Moral+character+development

=Moral/Character Development= __Moral/Character Development__

Every society feels an obligation and responsibility to foster children with good moral character. A certain amount of debate takes place over this topic as not all adults agree on what good moral character is or how to instill this in children. Issues often debated are:


 * 1) Does a person of good moral character support traditional behaviors or challenge them?
 * 2) What age is appropriate to begin learning these qualities?
 * 3) How do children develop moral character?

The development of moral character has often changed as society has changed. Most recently, behaviors can be defined by the technological advances we have made. The information age has brought to light the ideals of truthfulness, honesty, integrity, and individual responsibility just to name a few. How do we measure character? Bennett (1993) proposed a list of cultural indicators that he believes could be used as measures of the character of our society. In addition, he cited a number of social trends that he believes have impacted these indicators. The following table provides an overview of how these have changed from 1960 to 1990. One would hope factors such as increased spending on education would have led to improvements in leading cultural indicators, but the opposite is seen in a review of the data. |||| **General Social Trends** There are several arenas where moral character can be developed such as the home, school, and community inclusive of businesses and media. School is certainly the most preferred. In two more recent Gallup (1975, 1980) surveys of public attitudes toward public schools, 79% of respondents indicated they favor "instruction in schools that would deal with morals and moral behavior." Educators must develop a curriculum inclusive of opportunities to develop moral and character. A review of research by Wynne (1989) reports that the quality of relationships among faculty (and between the faculty and adults in authority) is a major factor in the development of student character.
 * **Leading Cultural Indicators** ||
 * US Population || Inc. 41% || Avg. Daily TV Viewing || Inc. to 7hrs. ||
 * Gross Domestic Product || Inc. 270% || % Illegitimate Births || Inc. 419% ||
 * Social Spending (All Levels of Govt.) || Inc. 550% || Children on Welfare || Inc. 340% ||
 * Spending on Welfare || Inc. 630% || Children Living With Single Parents || Inc. 300% ||
 * Spending on Education || Inc. 225% || Teen Suicide Rate || Inc. 200% ||
 * ||  || Violent Crime Rate (Per 100,000) || Inc. 470% ||
 * ||  || Median Prison Sentence (Violent Crimes) || Dec. 30% ||
 * ||  || SAT Scores || Dec. 76 pts. ||

Of importance to note is the relative lack of interest in character education in the last three decades has begun to change (Lickona, 1990). In 1987, the National School Boards Association proposed to the United States Department of Education a project, "Building Character in the Public Schools," designed to enhance character development in the schools through involvement of more than 15,000 local school boards in this country. The project had two overall goals: The educational goals of academic competence and character development are both vital for future generations. One should not be taught without the other, but in conjunction with each other.
 * 1) to heighten national awareness of the importance of character development programs in local public schools to the continued success and stability of American society; and
 * 2) to encourage the establishment and improvement of character development programs in public elementary and secondary schools.

__Webiography__ Bennett, W. (1993, April 7). Is our culture in decline? //Education Week, 12//(28). 32. Citation: Huitt, W. (2004). Moral and character development. //Educational Psychology Interactive//. Valdosta, GA: Valdosta State University. Retrieved October 6, 2013, from [] Gallup, G. (1975, December). The seventh annual Gallup Poll of public attitudes toward public schools. //Phi Delta Kappan, 57//, 227-41. Gallup, G. (1980, September). The twelfth annual Gallup Poll of public attitudes toward public schools. //Phi Delta Kappan, 62//, 39. Lickona, T. (1991). //Does character education make a difference//? Salt Lake City: Utah State Office of Education. Retrieved December 1996, from [] Wynne, E. (1989). Transmitting traditional values in contemporary schools. In L. Nucci, //Moral development and character education: A dialogue// (pp. 19-36). Berkeley, CA: McCutchan.

Christopher Arminio Educational Psychology October 6, 2013