Canadian Journal of Educational Administration and Policy, Mar 14, 2009
In this paper we explored conceptual ambiguities of character education within the present Ontari... more In this paper we explored conceptual ambiguities of character education within the present Ontario Ministry of Education initiative. Through the critical lens of moral development theories and theories of mind, social and cognitive domains and their affect on character development were examined. Based on these findings three shortcomings in implementation were identified: a lack of clarity in defining "character", a lack of recognition of the importance of cognitive and social processes in moral development, and a lack of clarity in effective strategies for character development. The recommendations for future implementation of character education were proposed. In October 2006, The Ontario Ministry of Education introduced Finding Common Ground: Character Development in Ontario Schools K-12, a discussion paper designed to guide the implementation of character education in K-12 public schools within the province. The initiative that spawned this paper requires a commitment from all stakeholders in the school and greater community to engage students in developing positive habits and characteristics of a responsible citizenship. The key beliefs and principles in Finding Common Ground: Character Development in Ontario Schools K-12, hold that the values and attributes of character development are "universal and transcend racial, religious, ethno-cultural, linguistic, and other * This paper was presented at the Canadian Society for the Study in Education (CSSE) conference in Vancouver, 2008. Character Education Re-conceptualized for Practical Implementation 2 demographic factors" (p. 2). It also states that there is a growing need to find "common ground" on the values and attributes we in Ontario hold in common. By carefully reading the principles within this document, we found that the term "universal" seems to contradict the "need to find common ground on values" in Ontario. If the values and attributes of character development are indeed "universal," what troubles us is why would we need to find "common ground"? We believe that in order to effectively implement character education in our schools, we need to have a clear definition of character and practical understanding of the theoretical frameworks among all stakeholders in Ontario. This is the reality elsewhere in Canada. For instance, in The Heart of the Matter Character and Citizenship in Alberta Schools, the understanding of character is based on Lickona"s (1991) definition of character as a reliable inner disposition to respond to situations in a morally good way, involving three interrelated parts: moral knowing, moral feeling, and moral behaviour. This document also offers three different theoretical approaches (a traditional, a cognitive-developmental, and a caring communities approach) from the research literature to provide guidance for character education implementation. In Finding Common Ground: Character Development in Ontario Schools K-12 (2006), character development is described as a foundation of our education system but a clear definition of "character" or theoretical framework guidelines is nowhere to be found. Since writing this paper, a more recent edition of this document has been released. In June 2008, The Ministry of Education issued the new, improved version of the Finding Common Ground: Character Development in Ontario Schools K-12 based on the comments and suggestions received from the schools" stakeholders throughout Ontario. However, while some improvements are evident, a clear definition of "character" and theoretical framework guidelines are still missing.
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