Paddock, Megan

Character Counts: Teachers’ Perceptions and Implementation of Character Education Programs in Elementary Schools

Keywords: Character education, moral development, citizenship education

Abstract

The researcher chose to explore Character Education because research has shown that both school culture and the teacher as a moral person are extremely significant elements in the moral development of students. The teacher as a moral person particularly interests me. I am concerned with how well teachers are prepared to put Character Education into practice, and where they find the resources to do so. The study attempts to answer what is the teacher’s role in Character Education, and what are the best strategies for implementation of a Character Education program in the classroom? Participants for this study were drawn from teacher educators that I have been able to observe for extended periods. Both participants provide a unique Character Education program in their classrooms and have an active role in the implementation of Character Education at the school wide level. Preliminary analysis of my research suggests that teachers have an individualized meaning of Character Education and this greatly influences implementation. Conceptions of character are formed through experiences and pre-service education does not explicitly prepare teachers to execute Character Education.

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank the following people for supporting me throughout the research process: Daphne Heywood my research supervisor, the faculty and students of the Master of Teaching program, and my friends and family. This research is dedicated to the students I have had the pleasure of teaching during the past two years in this program. I have learned a great deal through each experience and hope to use this research to inform my future practice.