Do classroom experiences contribute to middle schoolers’ development of ethical character?

• In Event: Strength-Based Approaches to Cultivate Social and Emotional Skills and Ethical Character in Middle School Students

Abstract

Introduction:
Ethical character is a term that refers to core ethical values that guide one’s actions and decisions (Lickona, 2006). Ethical character encompasses a range of skills – empathy, compassion, respect, and integrity – that undergird prosocial behavior and successful interpersonal relationships (Espelage et al., 2012; Goetz et al., 2010). Emerging evidence shows that ethical character can be bolstered through school-based practices (Jeynes, 2019; Seider, 2012).
For example, some work suggests schools can cultivate character skills by facilitating students’ sense of purpose in their learning (Malin et al., 2017) and by strengthening their agency to express viewpoints and ask questions (Toshalis & Nakkula, 2012). Other work has shown that when students feel like they belong and feel connected to teachers, they show growth in character and social-emotional skills (Brock et al., 2008; Schaps et al., 1996).

The present study addresses gaps in the literature by using quantitative data to examine classroom socialization experiences (not add-on programs) and their contribution to character growth in adolescence (Clement & Bollinger, 2017). Viewing classroom experiences from the students’ perspective is another unique contribution of the work. Specifically, we examine the influence of purpose, agency, sense of belonging, and connection to teachers on the development of ethical character. In doing so, we measure students’ perception of their school experience in forecasting growth in ethical character skills in middle school.

Hypotheses:
Based on prior literature (e.g., Jeynes, 2019; Malin et al., 2017), we expected that students’ perception of their school experiences (i.e., purpose, agency, belonging, and feeling of connection to teachers) would relate to growth in ethical character, after controlling for ethical character at baseline and background covariates.

Study Population:
Participants were fifth and sixth grade students (N=260) in nine middle schools across the Northeastern, Midwestern, and Mid-Atlantic United States. Nearly half of the students were female (45%); students were age 11, on average. The majority of students identified as White/Caucasian (25%) or Black/African American (20%). One-third (33%) of students had a primary guardian with at least a bachelor’s degree.

Methods:
Families completed a demographic form at recruitment. Students completed self-report surveys of their ethical character skills (i.e., empathy, compassion, respect, academic integrity, and honesty) during the fall (Sept to Nov) and spring (May to June) of the school year (2019-2020). Measures included the Holistic Student Assessment (Malti et al., 2018), the compassion scale from the Developmental Studies Center (1988-2005), a measure of academic integrity from the Patterns of Adaptive Learning Scale (Midgely et al., 2000) among others. At mid-year (Feb to May), students completed a survey about their sense of purpose, agency, school belonging, and connection to teachers (Bundick et al., 2006; Ferguson, 2008; Reeve & Tseng, 2011). Alphas ranged from .65 to .97.

Results:
Five regression models were estimated with each ethical character skill as an outcome and students clustered within schools. As shown in Table 1, aspects of students’ school experience related to the ethical character skills (after controlling for covariates). The discussion will unpack school-based practices as socializing mechanisms that contribute to character growth.

Authors

• Lia Sandilos, Temple University
  Presenting Author

• Sara Rimm-Kaufman, University of Virginia - Charlottesville
  Non-Presenting Author

• Celine Thompson, University of Virginia
  Non-Presenting Author

• Ashley Hunt, University of Virginia
  Non-Presenting Author

• James Soland, University of Virginia - Charlottesville
  Non-Presenting Author