0.1 Character education: a critical analysis; robert tatman, stacey  (Page 9/16)

Developing students’ social skills as part of character education programs has been positively correlated to students’ academic advancement (Viadero, 2003). An extensive report on health, prevention, and positive-youth-development programs by the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning identified programs that demonstrated in part effectiveness in the prevention of substance abuse and improvement of academic performance (Skinner, 2004). Such results reinforce the theme that character education has to do with how successful students are in the entire school endeavor including their academic achievement (Ryan, 2003). Though debates continue regarding the best ways to measure the impact of character education on students, positive results have been documented in the literature. For example, evidence exists for the positive relationship between character education and standardized test scores.

Adding support to the connection between character education and improved academics is a Milwaukee study on character education that showed students in character education performing academically better than control students (Rusnak, 1998). A positive relationship also exists between the combination of service learning and civic education with several student variables including higher test scores, less misbehavior, and active involvement of students in their communities even into adulthood (Frye et al., 2002, p. 8). Cooperative learning benefits are noted by Lickona (1991b) who referenced various studies that found cooperative learning was effective at all levels in improving academic achievement as well as improving students’ self-esteem, attitude toward school, abilities to work well with others, racial attitudes, and acceptance of handicapped students.

Improved student behavior

Student behavior has three focal points: students’ behavior toward others which can be either positive or negative, student behavior that is self-promoting or self-destructive, and student behavior that is conducive to school success and behavior that inhibits school progress and success. Bullying behaviors, both direct and indirect, have become the centerpiece of attention directed toward public school maladies. Ryan (2003) noted that, “Recent studies of high school students provide damning indicators of their failure to form good character” (¶ 4). In 2002, a Rutgers University survey found that three-fourths of high school students surveyed admitted to cheating on a test. Ryan (2003) also referenced another 2002 study by the Josephson Institute of Ethics which found that, “nearly four out of 10 adolescents acknowledged stealing during the previous year, and 93 % confessed that they had lied to their parents” (¶ 4). Ryan (2003) also reported that:

In 2001, the American Association of University Women released the results of a large-scale survey of public school students in grades 8-11. Hostile Hallways: Bullying, Teasing, and Sexual Harassment reported that sexual harassment happens often, and frequently right under the noses of teachers. Four out of five respondents (81 %) claimed they had experienced some form of sexual harassment in school, including unwanted kissing, sexual taunts, being touched or grabbed in a sexual way, and being forced to perform sexual acts. (¶ 4)