In this essay the author argues that today's resurgent focus on noncognitive skills, especially for low-income students, may unfairly mask cognitive deficiencies and work to relieve our society of its duty, at which we are currently failing, to help low-income children improve their lives by improving their cognitive skills. The author points to a…

The aim of education should be developing intellectual character, moral character, civic character, and performance character. That does not mean that schools should ignore teaching content, but that the dispositions and habits of mind that come from developing these four forms of character will remain with students throughout their lives.…

Ontario embraced a provincial lead improvement plan that was designed to improve its 5,000 schools by focusing on literacy and numeracy, improving high school graduation, and improving public support for education. Its primary strategy was developing networks of educators and building their capacity for growth.

Six years ago, students at Birch Meadow Elementary School (Reading, Massachusetts) were polite to adults, but callous and uncaring toward each other. Today, thanks to a "Just Community" approach modeled on Lawrence Kohlberg's philosophy, students feel a sense of school ownership and responsibility for their classmates. (MLH)

Offers support for the view that morality and convention constitute discrete conceptual demains and undergo independent courses of development. Argues that moral education should be reexamined to insure that specific activities and responses are appropriate to the domain and to the students' developmental level. (Author/WD)

Responds to the previous article by rejecting arguments that the relevance, arbitrariness, or external origin of disciplinary policies have any significant impact on those policies' effectiveness in building student character or promoting self-disciplined learning. Proposes focusing instead on observable conduct and providing encouragement for…

Mean scores on the Defining Issues Test indicate that the moral reasoning capacity of some preservice teachers is below that of some junior high students and that the capacity of a much larger portion of preservice teachers is below that of many senior high students. (Author/IRT)

A study of 24 Friends high schools nationwide concluded that conflict is the cruciform spawning individual moral growth and the primary locus for moral growth in adolescents. Instead of avoiding conflict, educators must engage students in responses to conflict that are nonviolent, creative, and peace-promoting. (MLH)

A conservative view of education and character formation holds that there are no "value-free" schools, but there are "good" and "bad" values intrinsically embedded in our institutions. Good character education is comprised of three elements: example, study, and practice. Schools serving a heterogeneous population are…

Our society does not need to make its children first in mathematics and science. It needs to care for its children--to reduce violence, respect work of every kind, reward excellence, and ensure a place for every child and emerging adult in the economic and social world. Our main educational aim should be to encourage the growth of competent,…

Social and moral development, like intellectual development, is a process by which learners actively construct meaning. Conventional character education, based on behaviorism, conservatism, and religious dogma, assumes that values can be asserted into passive receptacles. To help children develop the capacity for moral deliberation when called…

Century III, a nonpolitical, nonsectarian research foundation, has found through the workshop process (involving both reflection and interaction) that consensus on moral standards exists. (Author/WD)

Discusses three goals of character development for elementary school children: promoting (1) cooperative relationships and mutual respect; (2) moral agency; and (3) a moral community based on fairness, caring, and participation. Explores teaching strategies for building self-esteem and fostering cooperation, moral reflection, and participative…

A study aimed at developing a methodology for isolating and analyzing the value content of television programs is described and implications for education discussed. Three programs popular with children were found to present positive and negative values with equal frequency, though antisocial values were presented with greater intensity. (MJL)

Recent findings in studies of moral education indicate that "plus-one" teachers, who function as discussion leaders and pitch moral arguments one stage above the majority of the class, are not necessary for students' moral growth. Teachers should be viewed as models and facilitators rather than producers of moral reasoning. (Author/WD)