In order for students to achieve, they need safe and orderly learning environments. Yet, every day American schools are confronted with the problems of disruptive, antisocial, or violent behaviors that impede teaching and learning.

One way to prevent such negative behaviors is to create a positive school climate that is rooted in shared values and responsible student participation. By building caring environments in which students feel safe and supported, schools can reduce the root causes of conflicts and help students gain a sense of belonging and attachment to school. These feelings are an important part of keeping students engaged in the educational process. Across the country, parents, students, and civic leaders are turning to character education as a way to help create such strong, healthy learning environments.

What Is Character Education?

According to the definition used by the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools (OSDFS), character education is an inclusive concept regarding all aspects of how schools and related social institutions can support the positive character development of children and adults.

”Character“ refers to the emotional, intellectual, and moral qualities of a person or group as well as the demonstration of these virtues in pro-social behavior and a moral life.

Just which virtues are related to having good character? Relevant virtues include caring, justice, fairness, trustworthiness, responsibility, respect, altruism, giving, patience, perseverance, civic virtue, appreciation of diversity, and courage. Skills such as moral reasoning, problem solving, interpersonal skills, work ethic, empathy, and self-reflection also are recognized as essential for optimal character development.

Why Is Character Education Important?

Character education is based on the premise that teaching for character is essential for the success of a democratic society that upholds the ideals of respect for others, regard for fairness and justice, concern for the common good, and voluntary participation
in helping others. Many educators who implement character education in their schools believe that it helps students develop ethically, socially, and academically, and assists them in understanding both their personal and community responsibilities.

According to character education expert Rushworth M. Kidder, director of the Institute for Global Ethics, character education is essentially about ethics—the application of values to decision-making.

“If you have a set of values, you can either comply or depart from them,” Dr. Kidder explained. “An example of this is a young child who wants to sneak an ice cream cone. The child knows that the value is that he must always tell the truth, yet he is tempted to lie. If he tells the truth, he is acting ethically—he is applying his values to the decision-making process. If he lies, he is acting unethically, or choosing away from his values. Of course, if you have no values whatsoever, there is no right from which you can depart.”

Dr. Kidder noted that today, technology leverages ethics as never before, creating more opportunities for individuals to cheat or take advantage of one another.

He cited a recent Gallup poll of high school students in which 48 percent of respondents admitted to cheating on a test or exam and 67 percent reported a “great deal” or a “fair amount” of cheating took place at their schools. (See sidebar.)

<continued on the next page: Character and Citizenship>