The What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) was established by the U.S. Department of Education’s Institute of Education Sciences to serve as a central, independent, and trusted source of scientific evidence of what works in education.

The WWC is charged with developing standards for reviewing and synthesizing educational research and providing its findings in several free, searchable databases that include:

• Reviews of replicable programs that are intended to enhance student outcomes;
• Information about the evaluation studies on which these programs are based;
• Scientifically rigorous reviews of test instruments used to assess educational effectiveness; and
• Outcome evaluators willing to conduct evaluations of educational interventions.

This review will focus on interventions in elementary, middle, and high school designed to positively affect the character traits and behavioral and academic outcomes of children and youth. Interventions include character education programs, practices, products, and policies that can be adopted by multiple schools and districts.

The review will address:

• Which character education interventions develop positive character traits of students?
• Which character education interventions increase pro-social behavioral outcomes and reduce anti-social and harmful behavioral outcomes?
• Are there any character education interventions that have a beneficial impact on academic outcomes?
• Does the effectiveness of character education interventions differ by type of outcome?
• Are some character education interventions more effective for certain types of children or youth?

The review process is intended to be thorough, scientific, and objective. First, the WWC will receive submissions of studies of character education interventions that program and product developers claim show evidence of effectiveness. The WWC will then gather research literature, review individual studies, and synthesize the results of reviews in a final report. This report will provide educators and policymakers with useful information for deciding whether a particular character education program is likely to meet the needs of their districts, schools, and students.

The deadline for submitting studies of interventions to be included in the WWC’s first report on character education has passed. However, studies on character education can still be submitted for future reports and will be reviewed on a rolling basis.

For information regarding WWC submission and review processes, visit the Clearinghouse online, or contact:

What Works Clearinghouse
2277 Research Boulevard, MS 6M
Rockville, MD 20850
E-mail:wwcinfo@w-w-c.org
Phone: (866) WWC-9799
Fax: (301) 519-6760