Character Education

School & District Management Proof of Positive Effect Found for Only a Few Character Programs
The U.S. Department of Education gave “positive” ratings to just two of the programs and rated seven more as “potentially positive.”
Debra Viadero, June 13, 2007
4 min read
From top left, 1st graders Kaylani Luciano, Hunter Palevo, and Earl Evangelista listen to an audio book as classmate Jepel Gibbs turns the pages at the listening center during reading time at Harding Elementary School in Lebanon, Pa. The school uses its federal Reading First money for the Voices Reading program, which aims to bolster students' social-emotional development
From top left, 1st graders Kaylani Luciano, Hunter Palevo, and Earl Evangelista listen to an audio book as classmate Jepel Gibbs turns the pages at the listening center during reading time at Harding Elementary School in Lebanon, Pa. The school uses its federal Reading First money for the Voices Reading program, which aims to bolster students' social-emotional development
Chris Knight for Education Week
Student Well-Being & Movement Programs Impart Social Skills Along With Literacy
The Voices Reading program is an integrated method that draws on accumulating research that finds close connections between early-reading success and emotional development and behavior.
Linda Jacobson, December 19, 2006
7 min read
Student Well-Being & Movement Writing About Values Found to Shrink Achievement Gap
A team of researchers has hit on a surprisingly simple way to potentially narrow the achievement gaps that widen between African-American and white students in middle school: Have students write for 15 minutes at the start of the school year on the values they cherish.
Debra Viadero, September 6, 2006
3 min read
Student Well-Being & Movement Federal File In the Clubhouse
Golf champion Jack Nicklaus drew a packed audience to a hearing before the House Education and the Workforce Committee on June 28 about efforts to build character through youth sports.
Kathleen Kennedy Manzo, July 11, 2006
1 min read
Seniors Luqman Harper, left, Sydney Williamson, and Norman Gorman discuss both their positive and negative character traits in a class at Hyde Leadership Charter School in Washington.
Seniors Luqman Harper, left, Sydney Williamson, and Norman Gorman discuss both their positive and negative character traits in a class at Hyde Leadership Charter School in Washington.
Christopher Powers/Education Week
Student Well-Being & Movement Researchers Urge Broad View on How to Build Character
The real-world experiments conducted by South Carroll students in this rapidly growing suburb west of Baltimore are intended to teach scientific principles while also dispensing significant life lessons about the environment and nature’s delicate balance. Such moral and ethical principles often go hand in hand with academic content, educators here say.
Kathleen Kennedy Manzo, December 13, 2005
6 min read
Education Report Roundup Character Education
To assist in setting up high school classes that “help students become both smart and good,” a report highlights nearly a hundred examples of character-centered lessons that focus on morals and ethics.
Kathleen Kennedy Manzo, September 20, 2005
1 min read
Curriculum Report Roundup Character Education Report Examines High Schools
To assist in setting up high school classes that “help students become both smart and good,” a report highlights nearly a hundred examples of character-centered lessons that focus on morals and ethics.
Kathleen Kennedy Manzo, September 15, 2005
1 min read
Student Well-Being & Movement Opinion Why Teach Biography?
Educators can capitalize on students' natural interest in other peoples' lives, says Bernice Lerner, acting director of the Center for the Advancement of Ethics and Character.
Bernice Lerner, March 15, 2005
5 min read
Student Well-Being & Movement Opinion Honor Role
Students at the top of the academic heap should challenge what’s normally taken for granted, a parent argues.
Howard Good, October 7, 2004
9 min read
Student Well-Being & Movement Explainer Character Education
This Education Week explainer covers character education, the formal teaching of morals and values in schools.
Ron Skinner, September 10, 2004
5 min read
Student Well-Being & Movement Value Added
A self-described rebel who was kicked out of school seems an unlikely candidate to teach kids values, but that's what Gene Doxey has done for years.
Matt Welch, May 1, 2004
10 min read
Student Well-Being & Movement Opinion Teaching Social Awareness Through Reading
Research-based standards measuring the students' level of social awareness in connection with works of literature would benefit students and teachers, writes educator and author Robert L. Selman.
Robert L. Selman, September 17, 2003
8 min read
Student Well-Being & Movement Nice Work
In an education world that is increasingly geared toward attaining high scores on standardized tests, a growing research base for character education programs shows benefits for students' social—and academic—skills. Includes "Research and Resources."
Debra Viadero, April 30, 2003
11 min read
Student Well-Being & Movement Opinion Character Education: Our High Schools' Missing Link
The founder of Boston University's Center for the Advancement of Ethics and Character argues in favor of the restoration of character education—the "missing link"—in the nation's public elementary and middle schools.
Kevin Ryan, January 29, 2003
8 min read