A lot of research in K-12 education is focused on how well schools and students are doing: How many students are proficient? How many graduated from high school on time? How do the results of this school compare to the results of that school?
The Walton Family Foundation is very interested in these questions. We’re also interested in the answers to questions that address equally important non-academic outcomes. How can schools teach students gratitude, honesty and persistence, which will help them succeed in school and life? How can educators reliably measure how students are developing in these areas?
To help all of us get up to speed on important questions related to character, here are some recent studies, articles and books that I think are worth a read:
What is character, and what traits are important?
While an increasing number of educators would agree on the importance of character education, there is less agreement on how to define character education.
Some researchers argue that there is a distinction between character education and social emotional learning. They say character education focuses on teaching individuals to know and do “good” and to behave morally, while social emotional learning focuses on teaching individuals to “manage emotions, develop caring and concern for others, make responsible decisions, establish and maintain positive relationships and handle challenging situations effectively.”
I do not make that distinction here, as there are clearly overlaps, but note that across both domains, there is limited consensus on what traits or qualities should or could be taught in schools. In Character Education for the 21st Century, the authors studied 15 character education frameworks from across the world and identified more than 100 different character qualities or concepts included in these frameworks. They distilled these into six overarching concepts:
- Mindfulness (e.g., self-awareness)
- Curiosity (e.g., self-direction)
- Courage (e.g., confidence)
- Resilience (e.g., grit)
- Ethics (e.g., tolerance)
- Leadership (e.g., responsibility)
Can character be measured?
Yes, but the measures still are not perfect. Angela Duckworth and David Scott Yeager in Measurement Matters: Assessing Personal Qualities Other Than Cognitive Ability for Educational Purposes point out that there are three common approaches to measuring character qualities: (1) student self-report questionnaires; (2) teacher-report questionnaires on their students; and (3) performance tasks. The authors highlight the limitations and advantages of each approach and call for researchers to develop novel and innovative character education measures. Perhaps one of those innovative measurement tools is Duckworth’s own Character Growth Card that seeks to combine two of the approaches. The Character Lab is also developing new measurement tools, which we hope will allow for better measurement in the future.
Still, despite the fact that the new federal education law, Every Child Succeeds Act (ESSA), requires states to use at least one nonacademic indicator in their accountability systems and despite the fact that many scholars believe measuring students’ character is possible, many researchers say available measures are not yet good enough to conduct “between school accountability judgments,” even if policymakers or educators were interested in doing this.
Can character be taught?
We think so — and are supporting research to investigate this question — but the jury’s still out. Mathematica Policy Research conducted a study of seven school-wide character education programs across the country to examine the impact of these programs on children’s social and emotional competence, behavior, academics and perceptions of school climate. They concluded that the seven programs combined and individually did not yield evidence that they improved student social and character development.
Does this mean that our character is set at birth and cannot be changed?
In her book on grit, Angela Duckworth writes that because “every human trait is influenced by both genes and experience,” we can grow and learn in these areas. With regard to grit, she says you can certainly “grow your grit” if you have interest, practice, purpose and hope.
In her book Mindset: How You Can Fulfill Your Potential, Carol Dweck argues that one important quality to teach is having a “growth mindset.” Individuals with a growth mindset believe that intelligence is a quality that can be changed and developed. Those with a fixed mindset, on the other hand, believe intelligence is a fixed trait, that “they are the way they are.” Individuals with a growth mindset, Dweck writes, are therefore more likely to keep learning and improving. Moreover, Dweck found that in her studies of mindset interventions, people were able to improve their mindsets.
Where are we now?
There’s still a great deal left to learn in the fields of character and social emotional learning. For example: How do linguistic, cultural and racial background intersect with character education? Are some elements of character more important than others for student success? It is exciting to watch the work of innovative scholars unfold as they seek to expand opportunities for students in the years to come.
