Character education in the elementary school

Educating for character has been taking place in schools from colonial times to the present. Recently there has been an interest in comprehensive programs that seek to teach the virtues as part of the formal and hidden curriculum. There are schools we can use as models for character education programs that work as supported by years of scientific research. Before starting a program, however, it is helpful to assess the practices and policies a school already has in place and compare the results with components of programs that already work. It is possible that schools may discover that a comprehensive character education program may not be needed.