The purpose of this study was to determine if character education programs impact the suspension rates of students from regular instructional public elementary schools in Texas. The data was also examined to determine if the number of years since a school's implementation of a character education program has an impact on the effectiveness of the programs as measured by the suspension rates of students from school. Finally, the study sought to determine if the socio-economic status of the schools has an impact on the effectiveness of character education programs as measured by the student suspension rates. A random sample of 135 regular instructional public elementary schools in Texas was collected. The principal of each school completed a questionnaire that was used to sort schools into three groups: schools with "direct" character education programs, schools with "indirect" character education programs, and schools that have implemented no type of character education program. A two-year history of suspensions was obtained for each school. The data was analyzed using one-way and two-way ANOVAs. The results of the analyses indicated that the implementation of character education programs, no matter what type, did not produce statistically significant differences in student suspension rates from school. Furthermore, the data revealed that neither the number of years since the implementation of the character education programs nor the socio-economic status of the schools had an impact on the effectiveness of the character education programs as measured by the student suspension rates from school.

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.