Work

What does character education mean to character education experts? A prototype analysis of expert opinions

Year: 2021

Type: article

Abstract: Having an agreed-upon definition of character education would be useful for both researchers and practitioners in the field. However, even experts in character education disagree on how they would define it. We attempted to achieve greater conceptual clarity on this issue through a prototype analysis in which the features perceived as most central to character education were identified. In Study 1 (N = 77), we asked character education experts to enumerate features of character education. Based on these lists, we identified 30 features. In Study 2 (N = 101), experts assessed which features were central to character education through a categorization task. In Study 3 (N = 166), we assessed the extent of centrality using scalar items. We conclude by offering practical advice for the development of future character education studies and programs rooted in what is deemed central to such programs.

Source: Journal of Moral Education

DOI: 10.1080/03057240.2020.1862073

Authors: Robert E. McGrath, Hyemin Han, Mitch Brown, Peter Meindl

Institutions: Fairleigh Dickinson University, University of Alabama, University of Alabama at Birmingham, University of Arkansas at Fayetteville, United States Military Academy

Language: English

Topic: Values and Moral Education

Subfield: Education

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDG: Quality education

Open Access status: green

Funders: John Templeton Foundation, University of Missouri-St. Louis