The Rise of Character Education in Britain

'This is a provocative indictment of the character education movement that deconstructs its invidious content: indoctrination that denies socio-economic poverty, human rights and solidarity in a message of anti-political individualism. Character education is a clear and present danger for schools and young people, and this analysis deserves a wide audience.'

-Alistair Ross, Jean Monnet Professor of Citizenship Education in Europe and Emeritus Professor, London Metropolitan University, UK

'Jerome and Kisby provide a useful intellectual critique of the conceptual basis of character education currently being proposed in Britain. After reading this book, I'm convinced that, in the challenging world in which we now live, the individualistic focus on 'developing character' and the flawed ideas around it such as 'developing grit' are a dangerous distraction.'

-Marcus Bhargava, Head of School of Education, Kingston University London, UK What is character education? Why has it risen up the political agenda in the UK in recent years? And what does it mean in pedagogical practice? This book addresses these questions, challenging the individualistic and moralistic ideas underlying the clamour amongst politicians, educators and authors to promote 'grit', 'resilience' and 'character' in schools. Closely examining a range of teaching resources, the book shows that the development of character is wrongly presented as the solution to a wide variety of social problems, with individual citizens expected to accommodate themselves to the realities of the contemporary economic context, rather than enhancing their capacities to engage in civic and political activities to bring about changes they wish to see. The book argues that there is a tried and tested alternative to character education, which is far more likely to strengthen British democracy, namely, citizenship education.

Lee Jerome is Associate Professor of Education at Middlesex University, UK.

Ben Kisby is Senior Lecturer in Politics at the University of Lincoln, UK.

Auteur

Lee Jerome is Associate Professor of Education at Middlesex University, UK. He has published widely and explores three main themes in his research: citizenship education, children's rights and teacher education. He is a founder-member of the Association for Citizenship Teaching (ACT), and is co-editor of ACT's journal Teaching Citizenship.

Ben Kisby is Senior Lecturer in Politics at the University of Lincoln, UK. He has a number of publications on citizenship education. His research interests focus on British politics, public policy and youth political engagement. He co-founded the Political Studies Association's Young People's Politics specialist research group.

Texte du rabat

What is character education? Why has it risen up the political agenda in the UK in recent years? And what does it mean in pedagogical practice? This book addresses these questions, challenging the individualistic and moralistic ideas underlying the clamour amongst politicians, educators and authors to promote 'grit', 'resilience' and 'character' in schools. Closely examining a range of teaching resources, the book shows that the development of character is wrongly presented as the solution to a wide variety of social problems, with individual citizens expected to accommodate themselves to the realities of the contemporary economic context, rather than enhancing their capacities to engage in civic and political activities to bring about changes they wish to see. The book argues that there is a tried and tested alternative to character education, which is far more likely to strengthen British democracy, namely, citizenship education.

Contenu

Chapter 1. Introduction

The Structure of the Book

Notes

References

Chapter 2. Theorising Character Education

Introduction

Understanding Virtue Ethics

Problems with Virtue Ethics

Understanding Character Education

Problems with Character Education

Conclusion

References

Chapter 3. Character Education in Historical Context

Introduction Contextualising Character Education

The Return of Character Education

The Character Education Policy Community

Conclusion

References

Chapter 4. The Jubilee Centre's Character Education Teaching Resources

Introduction

Conceptual issues

Historical issues

Moral issues

Political issues

Contextual issues

Conclusion

References

Chapter 5. Three Case Studies of Character Education in Practice

Introduction

Case Study 1 Military Ethos

Case Study 2 Rugby Values

Case Study 3 Narnian Virtues

Old Wine, New Bottles

Conclusion

References

Chapter 6. Character Education or Citizenship Education?

Introduction

Character as Self-Work

Back to Aristotle

Individual and Public Morality

Young People as Political Agents

Conclusion

References

Chapter 7. Conclusion

Summary of Key Points

Understanding Character Education in Context

The Symbolic Value of Character Education

The Devil in the Detail

References

Index