hat must underlie the foundation of any successful character education program, including: honesty, integrity, respect for self and others, caring, citizenship, courage, and loyalty. The literature also demonstrates that certain aspects must be included in the design and implementation of character education programs for its two main goals to be achieved: the development of total individuals and total communities. The literature also shows the need for character education programs to enlist parental, student and community support at all phases of design and implementation. Finally, the future of character education programs via public education will depend on continued support for them from the government, community leaders, parents, the media and public educators.
The history of character education is not new. Character education existed in the U.S. Colonies, developed from Christian values. As the U.S. developed, separation of church and state become more rigid. Legislation banned the use of the Bible in public education. During the first half of the twentieth century, character education revolved around the values associated with the concepts of Americanism and obedience – developed by William Hutchins in what was known as the Children’s Morality Code (Young, 1997, 35).
During the latter half of the twentieth century, the formations of various character education curricula occurred and were enforced in many states. However, the growth of secularism and individualism during the latter half of the twentieth century was responsible for a decline in values, morals, and ethics perhaps best viewed in the conduct of our contemporary corporate leaders. As a result, over the past two decades there has been a push for the return of character education as a primary focus of education and curricula in K-12 learning.
Four forces over the past two decades have brought character education into the spotlight with respect to ...