The purpose of this research was to determine the effectiveness of a character education program on middle school student academic performance, effort and attitude about their school located in an international setting. Middle school students at the participating international school were assigned to either an experimental or control group. Those students in the experimental group classes received a series of 12 lessons focusing on the character trait of responsibility. Those students in the control group classes did not receive these lessons. Twelve responsibility-based lessons were presented to students in the experimental group. Student academic grades in six different academic subjects, effort scores in six different academic courses, and student attitude concerning school climate constituted the dependent variable. The literature review and the general results of this study indicate that there are many factors that may influence student academic performance, effort or attitude. Various character education programs which have been designed to be integrated into school curricula as part of pre-existing courses or as stand alone programs have had varying levels of success. There is limited quantitative data available to support the claims that many existing programs make related to their effectiveness. The data collected from this study were also inconclusive making it difficult to generalize the findings beyond the scope of this study. While certain middle school grade levels showed statistically significant improvement in some academic disciplines or effort improvement in some subjects it would not be appropriate to generalize the findings based on this investigation. Implications of this study and suggestions for future investigations are discussed.

This qualitative case study examines the impact of a character education program, Rachel's Challenge, in a high school to determine if the implementation of the program promotes resiliency, improves school culture, and supports an increased sense of community within the school. I examine, in rich detail, a suburban high school which implemented Rachel's Challenge and the research thoroughly formulates a description of the school prior to the implementation of the program and following the implementation of the program to determine the impact of the character education initiative on the school's culture, the resilience development of the school community members, and the sense of community within the institution. I collected the data in a suburban high school located in a Mid-Atlantic state. Limiting my study to one school provided me the necessary and advantageous opportunity to gain a rich description of the possible impacts of the program while also allowing me to deeply immerse myself into the realities of the participants. In-depth interviews were carried out with students, parents, counselors, administrators, and teachers to gain a rich understanding of any need for and value of the program and of any impacts of the program on the school's culture, the development of resilience, and a sense of connection and community. Constructs of Turbulence Theory are used to dissect the value of the character education program; I examined what need induced the implementation of the program in the school community and any positive impacts of the program on the school culture, resilience development, and sense of connection and community. Constructs of Resilience Theory are used, as it has been applied to individuals and organizations, to analyze the possible impact of the character education program on the resilience levels within the school community. Interviews were carried out with the various key-players within the high school who offered a wide interpretation of the effects of the character education program on the overall school culture and the level of resilience within the school community. A thorough document review was also carried out to further explore any impacts of the program on school culture, resilience development, and sense of community to clarify and further add to the interviews. The data provide educational leaders with a practical understanding of the impact of character education, namely the Rachel's Challenge program, on school culture and the development of resilience within a school community to help leaders formulate a value of its implementation in their schools. The research provides evidence that the Rachel's Challenge program did improve school culture in this particular school by encouraging a community built on acceptance, inclusion, kindness, respect, and compassion. The program encouraged pro-social behavioral changes within the school as well as promoted an anti-bullying message to the members of the school community. The research also provides evidence that the Rachel's Challenge program did promote the development of individual and community resilience at this particular school as demonstrated by an enhanced ability to stand up against peer pressure as well as the promotion of strength in the face of adversity and a sense of connection and unity within the school community. / Educational Leadership

Stemming from the lack of character education in today's public schools and the desire to integrate a teaching character traits into the everyday curriculum this study sheds light on the current character education programs their successes and failures and shows how the everyday classroom teacher 9an use teachable moments and children's literature to teach students character traits such as respect for self and others. The purpose of this study was to ensure that character education could be taught in addition to academic subjects without disrupting the plethora of requirements required by the classroom teacher. As a result of my study, I found that incorporating character education in an everyday classroom is difficult, however possible. I also found that school wide reinforcement and program might be more beneficial than just one program with in a single classroom. I also provided the reader with the possibility to incorporate character education in the early childhood classroom if he or she so desires.

As more schools consider ways to help students to develop not only academically but also socially and emotionally, school personnel look to formal programs of character education to help address the needs of the whole child. Of these programs of character education, Berkowitz and Bier (2005) posit that effective programs begin by promoting positive social relationships within the school. One measure of the quality of the social relationships in schools is reflected in the level of belonging or connectedness that students feel toward their school and members of the school community. Consequently, the purpose of the present study was to further the investigation of the construct of sense of school belonging and its relationship to formal programs of character education. Eighth-grade students (732) from five middle schools – three character program schools and two non-character program schools – were surveyed measuring sense of school belonging by their responses on the total score of the Psychological Sense of School Membership (PSSM) scale developed by Goodenow (1993) and on the four sub-scores of the PSSM demonstrated by Ye and Wallace (2013). No significant differences were found for student sense of belonging between character program schools and non-character program schools. However, the study also investigated the effect of structural and perceptual elements of character education programs that were found to positively relate to student sense of school belonging. Students who identified themselves as being part of a character education group in their school reported significantly higher levels of sense of belonging (on the total score of the PSSM and on the PSSM factors of Identification and Participation in School, Perception of Fitting in Among Peers, and Generalized Connection to Teachers) than those students who did not identify as being part of a character education group. In addition, students reported statistically significant higher levels of sense of belonging a) the more they felt accepted by other students in their group, b) the more they felt accepted by their adult group advisor, c) the more they felt able to express opinions in their group, d) the more they felt their group was like a family, and e) the more they felt character education groups made their school a better place. Sense of belonging was also positively related to more frequent opportunities for character education group meetings and to a common school language that emphasized moral character more than performance character. / Educational Leadership

<p>This thesis interprets John Dewey’s theory of the moral life in the global context in order to shed a light on major ethical challenges of the process of globalization. Dewey’s perspective provides an explanation of (1) formation of the individual commitments to particular sets of values,(2) justification of the responsibilities to the distanced peoples as opposed to the responsibilities to the nearest and dearest peoples and (3)the meaning of democratic social arrangements on the global scale.</p><p>In order to find a theoretical basis for justification of democracy in the globalizing world, the thesis reviews Dewey’s educational philosophy. His inquiry in the underlying ideas of public education reveals its core democratic meaning which points out the necessity of progressive democratic character education. This thesis suggests that in the current global context the existing educational bodies (such as UNDP and UNESCO) are insufficient in providing such a humanistic education which would actualize democracy as interdependence of all humans within civilization.</p><p>In order to establish a just social order which would be responsive to every human being within civilization there is the need to maintain a democratic mode of associated living on the global scale where every human partakes in the accumulation of knowledge of civilization and benefits from it in return. Relying on Dewey's theoretical basis the thesis suggests the criteria which the global educational institution should fulfil in order to maintain democracy as a mode of associated living in the global society.</p>

Thesis (Ed. D.)--Graduate School of Education, Oral Roberts University, 2004. / Includes abstract and vita. Includes bibliographical references (p. 158-170). Also available on the Internet.

This thesis interprets John Dewey’s theory of the moral life in the global context in order to shed a light on major ethical challenges of the process of globalization. Dewey’s perspective provides an explanation of (1) formation of the individual commitments to particular sets of values,(2) justification of the responsibilities to the distanced peoples as opposed to the responsibilities to the nearest and dearest peoples and (3)the meaning of democratic social arrangements on the global scale. In order to find a theoretical basis for justification of democracy in the globalizing world, the thesis reviews Dewey’s educational philosophy. His inquiry in the underlying ideas of public education reveals its core democratic meaning which points out the necessity of progressive democratic character education. This thesis suggests that in the current global context the existing educational bodies (such as UNDP and UNESCO) are insufficient in providing such a humanistic education which would actualize democracy as interdependence of all humans within civilization. In order to establish a just social order which would be responsive to every human being within civilization there is the need to maintain a democratic mode of associated living on the global scale where every human partakes in the accumulation of knowledge of civilization and benefits from it in return. Relying on Dewey's theoretical basis the thesis suggests the criteria which the global educational institution should fulfil in order to maintain democracy as a mode of associated living in the global society.

ABSTRACT THE REVOLUTION BEGINS AT 3PM: A QUALITATIVE STUDY OF A STATEWIDE 21ST CENTURY COMMUNITY LEARNING CENTERS PROGRAM by Corrie L. Davis The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore how teachers and staff members demonstrated caring toward their students within a statewide 21st Century Community Learning Centers (21st CCLC) afterschool program. The participants in the study included 17 program directors, 22 site coordinators, 16 teachers, 3 paraprofessionals, 11 parents, 11 principals, and 18 other stakeholders associated with the program. This multi-site case study utilized the naturalistic paradigm of qualitative research. The data collection process included 98 semi-structured interviews, 22 participant observations, 112 photographs, and document analyses with materials from the 20 grantees selected in the sample. The qualitative software program, Atlas.ti: The Knowledge Workbench (2003) assisted with the management and analysis of data during the coding, categorizing, and interpretation process. Findings from the study revealed 3 central themes: (a) staff members that care about the whole child educate the whole child, (b) using culture as an asset increases students’ desire to learn and (c) building character promotes positive change. By incorporating these attributes, the program’s staff demonstrated their commitment to the academic and democratic advancement of the students in their care. This study will help inform policy makers, afterschool advocates, and 21st CCLC stakeholders about the importance of incorporating caring, culturally relevant pedagogy, and character education within local and national afterschool programs.

Character education assumes responsibility for influencing and educating youth on morals, values, beliefs and positive character attributes in order to influence them into being positive and contributing members of society. Character education is most often taught in the home, schools and community. One community organization that integrates character education into its programming is 4-H Youth Development. The purpose of this research is to view the relationships between character education and 4-H, and more so whether Kentucky 4-H programs influence the knowledge, attitudes and practices of positive character among youth leaders. This study also looked at length of 4-H involvement and gender in order to determine influence. It was found that Kentucky 4-H programs do influence positive character among youth leaders, as youth indicated that they had gained character knowledge from 4-H involvement, as well as the program had made them a better person. It was also found that the gender of youth or their length of involvement in 4-H programs does not affect the character knowledge, attitudes and practices gained from involvement. The author recommends using these positive findings to continue to expand Kentucky programs and recruit adults and youth.

This study concerns the use of character education practices in schools and how these practices can be integrated into the art education curriculum to benefit students from urban high-poverty backgrounds. I conducted a document analysis of research in character education referring to methods of integrating character education skills into classroom practice. I identified character education programs that provide instruction in the areas of the emotional resources that Payne (2013) suggests that students from high-poverty backgrounds lack. Then, I made connections between how these identified character education skills align to the studio habits of mind (Hetland, 2013) that the visual arts have been suggested to develop in students to create guidelines for art educators to implement in their classrooms.