How can character education programmes support young people to develop their character to promote wellbeing?

Abstract

Developing young people’s character is believed to promote their wellbeing, helping them to weigh competing priorities in complex situations and act in ways which uphold the interests of themselves and others. There is currently disagreement about the theoretical underpinnings of Character Education and the best way to support young people to develop their character. This thesis aims to explore these issues in more detail. Chapter 1 This chapter reports on a systematic literature review, synthesising six papers. It explores Character Education programmes, outlining their theoretical underpinnings and reporting their effects on participants’ moral virtues and practical wisdom. The majority of interventions were based on mixed theoretical underpinnings but commonly cited trait theories of virtue. Four studies demonstrated improvement in some aspects of moral virtue as a result of Character Education interventions. Chapter 2 This chapter is a bridging document which links Chapters 1 and 3. It outlines the reasons for choosing Character Education as a topic of study and discusses key considerations informing the design of the empirical research, including philosophical stance, methodology and ethics. Chapter 3 This chapter reports on an empirical research project which involved 18 secondary school students discussing the process they undergo when making moral decisions. It provides a qualitative exploration of how participants’ personal beliefs about the meaning of good character interact with situational factors to influence their moral decision-making. Findings suggest that young people’s moral decision-making is influenced by a range of situational factors which are integrated to produce the best possible outcome for self and others. Implications for the design of Character Education programmes and the potential role of educational psychologists in supporting this are explored in more detail.