Education Commons^™

Primed For Sport Coaching: A Mixed-Methods Pilot Study Of A Six-Week Intervention, Pete S. Paciorek

Dissertations

This six-week pilot study was conducted using grounded theory from “What Works in Character Education” (Berkowitz & Bier, 2014) and specifically the “PRIMED for Character Education” framework (Berkowitz, 2021) applied to 11 high school sport coaches. The three key ideas of focus were on whether the PRIMED framework could increase the coach-participants’ commitment to character education, self-efficacy as character educators, and self-identification as Servant Leaders in an effort to “nurture the flourishing of human goodness” (Berkowitz, 2021) of our youth and, in this case, specifically, high school student-athletes.

With millions of youth involved in sport in North America and across …

Character Development And The ‘In-Between’, Laxmi Pathak, Wayne Melville

Critical Humanities

A plethora of discussions have been made on character development since Aristotle’s musings on Eudaimonia. These musings have led to multiple perspectives on character development; however, they rarely touch on the area of the ‘in-between,’ a space of tensionality (Aoki 1996) for character development within multi-cultural settings. This article explores the concept of character development, discusses the importance of the language of virtues, critiques the notion of the ‘in-between,’ in connection with home- and host- cultures, and concludes with the implications of the ‘in-between’ within the context of character development in multi-cultural settings. The intent is to explore the ‘in-between’ …

Full-Hearted Leading: A Multiple Case Study Of Principals' Sensemaking Toward Implementing Moral Character Development In Elementary Schools, Kimberly Renee Starks

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this multiple case study was to understand how elementary school principals make sense of moral character development in their schools. The theories that guided this study were Weick’s sensemaking theory and Kohlberg’s moral development theory as it provided explanations to principals’ sensemaking regarding the effectiveness of moral character development implementation in elementary schools. The case studies, in one Midwestern school district, examined ten school administrators’ sensemaking toward implementing essential and effective moral character development programs in their schools. This study utilized a multiple case design that was critical to theory, deviated from theoretical norms, and captured everyday …

The Propensity Of Character Education To Promote And Predict Moral Development As Measured In Middle School Students, Kristine Smith

International Christian Community of Teacher Educators Journal

With an interest in whether character education programs promoted moral development, a study was conducted on a group of middle school students. The question driving this quantitative research asked whether four components of character education—namely self-management, self-efficacy, social awareness, and growth mindset—might predict moral reasoning in adolescents. Data from a multiple and simple regression provided an answer to this study’s question. Surveys completed by 126 students (grades six through eight) provided data for the initial multiple regression. Upon conducting the multiple regression, growth mindset emerged as the only component with a statistically significant (p < .001) relationship with moral reasoning. After the non-relational variables were removed, and a simple regression was conducted, the analysis indicated growth mindset accounted for 11% of a student’s moral reasoning and yielded a small effect size of .11. Along with identifying a significant relationship between growth mindset and moral reasoning, the study further identified an underlying relationship between context, growth mindset, and moral development. In light of Christian educators’ “Scriptural advantage”, Christian schools hold a “contextual advantage” when it comes to establishing cognitive, instructional, and societal contexts.

A Values-Based, Holistic Approach Towards School Mission In A U.S. Islamic School, Salim S. Yusufali

The Dissertation-in-Practice at Western University

U.S. Islamic schools endeavour to foster the development of moral practices and values stemming from Islamic teachings. Their efforts are demonstrated in classes (such as Islamic studies and Qur’an study), ritual practice (such as daily congregational prayer), and faith-based assemblies. Yet the schools often lack awareness, structure, and procedures for a focus on character, morality, and spirituality to permeate all aspects of schooling. They also tend to have limited resources for embarking on large-scale change initiatives. This Organizational Improvement Plan is written from the standpoint of the author, a scholar-practitioner, and Dean of Mission of a U.S. based K-12 Islamic …

How Teaching Virtues Became A Movement. A Book Review Of The Rise Of Character Education In Britain: Heroes, Dragons, And The Myths Of Character, Judith L. Pace

Democracy and Education

How did character education become so popular? What does its curriculum look like? And what is its educational impact? Lee Jerome and Ben Kisby answer these and other questions in a bold and brilliant book. Focusing on the character education movement in Britain, they dissect its theoretical foundation, explain its ascendancy, analyze its curricula, and examine its results. The authors construct a compelling argument that character education clashes with education for democracy.

Character education claims to be a panacea for improving individual children’s life chances as well as an array of societal problems. But with its deeply flawed ideology, curricula, …

The Cost Of Education, Dania Hassan

CBER Conference

Quality of education in Pakistan usually depends on how high the school is charging. However, when private schools charge higher, they also provide the facilities which are shown in the former doughnut chart. Unlike private schools, public or lowend private schools only charge for minimal tuition fee, either awarded from the government or collected from the pupils.

Healthy Living Club, Odessa Ohrt, Elisha Reiners

Honors Expanded Learning Clubs

Throughout the semester we explored various aspects of living a healthy lifestyle, we started in the topic of MyPlate and introduced the five food groups, touched on other elements of a healthy life (such as exercise, sleep, and the nine dimensions of wellness). Towards the end of the semester, we incorporated cooking lessons that taught the students safe kitchen habits and where their food comes from. We tried to incorporate physical activity, visual, audio, and hands-on elements into each club meeting.

Character Education In Prekindergarten, Lori Clark

Graduate Teacher Education

The outcomes of teaching character education in pre-kindergarten (PK) classrooms were researched for this paper. Challenging behaviors have become commonplace in PK classrooms; Edge, Rose, Honeycutt, McKelvey, Swindle, Courson, and Forsman (2018) reported more than 40% of early educators surveyed had suspended at least one child during the previous year. With changes in family structure, the rise in violent acts, and other ethical issues in society it has become necessary for schools to teach values that will help lead children to academic success and keep children in classrooms (Heidari, Nowrozi, & Ahmadpoor, 2016). Research was analyzed to report the effectiveness …

The Power Of Please: How Courtesy Scripts Improve Self-Control And Reduce Peer Conflict By Creating New Language Patterns, Michael J. Haslip

Networks: An Online Journal for Teacher Research

This teacher inquiry project describes how one first grade teacher learned to use coached language supports to improve children’s self-control and cooperation. Courtesy scripts were created in the process. The development of courtesy scripts and their application in early elementary classrooms is presented. Courtesy scripts are specific phrases explicitly taught (I do, we do, you do), reinforced, and used in conversations by both the speaker and listener. Children learned how to make requests while also honoring the needs of others. Use of these pragmatic language supports helped to create a peaceful classroom community. A practical method for teaching courteous language …

The Effects Of Character Education Literature Of Bucket Filling Strategies On The Ability Of 5-Year-Old Students To Self-Regulate In A Montessori Classroom, Margaret R. Kennedy

Masters of Arts in Education Action Research Papers

The purpose of this action research project was to explore how the implementation of bucket filling could affect self-regulation in 5-year-olds in a Montessori classroom. The bucket filling theme is character education children’s literature. The collection of data for this action research utilized a mixed method of quantitative and qualitative, including the pre- and post-Preschool Self-Regulation Assessment, daily observation reflections, and tally sheets of behaviors. The data collected and analyzed in this study use of bucket filling can have some effect on self-regulation skills in 5-year-olds in a Montessori classroom. Self-regulation is essential to success in the classroom and in …

The Impact Of Character Education Programs On Middle School Bullying Behavior, Kelly M. Amshey

Dissertations

Bullying is recognized as a barrier that must be addressed by schools to ensure that all students have access to educational opportunities. Due to high accountability with limited resources, schools must identify strategies to address issues such as bullying in a manner that provides the maximum benefit to students. Character education (CE) programs, which contribute to the bullying deterrent of positive school climate, may also lessen bullying through explicit teaching of character traits and prosocial skills.

The purpose of this study is to determine if there is a relationship between utilization of character education and prevalence of bullying in middle …

Teacher Perceptions Of Assessments In Character Education: A Case Study, Sarah Hickman

Senior Honors Theses

Since the time of Aristotle, educators have emphasized character as a necessary part of a student’s education, and currently, many states mandate character education by law. Because of this historical and legal emphasis, there is a growing discussion on the necessity of assessments in character education to ensure that character education programs are effective. While there is research on the large-scale effectiveness of programs with different assessments, there is little research about how teachers perceive assessments and measurements in character education. This study was conducted to begin to address this gap in the research. Through the research design of an …

Private School Choice And Character: More Evidence From Milwaukee, Corey Deangelis, Patrick J. Wolf

Education Reform Faculty and Graduate Students Publications

We examine the effects of Milwaukee’s school voucher program on adult criminal activity and paternity suits. Using matched student-level data, we find that exposure to the program in 8th or 9th grade predicts lower rates of conviction for criminal activity and lower rates of paternity suits by ages 25 to 28. Specifically, exposure to the MPCP is associated with a reduction of around 53 percent in drug convictions, 86 percent in property damage convictions, and 38 percent in paternity suits. The program effects tend to be largest for males and students with lower levels of academic achievement at baseline.

Teacher Autonomy In A Site-Managed Charter School: Views Of Autonomy, Autonomy Support, And Their Educational Impact, Kristen Levin

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to discover how pre-service teachers (PSTs), classroom teachers, and administrators in an urban charter school perceive their own professional autonomy and administrative support by the school, and how the balance of autonomy and support impact their instructional practices. I designed and implemented this research as a single case study of Highland Charter School (a pseudonym), in a Midwestern U.S. city. This study involved seven teachers, three pre-service teachers, six administrators, and the charter sponsor. The case is an independent charter school serving mainly students of low socioeconomic backgrounds, from Kindergarten through Eighth Grade. At …

Franklincovey Leader In Me Program: The Impact On Title 1 Students - A Positive Social Climate For All Children And Youth, Ronny Green, Paula Tench, Lantry Brockmeier, William Truby, Rudo Tsemunhu, Kathy Nobles

National Youth Advocacy and Resilience Conference

Brief Description:

What was the impact on Title 1 students when the FranklinCovey Leader in Me Program was implemented to foster a positive social climate for all children and youth in a North Georgia school?

Teaching Kids To Care: A Needs-Based Intervention To Increase Ethical Sensitivity In Schools, Rebecca Friedman

The William & Mary Educational Review

Character education programming is gaining popularity in America’s schools as a way to raise an intelligent and caring generation of students. However, many schools fail to allocate time, money, and resources to such initiatives. The present study examined the impact of an ethical sensitivity intervention in a religiously affiliated independent school. A self-report Likert scale and analytic rubric were used to measure development of different sub-skills of ethical sensitivity in fourth and fifth grade students (N = 25) before and after the intervention over a two-month period. Results suggest that the degree of ethical sensitivity increased over the course of …

Program Evaluation Of The Leader In Me In A Rural Elementary School With Emphasis On Hispanic Students, John Shepard

Education Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this study was to analyze the effects of The Leader in Me (TLIM) program and philosophy on a highly diverse, rural elementary school in North Carolina. TLIM is a program for school-wide transformation that seeks to teach all students 21st century leadership and life skills. TLIM is based on The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Covey (1989) and is an integrated approach to teaching leadership development. The study took place at School X, which has over 440 students. School X is diverse: 46% of the students are Hispanic; 41% are White; and 13% are Asian, …

It’S All In The Heart: The Influence Of The Personal Values And Philosophies Of Administrators And Teachers On The Methodologies And Effectiveness 
Of Character Education, Rebecca Joy Foxworth

Selected Honors Theses

This thesis sought to determine the influence of educators’ personal values and philosophies on character education, particularly on methodologies and effectiveness. Research consisted of a two-part study of an elementary charter school. Part one of the study consisted of an interview with two administrators from the school, and part two of the study consisted of a survey sent out to the teachers of the school. Both the interview and survey sought to determine the values and philosophies of character education held by the educators, the methodologies the school uses for character education, and how the educators perceive the effectiveness of …

The Promise Of Character Education In Middle School: A Meta-Analysis, Calvary R. Diggs, Patrick Akos

Middle Grades Review

Early adolescence is a developmental stage characterized by changes in reasoning, social cognition, and desire for autonomy in youth aged 11-14 (or grades 6-8). This period is also associated with heightened impulsivity and risk-taking that has been linked to school-related challenges such as antisocial behaviors and declining grades. Character education, a particular brand of social-emotional practice, has been promulgated as a developmentally responsive program that can promote prosocial behavior and academic success by building upon existing developmental strengths. However, research findings to date are primarily informed by elementary school program outcomes. Due to this limitation, a meta-analytic review of recent …

Teacher Perceptions Of The Effectiveness Of Character Building Initiatives At An Expeditionary Learning Outward Bound High School, Adeola A. Alexander

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation uses as its conceptual foundation the research on teacher beliefs to examine how teachers at an Expeditionary Learning School in Brooklyn, New York perceive the character building initiatives at their school. Using thematic case study methodology, the study found that teachers believed that character education is important and should be taught. Not only should character education be taught in schools, but the teachers believed that schools should be intentional about the teaching and development of student character. Teachers also believed that teachers are capable and should be allowed to spearhead the school initiatives intended to develop character. According …

The Adolescent Brain: Leaving Childhood Behind, Lori Desautels

Lori Desautels

There isn't a more profound scene in the film Inside Out than the death of Bing Bong, Riley’s imaginary friend. As the main character approaches her 12th birthday, her brain is beginning to develop in ways that leave her imagination behind. This is the time when children between the ages of 10 and 14 begin dying to their childhoods to be born into their adolescence.

Contagious Emotions And Responding To Stress, Lori Desautels

Lori Desautels

Neuroscience research suggests that emotions are contagious. Our brains are social organs, and we are wired for relationships. When we encounter or experience intense emotions from another individual, we feel those feelings as if they were our own. Mirror neurons in our brains are responsible for empathy, happiness, and the contagious anger, sadness, or anxiety that we feel when another person is experiencing these same feelings.

Teachers, Students, And The Hero's Journey, Lori Desautels

Scholarship and Professional Work – Education

"The cave you fear to enter holds the treasure you seek." -- Joseph Campbell

Joseph Campbell, an American mythologist who studied myths from all over the world, created the famous Hero's Journey, a monomyth that explains how each individual goes through continuous cycles of change and transformation. Nothing could be more accurate than when we apply this monomyth to educators, students, and schools, because the teaching and learning process and emotional connection are real-life cycles of continual challenges, births of new ideas, successes, and transformations.

The Adolescent Brain: Leaving Childhood Behind, Lori Desautels

Scholarship and Professional Work – Education

There isn't a more profound scene in the film Inside Out than the death of Bing Bong, Riley’s imaginary friend. As the main character approaches her 12th birthday, her brain is beginning to develop in ways that leave her imagination behind. This is the time when children between the ages of 10 and 14 begin dying to their childhoods to be born into their adolescence.

Contagious Emotions And Responding To Stress, Lori Desautels

Scholarship and Professional Work – Education

Neuroscience research suggests that emotions are contagious. Our brains are social organs, and we are wired for relationships. When we encounter or experience intense emotions from another individual, we feel those feelings as if they were our own. Mirror neurons in our brains are responsible for empathy, happiness, and the contagious anger, sadness, or anxiety that we feel when another person is experiencing these same feelings.

Islands Of Personality And Trains Of Thought, Lori Desautels

Scholarship and Professional Work – Education

In the film Inside Out, 11-year-old Riley holds several islands of personality in her brain. These islands were created from her past core memories, experiences, interests, and passions. Positive and negative core memories create these islands that make up our personality or sense of self. Riley's included Family Island, Friendship Island, Soccer Island, and Goofball Island. Our brains form islands of personality (or, for the purposes of this discussion, islands of self) because of our interests, relationships, experiences, and how others in our lives have affirmed, supported, or possibly weakened our thoughts about who we are and …

How Emotions Affect Learning, Behaviors, And Relationships, Lori Desautels

Scholarship and Professional Work – Education

We need all of our emotions for thinking, problem solving, and focused attention. We are neurobiologically wired, and to learn anything, our minds must be focused and our emotions need to "feel" in balance. Emotional regulation is necessary so that we can remember, retrieve, transfer, and connect all new information to what we already know. When a continuous stream of negative emotions hijacks our frontal lobes, our brain's architecture changes, leaving us in a heightened stress-response state where fear, anger, anxiety, frustration, and sadness take over our thinking, logical brains.

The Effects Of Character Education On Social-Emotional Behavior, Diane M. Dodds

Masters of Arts in Education Action Research Papers

The addition of character education to school curricula has become an increasingly popular response to today’s heightened emphasis for students to succeed on academic high stake tests, leaving little regard for the development of social-emotional competencies. The purpose of this research was to study the effects of character education on the social-emotional behavior of elementary students in a private Montessori school. The study consisted of 18 students in a grade 1-4 classroom over a period of five weeks. Data was collected through daily tallying of negative behavior and through incident forms as well as student pre- and post-test evaluations regarding …

Scapegoat: John Dewey And The Character Education Crisis, Brian White

Funded Articles

Many conservatives, including some conservative scholars, blame the ideas and influence of John Dewey for what has frequently been called a crisis of character, a catastrophic decline in moral behavior in the schools and society of North America. Dewey’s critics claim that he is responsible for the undermining of the kinds of instruction that could lead to the development of character and the strengthening of the will, and that his educational philosophy and example exert a ubiquitous and disastrous influence on students’ conceptions of moral behavior. This article sets forth the views of some of these critics and juxtaposes them …