Cultivating Character Education in High Schools

This talk: 1) reviewed current efforts to implement character education at the high-school level, 2) identified emerging issues from research and theory related to those efforts, and 3) made recommendations about promising future directions for the practice and study of character education in high schools. In concert with the Department of Education's Institute of Education Science, the authors defined Character Education as 'activities and experiences organized by a provider for the purpose of fostering positive character development and the associated core ethical values, also described as moral values, virtues, character traits, or principles." Unlike during some periods in the recent past, there is widespread agreement that public schools should foster high-school students' character development and core ethical values.