Character Education in Public Schools: Building an Effective Program
| dc.contributor.author | Cronin, Philip Scott | en |
| dc.contributor.committeechair | Mallory, Walter D. | en |
| dc.contributor.committeemember | Glenn, William Joseph | en |
| dc.contributor.committeemember | Patrizio, Kami M. | en |
| dc.contributor.committeemember | Noonan, Peter James | en |
| dc.contributor.department | Educational Leadership and Policy Studies | en |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2016-12-15T09:00:13Z | en |
| dc.date.available | 2016-12-15T09:00:13Z | en |
| dc.date.issued | 2016-12-14 | en |
| dc.description.abstract | Educational leaders, families, and politicians debate the methods for teaching, the materials taught, and the content learned (Benninga, Berkowitz, Kuehn, and Smith, 2006; Kohn, 1997). These stakeholders all agree, however, that a major goal for education is to produce learned, productive members of society (DeRoche and Williams, 2001). The goal of this research is to develop a framework that provides schools and division-level leaders with essential elements to resolve character education issues and to provide the means for implementing and evaluating those programs. I used the Delphi research method to collect information from notable researchers and practitioners in the educational world (Keeney, McKenna, and Hasson, 2010). Many of the panelists were selected because their previous research on character education formed a large part of my literature review in Chapter 2. The practitioners are current superintendents, principals, or program directors in representative school systems. The study itself consisted of three rounds of questionnaires; the first round consisted of three open-ended questions that then elicited responses on which the other two rounds were based. The panelists indicated that clearly defined goals and values, stakeholder buy-in, and inclusion of social/emotional issues were the essential elements needed for an effective character education program. Shared responsibilities by stakeholders and student-driven debates were seen as the keys to implementing said program. Finally, the panelists concurred that attendance and discipline data and surveys were the best tools/methods for evaluating character education programs. | en |
| dc.description.abstractgeneral | Educational leaders, families, and politicians all agree that a major goal for education is to produce learned, productive members of society (DeRoche & Williams, 2001). The goal of this study is to develop a framework that provides schools and division-level leaders with the essential elements needed to resolve character education issues and to provide the means for implementing and evaluating those programs. In my dissertation, I explored the links between developmental theory and effective program characteristics. I used the Delphi method for research to collect information from notable researchers and practitioners in the educational world (Keeney, McKenna, & Hasson, 2010). A Delphi study is a multi-round survey of experts who try to come to consensus on a particular subject. The panelists were selected because of their previous research on character education and/or their positions as superintendents, principals, and program directors. The study consisted of three rounds of questionnaires. The first round included three open-ended questions and the second and third rounds used responses from the first round. The results indicated that panelists believed that the essential elements needed for developing an effective character education program included clearly defined goals and values, stakeholder buy-in, and the addressing of social/emotional issues. Keys to implementing an effective program included shared responsibilities by stakeholders and student-driven debates. Finally, when evaluating the program, the panelists concurred that data on attendance, cheating, and student discipline, as well as exit surveys for students and teachers, were the best tools to determine success. | en |
| dc.description.degree | Ed. D. | en |
| dc.format.medium | ETD | en |
| dc.identifier.other | vt_gsexam:9261 | en |
| dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/10919/73698 | en |
| dc.publisher | Virginia Tech | en |
| dc.rights | In Copyright | en |
| dc.rights.uri | http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ | en |
| dc.subject | Respect | en |
| dc.subject | Integrity | en |
| dc.subject | Stakeholder | en |
| dc.subject | Consensus | en |
| dc.title | Character Education in Public Schools: Building an Effective Program | en |
| dc.type | Dissertation | en |
| thesis.degree.discipline | Educational Leadership and Policy Studies | en |
| thesis.degree.grantor | Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University | en |
| thesis.degree.level | doctoral | en |
| thesis.degree.name | Ed. D. | en |
Files
Original bundle
1 - 1 of 1