The Effects of Character Education on Reading Levels

Nicole O’Leary

Ed. 702.22 Spring, 2010

Table of Contents

• Statement of the Problem Slide 3

• Theorists Slide 4

• Pros & Cons Slides 5 & 6

• Review of Related Literature Slides 7-13

• Statement of the Hypothesis Slide 14

• Methods Slides 15 & 16

• References Slides 18 & 19

• Appendices Slides 20-23

Statement of the ProblemSociety is faced with the erosion of its moral and ethical standing. This is evident in the behavior of inner-city students. Teachers can not teach and students can not produce until we embrace an approach that uses all phases of school life to develop character.

Theorists

• Piaget“The educator must provide students with opportunities for personal

discovery.”

• Kholberg“Schools enhance students’ moral development by providing the chance

to participate in a democratic community.”

• Lickona“Character Education is the deliberate effort to help people understand,

care about, and act upon core ethical values.”

Pros

• Address of moral conduct and values positively impacts behavior

• Shown to help prevent crime, teen pregnancy, and bullying

• Positively affects academic growth

Cons

• Takes time away from academic instruction

• Limited statistical proof of its effectiveness

• Not the teacher’s job

Related Literature

• “A perceived increase in social problems experienced by children and youth, accompanied by advances in psychological theory, resulted in a

marked increase in emotional, social, and moral (ESC) education in schools in the 1990’s.”McKenzie, M. (2004).

• “…the most important revelation on values is that they are not innate, but must be taught…” (Lickona) Sanchez, T. (2004).

• “Historically, the goal of a public education system was to develop a moral society. Brimi, H. (2009).

Related Literature cont.

•“There is a push toward standards-based learning in the area of social and character development. Social and behavioral goals can be intertwined with current academic goals.”

Sailor, W., Stowe, M., Turnbull, H., & Kleinhammer, P. (2007)

“Implementing programs to improve student behavior associated with character is a task worth undertaking.”

Bulach, C. (2002).

Related Literature

• “Character Education is any school-directed program designed to shape directly and systematically the behavior of young people by teaching explicitly the nonrelativistic values believed to directly bring about good behavior.” Lockwood, L. (2007)

• “ Our research suggests that schools goals and activities that are associated with good character education programs are also associated with academic achievement.” Benninga, J., Berkowitz, M., Keuhn, P., Smith, K. (2006)

• “ “Before, you used the term ‘respect’ and they didn’t know what it meant, so this has introduced it as a real thing that we expect at school.” ” Nickell, P., Field,S. (2001)

Related Literature cont.

• “ Schools characterized by a strong sense of community… report higher attendance and improvements in academic performance.” Lapsely,D., Narvaez,D. (2008)

• “The adoption of a moral education curriculum appears to act to facilitate conscious attention to teachers’ moral manner in the way in which they carry out the activities of teaching.” Fenstermacher, G., Osguthorpe, R., Sanger, M. (2009)

• “If teacher self-efficacy for moral education is considered a predictor of teaching practices which in turn are expected to effect the moral development of youth, then positive score change might provide initial evidence of program effectiveness.” Narvaez, D., Khmelkov, V., Vaydich, J., Turner, J. (2008)

Related Literature cont.

• “ We cannot so easily shirk responsibility for assisting students’ moral growth. Parents and the wider family should hold the highest degree of responsibility in this matter. However, if they fail, we are perhaps the only barrier left between the students and potentially life devastating decisions.” Brimi, H. (2009)

• “A convincing 90% feel that teachers play an important role in the character education of students.” Mathison, C. (1998)

• “Whatever the rhetoric in the classroom, students are very attuned to their teachers actual behavior.” Battistich, V. (2008)

• “By intentionally including discussions on good character in literature study, we can help assure that children develop characters that know, love, and do good-- perhaps our most important work as teachers.” O’Sullivan, S. ( 2004)

Related Literature cont.

• “Students need not only the academic and knowledge skills for their future, but they need to learn to become productive and caring citizens.” Chang, F., Munoz, M. (2007)

• “Elementary school teachers feel confident in their abilities to serve as role models, to discuss issues of right and wrong with their students, and to use strategies that might lead to positive changes in students’ character.” Milson, A., Mehlig, L. (2002)

• “In a study of random, stratified sample of 120 California elementary schools aplying for state regonition for excellence, it was found that academic acheivement scores were significantly corralated with four aspects of character education.” Berkowitz, M., Bier, M. (2007)

Related Literature cont.

• “Research by Nucchi (2001) found that between third grade and fifth, the amount of discourse between students and teachers about ethical issues gradually declined. The trend continues and by grade seven it is so infrequent that researchers could not employ a statistical analysis.” Howard, R. (2005)

• “The strategies used in character education vary among programs and can include role modeling, moral discipline, democratic classroom enviorments, cooperative learning, service projects, drama, literature, etc…” McKenzie, M. (2004)

• “Education innovations live or die by the amount and quality of assistance that their users receive once they are underway.” Hollingshead, B. (2009)

Statement of the Hypothesis

(HR) Providing 18 fifth grade students from P.S. ABC with a consistent infusion of character education during Guided Reading lessons will positively impact reading levels.

Methods

• ParticipantsTotal population: 36 fifth grade students from P.S ABC

Group A: 18 students (Character Ed-infused Guided Reading)

Group B: 18 students (Guided Reading w/ no attention to Character Education)

• Teachers with similar teaching experience

• Students with equal reading ability

• Use of same reading resources and assessment tools

Methods cont.

• Instruments:Questionnaires/Surveys

Periodic Reading Benchmarks (Fountas & Pinnell)

• Practices:“Circle Up”

Full Value Contract

“TO EDUCATE ONE IN MIND AND NOT MORALS IS TO EDUCATE A MENACE TO

SOCIETY” 

--THEODORE ROOSEVELT

References Aldridge, J. (2000). The Future of Character Education. Childhood Education International. 100-10

Allred, C. G. (2008). Improving Academics, Behavior, and Character . Leadership, 38(2), 26-29.

Avarez, D., & Lapsley, D. K. (2008). teaching Moral Character: Two Alternatives for Teacher Education. The Teacher Educator, 43(2), 156-162.

Bajovic, M., Rizzo, K., & Engemann, J. (2009). Character Education Re-Conceptualized for Practical Implementation. Canadian Journal of Educational Administration and Policy, p. 1-23. Retrieved March 1, 2010, from Education Full Text database.

Battistich, V. A. (2008). Voices: A Practitioner's Perspective: Character Education, Prevention, and Positive Youth Development. Journal of Research in Character Education, 6(2), 81-90.

Benninga, J. S., Berkowitz, M. W., Kuehn, P., & Smith, K. (2006). Character and Academics: What Good Schools Do. Phi Delta Kappan, 87(6), 448-452.

Berkowitz, M. W., & Bier, M. C. (2007). What Works in Character Education. Journal of Research in Character Education, 5(1), 29-48.

Brannon, D. (2008). Character Education: It’s a Joint responsibility. Kappa Delta Phi Record, 44(2), 62-5. Retrieved March 1, 2010, from Education Full Text Database.

Brimi, H. (2099). Academic Instructors or Moral Guides? Moral Education in America and the Teacher;'s Dilemma. The Clearing House, 82(3), 125-130. Retrieved February 21, 2010 from Education Full Text database.

Bulach, C. (2002). Implementing a Character Education Curriculum and Assessing Its Impact on Student Behavior. The Clearing House, 76(2), 79-83. Retrieved February 21, 2010, from Education Full Text database.

Chang, F., & Munoz, M. A. (2006). School Personnell Educating the Wohole Child: Impact of Character Education on Teachers' Self-Assessment and Student Development. J Pers Eval Education, 19, 35-49.

Damon, W. (2005). Good? Bad? or None of the Above?. Education Next, 5(2), 20-7.

Fenstermacher, G. D., Osguthorpe, R. D., & Sanger, M. N. (2009). Teaching Morally and Teaching Morality. Teacher Education Quarterly, 36(3), 7-19.

Howard, R. (2005). Preparing Moral Educators in an Era of Standards-Based Reform. Teacher Education Quarterly, 32(4), 43-58. Retrieved March 6, 2010, from education Full Text database.

Kohlberg, L. (1975). The Cognitive-Developmental Approach to Moral Education. Phi Delta Kappan, 56(10), 670.

References cont.Lockwood, A. (2009). A case for Character Education. Action Teacher Education, 31(3), 70-3.

Mathison, C. (1998). How Teachers Feel About Character Education: A Descriptive Study.

Action in Teacher Education, 20(4), 29-38

McKenzie, M. (2004).Seeing the Spectrum:North America Approaches to Emotiona, Social, and Moral Education.

The Educational Forum, 69(1), 79-90. Retrieved March 1, 2010 from Education Full Text database.

Milson, A. J., & Mehlig, L. M. (2002). Elementary Schools Teachers' Efficacy for Character Education. Journal of Education Research, 96(1), 47-53.

Narvaez, D., Khmelkov, V., Vaydich, J. L., & Turner, J. C. (2008). Teacher Self-Efficacy For Moral Education: Measuring teacher Self-Efficacy for Moral Education. Journal of Research in Character Education, 6(2), 3-15.

Nickell, P., & Field, S. L. (2001). Elementary Character Educaion: Local Perspectives, Echoed Voices. International Journal of Social Education, 16(1), 1-17.

O’Sullivan, S. (2005) The Soul of Teaching:Educating Teachers of Character. Action in Teacher Education 26(4), 3-9. Retrieved February 21, 2010 from Education Full text database.

Sailor, w., Stowe, M., Thurnbull, H., & Klienhammer-Tramill, P. (2007). A Case for Adding Social Behavior to Standards-Based EducationWith Schoolwide Positive Behavior Supports as Its Basis. Remedial and Special Education 28(6), 366-76. Retrieved March 1, 2010 from Education Full Text database

Sanchez, T. (2004). Facing the Challenge of Character Education. International Journal of Social Education, 19(2), 106-13. Retrieved March 2, 2010, from Education Full text database.

Sanchez, T. (2006). The Forgotten . America: A Story for Character Education. International Journal of Social Education, 21(2), 79-90. Retrieved March 2, 2010 from Education Full text database

Vardin, P. (2003). Character Education In America. Montessori Life, 15(2), 32-4. Retrieved March 1, 2010 from Education Full Text database.

Weinstock, M., Assor, A., & Broide, G. (2008). Schools as Promotoers of Moral Judgement: the essential role of teachers' encouragement of critical thinking. Social Psycholical Education, 12, 137-151.

Appendix A Letter of Consent

Appendix BRunning Record

Appendix CAssessment Summary Form

Appendix DCreation of a Full Value Contract