What is Character Education?

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"By focusing so excessively on your test scores, science is suggesting to us that we are missing half of what kids need to become fully successful and flourishing adults."

- Andrew Skokatch

CHARACTER EDUCATION IS...

The "intentional attempt in schools to foster the development of students’ psychological characteristics that motivate and enable them to act in ethical, democratic, and socially effective and productive ways.” (Berkowitz, Althof & Bier, 2012, p. 72)

In short, Character Education holds that education in general must start from the person of the child, and what is best for the child. It is a holistic approach in which both academic grades and the nurturing of character are equally important, and that the flourishing of both elements are intertwined.

As the majority of a child's formative years will be spent in school, it is therefore crucial to foster a supportive and caring educational environment that will benefit the whole person of the child. A one-track focus on exams and studying skills may only prosper a child's intelligence and knowledge in the end. However, Character Education can instead provide the necessary framework for the child's optimum growth as a person of virtue with diverse character strengths.

The child that receives and perceives the caring of teachers, an inclusive and interactive school culture, and the presence of good role models, is more likely to want to engage in school and therefore improve in his or her studies. For this to happen, the support of parents, teachers, and the general Hong Kong society are needed if this environment is to be realized across the many schools in Hong Kong.

Character growth is ultimately a lifelong process. While the scope of Character Education may be formally limited to one's educational years, it is a beginning that seeks to equip a child to live out the rest of their lives as the best person that they could be. Whether from an individual or a communal perspective, the lessons derived from Character Education are therefore applicable and beneficial to all.