Those who implement character education initiatives intend for those initiatives to be effective in promoting the development of character. To maximize this likelihood, it is important to consider common problems of implementation and assessment. This article addresses four challenges to effective implementation: (a) what counts as evidence of…

This study explores "Strengthen Moral Education for Cultivating People" ("Li De Shu Ren") in China from the perspectives of concepts and policies. "Strengthen Moral Education" ("Li De") is identified as the "developing great virtue" ("Ming Da De"), "obeying social morality"…

As a desired outcome of education, ethical thinking has roots in philosophy, developmental psychology, and political movements that advocate for developing knowledge, capabilities, and dispositions beyond those associated with traditional school subjects. Economists, business leaders, and educators have long advocated for preparing students for an…

This study aimed to develop a valid and reliable measurement tool to enhance ethical evaluation literature. The tool consists of two subscales named "Bases of ethical evaluation," and "Grounds of ethical evaluation." In order to determine the factor structure of the scales, both exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were…

In this article, I respond to Noel Card's "Methodological Issues in Measuring the Development of Character." I focus on the ways in which social scientific knowledge represents human constructions of the world and the implications of this stance for the measurement of character. Further, I consider how context influences those…

In this article I provide an overview of the methodological issues involved in measuring constructs relevant to character development and education. I begin with a nontechnical overview of the 3 fundamental psychometric properties of measurement: reliability, validity, and equivalence. Developing and evaluating measures to ensure evidence of all 3…

How should we assess programs dedicated to education in virtue? One influential answer draws on quantitative research designs. By measuring the inputs and processes that produce the highest levels of virtue among participants according to some reasonable criterion, in this view, we can determine which programs engender the most desired results.…

Faculty tasked with revising the accounting curriculum to incorporate an ethics component may benefit from the experiences reported in the literature. We construct and describe a framework for the pedagogy of accounting ethics based upon extant literature. Our purpose is to present the cumulative contributions to the literature in a fashion that…

For the better part of the past 100 years, John Dewey, Ernest Boyer, and other higher education reform advocates have challenged universities to hold true to their civic roots and responsibilities by promoting teaching and scholarship in the context of the real world. In response, service-learning has evolved into a viable pedagogy to encourage…

Teachers tasked with developing moral character in future physicians face an array of pedagogic challenges, among them identifying tools to measure progress in instilling the requisite skill set. One validated instrument for assessing moral judgment is the Defining Issues Test (DIT-2). Based on the work of Lawrence Kohlberg, the test's main…

This study investigated 202 elementary school children's judgements and reasoning about transgressions when school rules regulating these transgressions have been removed in hypothetical school situations. As expected, moral transgressions were judged as more wrong and less accepted than structuring, protecting and etiquette transgressions. In…

This mixed methods study explored aspects of the internship experience that are responsible for moral growth changes among undergraduates in a recreation management discipline. This study addressed four aims: (1) to investigate changes in interns' moral reasoning as determined by the Defining Issues Test 2 (DIT-2) over the course of a 14-week…

Research into the critical period of Chinese pupils' moral development is one of the most important parts in the field of moral psychological study. This paper reviews 20-year literature available on the critical period of pupils' moral development and its instruments to measure it. It also gives details of its inadequate research into pupils'…

A model for analyzing and comparing values education materials is presented. The model is based on other curriculum and evaluation models, such as those proposed by Morrissett and others (1969). The first section outlines five existing approaches to teaching values: inculcation, clarification, cognitive-developmental approach, analysis, and the…

Values and the process of valuing were studied among college students. A framework for conceptualizing college student values developed over a period of 2 years by a 10-member faculty and staff committee at Virginia Commonwealth University (Richmond) involved the movement of students from recognition of values, through critical thinking, to…