Teachers' Perspectives on Character Education for Academic Achievement, Social Mobility, and Educational Equity

• In Event: Sheraton Roundtable Session 36
  In Roundtable Session: Teacher Queries: Beliefs, Attitudes, and Dispositions

Abstract

American education has always aimed to teach more than the formal academic curriculum; it also aims to instill values, attitudes, behaviors and habits that support students in becoming successful adults, independent learners and good citizens. We use the term “extra-academic formal curriculum” to encompass these efforts. This paper explores how secondary teachers (grades 5-12) understand and teach the extra-academic formal curriculum. We focus on the teaching of skills, habits and traits known as “performance character,” which are widely considered to support the aims of academic achievement, social mobility, and educational equity. Through qualitative interviews, we examine how teachers define the components of extra-academic curriculum, the purpose of these components, and the relationship between classroom discipline and character development.

Authors

• Kysa Nygreen, University of Massachusetts - Amherst

• Kathryn A. McDermott, University of Massachusetts - Amherst