Why character education?

Abstract

Character education in schools has been high on the UK political agenda for the last few years. The government has invested millions in grants to support character education projects and declared its intention to make Britain a global leader in teaching character and resilience. But the policy has many critics: some question whether schools should be involved in the formation of character at all; others worry that the traits schools are being asked to cultivate are excessively competitive or military. In this pamphlet Randall Curren sets out a robust defence of character education. He welcomes the political support it presently enjoys, but contends that greater clarity about the nature, benefits and acquisition of good character is essential. In particular, he argues that too narrow a focus on traits like perseverance and resilience is a serious mistake: these traits are only virtues when they are part of a wider set of moral and intellectual qualities, and when their exercise is guided by good judgment. Curren offers us a compelling and coherent account of what good character is and how it might be cultivated in schools. He explains why schools must be needs‐supporting environments that provide students with opportunities to engage in rewarding activity, and why cultivating good character implies promoting the ‘fundamental British values’ of democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty, and mutual respect and tolerance. His groundbreaking pamphlet promises to expand the scope and strengthen the foundations of character education in British schools, and should go a long way towards allaying the fears of its detractors.

The Challenge of Assessing Character: Measuring APA Goal 3 Student Learning Outcomes

“…Fowers (2014) suggested that assessment strategies that depended on self-evaluation produced findings of questionable validity, influenced by distortions from positive illusion and social desirability effects. Despite the inherent difficulties of measuring character, Curren (2017) argued that moral education is essential to build capacity for humans to live collaboratively in a complicated world. Similarly, Cohen (2006) advocated for incorporating social, emotional, and ethical competences as a cornerstone of education to support effective democracy and a satisfying quality of life.…”

Who Cares? Pro-social education within the programmes of the International Baccalaureate

“…We noted above that some theorists have pointed to a dissection of character from morality in Western accounts of character education (Curren, 2017; Snyder, 2014). By contrast, this was not a feature of the accounts of school leaders, teachers or students in our case-study schools.…”

“…How do we decide which characteristics are worthy of development? Curren (2017) notes that political attention given to character education has often placed a narrow focus on performance virtues – such as resilience and the ability to defer gratification – rather than on the ability to judge what is worth valuing. He argues that the performance virtues only become virtuous if they are applied under the guidance of good judgement.…”

‘Ethics is an Optics’: Ethical Practicality and the Exposure of Teaching

“…It focuses on the cultivation of the virtuous character, on qualities of the moral agent rather than on moral action. Randall Curren describes it as ‘a coherent and comprehensive approach’ that helps students to ‘acquire good judgment and govern themselves in accordance with it’ (Curren, , p. 30). Committed to the ‘promotion of ethical understanding and reflection, instruction in critical thinking, and guided practice in analyzing case studies in judgment and choice,’ it encourages ‘thinking things through before acting’ ( ibid .).…”