to fulfil one’s contribute to such education, especially their children’s potential. Flourishing is the aim of character education, teachers. The development of character is a process that which is critical to its achievement. Human flourishing requires the efforts of both the developing individual and requires moral, intellectual and civic virtues, excellence the society and its schools. A society determined to enable specific to diverse domains of practice or human its members to live well will treat character education endeavour, and generic virtues of self-management as something to which every child has a right. Questions (known as enabling and performance virtues). All are about the kinds of persons children will become, the necessary to achieve the highest potential in life. Character contributions of good character to a flourishing life, and education is about the acquisition and strengthening of how to balance various virtues and values in this process virtues: the traits that sustain a well-rounded life and a are therefore salient concerns for all schools.
    [Show full text]
  • Plato's Educational System in Athens
    Center for Open Access in Science ▪ https://www.centerprode.com/ojsh.html Open Journal for Studies in History, 2018, 1(2), 39-48. ISSN (Online) 2620-066X ▪ https://doi.org/10.32591/coas.ojsh.0102.01039n _________________________________________________________________________ Plato’s Educational System in Athens - 4th Century Marina Nasaina1 National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, School of Philosophy Received 2 September 2018 ▪ Revised 25 October 2018 ▪ Accepted 27 October 2018 Abstract Education in ancient Greece looked for good of the community, aiming at the creation of virtuous citizens. Its ideal was bravery, daring, but also governance, aesthetics, and imagination through art and music. All ensured that the child would realize that he was a member of a community for the happiness and well-being of which their personal desire or pleasure had to be subdued. For Plato, virtuous is the man who combines knowledge and strong will to help him to be free from the bonds of the body and move on to the truth and the sight of the “good”. Keywords: Plato, education, education philosophy, music, gymnastics, city. 1. Introduction The basic pursuit of the education of the Athenian state is the “good virtuous” citizen, i.e. educated but also developed physically, spiritually, aesthetically and morally human. In other words, the goal of education was to create the best possible citizen for the benefit of the community and not for his own personal development. Its basic characteristics were bravery, boldness, military proficiency, but also the cultivation of aesthetics and imagination through art and music. 2. Education before Plato Education in ancient Athens was free, since parents were the ones who were the most responsible for educating their child.
    [Show full text]
  • Chapter 7 Moral-Character Education
    289 Chapter 7 Moral-Character Education Daniel Lapsley and David Yeager Moral-Character Education This chapter addresses one of the foundational issues that confront parents and educators: What is to be done about the moral character formation of children? Few would doubt that raising children of strong moral character is a highly desirable goal for socialization. Most parents would be disappointed if their children entered adulthood with only slight acquaintance with moral norms, dispositions, or emotions, or evinced these qualities only on occasion. But not only parents. The development of moral character is also a broadly shared goal that animates the work of socialization agents in every contextual setting that involves children, including schools and churches, youth organizations and other community institutions. Indeed, the concern over the proper induction of the younger generation by the older into the norms and canons of good conduct is probably a universal of the human experience. Yet the terms of reference for moral character education (MCE) is broadly contested whatever the basic agreement on the desirability of its goals (Goodman & Lesnick, 2001). Historically, the terms moral education and character education have pointed to different psychological traditions, ethical theories, curricular objectives and pedagogical preferences. Whether one is a moral educator or a character educator is thought to reveal something about one’s paradigmatic allegiances, about where one stands in terms of certain defining issues that sorts one into rival camps, with each camp having its own professional society (e.g., Association for Moral Education, the Character Education Partnership) and professional journal (e.g., Journal of Moral Education, Journal of Research in Character Education).
    [Show full text]
  • 1 the Literature Psychology Aspects and Character
    perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id THE LITERATURE PSYCHOLOGY ASPECTS AND CHARACTER EDUCATION VALUES IN DONNY DHIRGANTORO’S NOVEL OF 5 CM AND THE RELATION TO THE LITERATURE LEARNING IN COLLEAGUE Sariyah Astuti, Nugraheni Eko Wardani1, Muhammad Rohmadi2 Magister Pendidikan Bahasa Indonesia Program Pascasarjana UNS [email protected] ABSTRACT This research aims to understand and described: (1) of the structure of the text in a novel 5 CM dhirgantoro donny work, (2) the figures based on the theory needs psychological conflict Abraham H. Maslow contained in a novel 5 CM Donny Dhirgantor work, (3) the the value of a character education that is contained in a novel 5 CM Donny Dhirgantoro work, (4) relevance in learning of literature in college. This research is research qualitative descriptive. The approach of research that we use is an approach to psychology literature. A source of data in this research using data wrote the syllabus eleven march university and data spoken through an activity an interview with informan-informan. The technique of the collection of data used is a technique interviews and analysis of documents. The validity of data in this research using triangulation theory and data sources. Engineering analysis of data used in this research is a technique analysis model interactive. `The analysis of the data shows that in this research there are the structure of the text as seen from intrinsic element and ektrinsik, an approach to psychology literature can also use the theory Abraham H. Maslow nor the theories of sigmund freud , the value of character education obtained from the study they could go in relevansion against literary learning in college eleven march university lecture especially literary criticism.
    [Show full text]
  • 10 Moral and Character Development10
    Vessels, G., & Huitt, W. (2018). Moral and character development. In W. Huitt (Ed.), Becoming a Brilliant Star: Twelve core ideas supporting holistic education (pp. 179-213). La Vergne, TN: IngramSpark. Retrieved from http://www.edpsycinteractive.org/papers/2018-10-vessels-huitt- brilliant-star-moral-character.pdf MORAL CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT 10 Moral and Character Development10 Gordon Vessels and William Huitt The development of moral character has been the subject of philosophical and psychological investigation since Aristotle theorized three levels of moral character development: an ethics of fear, an ethics of shame, an ethics of wisdom (Kraut, 2001). Philosophers, psychologists, and educators as diverse as John Locke, John Stuart Mill, Herbert Spencer, Emile Durkheim, and John Dewey, and as ancient as Confucius, Plato, and Aristotle have viewed the development of moral character as the primary purpose of schooling (Purpel & Ryan, 1976). From the beginning of American public education in the 1600s until the first third of the twentieth century, our nation’s educators, working closely with parents and the community, performed this moral-educational role with commitment (McClellan, 1992). In the middle of the twentieth century, moral character education in the schools (hereafter used interchangeably with the term character education) began to decline as a result of increased cultural diversity, perplexing and seemingly prohibitive First Amendment decisions, uncertainty about what values to teach and how to teach them, a preoccupation with social movements, and a Cold War emphasis on increasing academic achievement (Vessels & Boyd, 1996; Wynne & Ryan, 1997). A few variants emerged out of social necessity including civic education, global education, multicultural studies, prudential education, social skills training, and values clarification.
    [Show full text]
  • Character Education: Implications for Critical Democracy
    Character Education: Implications for Critical Democracy Sue Winton Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto, CANADA Abstract: The character education policy of a school board in Ontario, Canada, is interrogated from a critical democratic perspective. Character education is the deliberate effort by schools to teach values to students. An analysis of 181 documents shows that the policy advocates a traditional approach to character education by promoting a set of values it deems universal. Suggested teaching methods include direct instruction, modeling, practice, and serving others. I argue that the policy’s traditional approach limits opportunities for students to learn to value diverse perspectives, consider the complexity of morality and decision-making, and develop a disposition towards critical thinking and a view of themselves as social actors. I conclude that this policy and other traditional approaches to character education must be abandoned if public schools are to reflect democratic commitments to equality, diversity, active participation in decision-making, critical-mindedness, social justice, and the common good. Formal character education is becoming commonplace in schools in Canada, England, and the United States. Character education is the intentional effort by educators to teach values to students. Character initiatives have been reintroduced in public schools in response to concerns about moral decline, school safety, social cohesion, civic engagement, and academic achievement (Winton, 2008). Not everyone embraces character education, however. Character education is criticized for placing responsibility for societal issues on individuals rather than on political, economic, or cultural institutions (Kohn, 1997; Purpel, 1997). Character education is also viewed as an effort to create a more compliant and obedient workforce (Purpel, 1997) rather than a genuine effort to affect students‟ character.
    [Show full text]