A case study of a character education program in an elementary school

In recent years, many schools have implemented character education programs. Based on various teaching methods, this recent movement treats morality as a subject in life rather than a transitory curriculum for school. Because of the relative small number of research inquiries into the present character education programs, it is very difficult for research to inform practice. Thus, this study not only provides a critical analysis of past character education movements but also examined how one character education program, the Character Counts Program, was implemented and received by teachers, parents, and students in one elementary school.; The sample for this study were fourth and fifth grade students, their parents, and the staff at one elementary school in northern Utah. This character education program has been in place for five years. To achieve the objective, six primary sources for gaining data were used.; Although this case study was limited to one character education program at one elementary school, some of the findings from this research can inform and benefit practice. This elementary school had a strong and supportive administration. The principal clearly demonstrated moral leadership to students, parents, and staff. The citizenship committee, which was responsible for the Character Counts Program, was competent, informed, and enthusiastic about character education. The expectations concerning character and values were very high. There was also a high percentage of teachers engaging in both professional development and using various teaching strategies concerning character education. Inservice could be improved to encourage and instruct faculty involvement and improve integration of the Character Counts Program into curriculum as well as informing staff members who were not part of the teaching faculty, concerning the program.; Suggestions for further research would include doing a longitudinal study to measure the influence the Character Counts Program had on the behavior of these students past their formative, elementary years, on into their high school years, and even into adulthood. Such a study would require both extensive time and resources but could prove to be valuable in shaping practice.