The purpose of the study was to determine the effectiveness of character education programs implemented in schools on students with behavioral and learning disabilities.
The participants were 32 students in a K-6 elementary school and among these students included eight non-disabled or gifted, 24 with disabilities, or at risk of school failure. Male students were twenty-one while 11 were female. Caucasians were 28, African-Americans were three, and only one was Hispanic.
The study was set in an inner-city K-6 elementary school located in a little New England city and occurred during the Spring of 1997.
Both dependent and independent variables were used and include students’ knowledge of the curriculum and the students’ perceptions of the character education programs
The research Design involved an ethnographic interview to acquire data about the student’s knowledge of the curriculum as well as their perceptions of the program.
The procedure for the phases of the study include identification of variables; data collection through ethnographic interview; data analysis, sorting, organizing and coding, and documentation
The results reveal the satisfaction of students with disabilities about the character education program; in fact, they found it to be fun. Moreover, every student benefited from the program.
The implication of this research to my proposed study is that it provides an insight into the significance of the character education programs to particular beneficiaries.
Character and Academics: What Good Schools Do
The purpose of the study is to demonstrate that implementing character education programs is compatible with efforts to improve school achievement with the aim of encouraging more schools to embrace these programs
The participant in the study is an elementary school that made an application to the California Department of Education in 2000 asking for recognition as the distinguished elementary school
The setting of the study is an elementary school in California.
The dependent variable is the character education
The independent variable: academic achievement across a range of elementary schools
The research design was characterized by the use of a stratified random sample where 120 elementary schools were sampled
The randomization of data collection was applied so as to reduce the errors associated with the biased selection of samples.
The study entailed a study of each of the chosen samples that were arranged in stratification.
The results indicated that character education is compatible with schools’ objectives to enhance their performances.
The implications of this research for my proposed study are that it provides definitions for character education as well as its compatibility with regular education programs.
Can Character Be Measured?
The purpose of this study is to determine whether the character is measurable.
The study, therefore, explored various literature addressing the issue of character quantification, which revolved around two opposing premises:
- Morality is not definable in an empirical sense
- Moral reasoning can be examined, taught, and evaluated
The study further looked at the following definition:
- Moral development research
- Delimitation of the research problem
- Moral education,
- Moral behavior
Further, the study looked at the development the following:
- research question
- evaluative tool
However, the researcher of this study did not conduct experiments and therefore there was no need to define participants, variables, and other aspects of an experimental study.
A teacher’s use of the environment to facilitate the social development of children
The purpose of this study is to illuminate how Liberty pursued her goal of helping her 4th- and 5th-graders develop into positive, productive citizens.
The participants included elementary schools within rural and urban districts that have a large population of African-American students. In particular, 4th and 5th-grade teachers were sampled with the researcher choosing to use the data collected from Liberty-one of these teachers.
The setting of the study was an urban elementary school located in the southeastern United States.
Data collection was done by observation where the researcher took notes and quotations used them to acquire responses. Moreover, the study utilized a structured interview to collect data. In this study, the organizing system method described by Tesch (1990) was used in data analysis. The selection of the sample presented an instance of an error where the participants were selected by the principal.
Results
Liberty utilizes physical space to achieve her educational intent. For instance, she uses posters accompanied by text to give more explanations. Liberty purposefully used the physical environment to set the stage for developing productive positive individuals who are useful to society. Liberty set up the setting to promote the movements of students from a typical position as objects to the atypical position of subjects by introducing an “essential”: reflective, active involvement within delineated but shared boundaries.
This study is significant in addressing some aspects of character study so as to avoid repetition of the same.
Improving student social skills through character education
The participants are students in 4th and 6th grade as well as Special Education classrooms students in three distinct school districts
The dependent and independent variables include fighting, defiance, off-task, and disruptive behaviors.
After examining the potential causes for lack of social skill, there was an indication that societal influences do not promote positive character development.
Poor peer relationships prevented learners from making wise choices.
The study revealed a lack of expectations and consistency in developing the social skills in various environmental settings that students lived in.
The researcher used a self-developed and implemented series of lessons that focused on distinct character traits. Outside speakers were employed to advocate for the importance of these character traits.
The post-intervention data results indicated that direct instruction as well as strengthening of positive character traits reduced fighting incidences, off-task behavior, defiance, and other distracters.
Also, there was an improvement in peer relationships, although students lacked respect for each other.
This study reveals what other researchers can focus on in their research in respect to character education.
Making choices: social problem-solving skills for children
This article defined and explored the Making Choices curriculum. Making Choices curriculum includes cognitive problem-solving solutions that are aimed at broadening social knowledge and skills useful for interactions. The program is useful for all children.
The social activities associated with Making Choices focus on emotional, social, and cognitive competencies that are linked to strengthening relationships and collaboration.
Making Choices is comprised of several lessons and every unit corresponds to any of the following information processing steps.
- Comprehension and regulation of emotions
- Encoding environmental and social cues
- Interpreting intentions and cues
- Setting relational goals
- Alternative strategies formulation
- Prosocial strategies selection
- Strategy enacting
Intended outcomes of the Making Choice curriculum are to:
- Increase social competence
- Increase contact with prosocial peers
- Reduce peer rejection
- Disrupt risk chain that links early aggressiveness to later maladjustment
Making Choices is effective in reducing overt and social aggression as well as in promoting social competence.
Problem Solving: What are the Making Choices Problem Solving Steps?
The purpose of this study is to understand the processes of problem-solving in the Making Choices programs.
The Making Choice programs educate learners on problem-solving techniques they may apply to solve difficult social situations.
The steps involved in problem-solving include:
- Finding the clues or what is going on
Social clues show how a person is feeling in a social setup. These clues include facial expression, voice tone, and body language.
- Interpretation of the clues
Children who can act aggressively are inclined to interpreting social situations negatively
- Setting the goal and analyzing the goal
Healthy relationships with peers are dependent on children’s ability to evaluate and generate their social goals
- Generating possible actions
Children generating fewer choices of actions for meeting their goals tend to be more aggressive or have inappropriate responses to social setups
- Evaluating the actions
- Making a choice
Of importance is the continuous reflection about one and others’ feelings as well as things one should do to keep composed.