CHARACTER EDUCATION |
My major problem has been understanding how to create a project which is not only relevant but manageable, based on my KS4-heavy timetable which does not allow me to experiment due to time constraints.
Having read some case studies of how other schools have taught this, they seem to have approached it from a whole-school angle. They include such things as:
Research has concluded that the best way to teach CE is through real-life situations and experiences; however, this would not work for me teaching English, so I had to think of the 'next best thing', which would be teaching through a text. For their GCSE pupils in yr9-11 study the text 'Blood Brothers' by Willy Russell, which is an ideal text through which to teach CE. It contains:
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Thinking about Character Education made me question what I think good character actually is. It is defined as the aspects of personality which a) can be evaluated morally and b) is responsive to upbringing, reasoning and coaching.
In our lives, most of us will value the CHARACTER of a person interesting, rather than their PERSONALITY. For example, on dating websites, the character trait of HONESTY is valued more highly to someone who has an EXTROVERTED PERSONALITY! This is interesting, as we can work on and improve our character, while it's difficult to change our personality traits. SO what does it mean to have good character? That can be broken down into 4 categories:
In English, the pupils are expected to use many of these values in their writing, particularly when they are evaluating characters from Literature. The main moral virtues seem to be compassion, kindness, honesty, empathy and integrity. When examining characters in texts, we try to ensure that the pupils not only look at the physical description but also try to evaluate their actual character by looking at their words, actions and relationships with other characters. I feel that my project needs to be something which would give the pupils more tools with which to undertake this task The Importance of Character Education
After having undertaken the online Future Learn Course on Character Education, I learned about what it is but more importantly why it is a vitally important part of education. It is clear that it is a notion that can be taught to pupils both explicitly (with lessons dedicated to virtues) and implicitly (through the values held by the ethos and culture of the school and its staff. This involves we as teachers modelling these virtues, to provide pupils with the tools to flourish in life. having a good character will enable pupils to:
After analysing the various virtues and linking them with Drama learning objectives and particular schemes of work, I decided to focus on two specific virtues:
1. Teamwork Rationale: The University of Kent looked at the skills required by graduates based on a number of surveys undertaken by Microsoft, Target Jobs, the BBC, Prospects, NACE and AGR and other organisations. They summarised that teamwork was second only to verbal communication skills in its desirability. Other studies consistently show the same top two soft skills that employers are looking for in candidates. This means that an improvement in this skill will add value to Drama lessons for KS3 pupils who do not go on to study Drama at KS4. Additionally, when pupils first start Drama in year 7, team working skills are often at the heart of any behaviour management problems that arise. This applies equally to high achievers as well as the less able with high achievers often getting very frustrated that their mark depends on other pupils effort and behaviour. An improvement in this skill usually comes over time as pupils make the link themselves, but some pupils do continue to struggle with it throughout their Drama studies. A more stable development of this virtue in year 7 would give all pupils the opportunity to progress even further in other Drama skills that cannot be explored fully without adequate teamwork skills thus leading to higher achievement overall. Action: Whilst I often draw parallels to the world of work colloquially, I have never taught teamwork as a specific skill as the majority of pupils eventually make the link themselves. I decided to take a stepped approach to its introduction: a. Spring one half term, I am going to ensure I give examples of good teamwork skills when grouping for assessment. b. Spring 2 will see the addition of teamwork as part of the success criteria and I will teach it in a more explicit way. In this way I should be able to compare attitudes to team members and the affect on achievement. 2. Community/Social Justice Rational: We all agree that pupils should be less selfish and self centred but how can we get them to consider the injustices other people suffer in a meaningful way? They are aware the future belongs to them, but do they understand their responsibility to it? Art is a meaningful way of commenting on the world and, sometimes, offering solutions. Creation is right at the top of Bloom's taxonomy. Therefore it follows that creating art should be the best way to engage pupils to learn about world injustice and community issues. Action: These virtues link very closely with a Docu-Drama SOW currently taught to year 8. As year 8 are on a carousel, I have the opportunity to apply three different conditions to my research. a. Teach the SOW as usual with no mention of civic duty b. Explain what civic duty is, possibly include it in the success criteria c. Dedicate a full lesson to the explicit teaching of civic duty, especially community and social justice I will then compare the achievement of pupils and the quality of the work from these three conditions to evaluate the success of these three approaches. Our group was unanimous in agreeing that character education was worthy and would be beneficial to our pupils, but how does that link into our subject areas and add value to them? My proposal was, therefore, to find out if teaching character education explicitly will improve outcomes in my subject area. In order to find out, I first needed to find curriculum links to the character virtues. In the list of virtues published by The Jubilee Centre, the virtues are grouped under four main headings: Moral, Civic, Performance & Intellectual virtues. Being a Drama specialist, I initially thought that I would find most symbiotic virtues in the performance group. However, on closer inspection, all the groups had virtues that I have historically tried to embed in my SOWs. Here is a table of my conclusions regarding virtues that will benefit learning outcomes for pupils in Drama: To find out more about the initial research we have undertaken as group, and where our basic knowledge of the elements of character education stem from, follow the link below to The University of Birmingham's research centre.
The Jubilee Centre have been analysing Character Education, what it consists of and how it can be applied to learning, since 2012. As a TLC group we have all found their information and conclusions invaluable in helping us to decide which areas to explore and research. |
Group Leaders:
Karen Gray Liz Cathey Archives |