CHARACTER EDUCATION FOR THE GIFTED: PRIORITIES ACROSS EDUCATIONAL STAGES AND CULTURAL CONTEXTS

The purpose of this study is to understand the role of school relationships in shaping students’ character development in middle childhood. Students and teachers completed surveys on student–teacher relationships, peer relationships, social-emotional learning (SEL), parent-teacher communication, and character strengths of fairness, hope, bravery, teamwork, self-regulation, social responsibility, and prosocial leadership. Participants were 1881 Brazilian children in fourth or fifth grade across 288 classrooms and 60 schools. Data were analyzed using a multi-level model framework. Higher student–student relationships were associated with higher starting scores of character strengths paired with a stronger increase among classes whose relationships improved over time. Higher quality student–teacher relationships were associated with a larger increase in character strengths among boys. Teachers’ usage of SEL strategies, student–teacher relationships and student peer relationships were important predictors of both classroom baselines and the change in character strengths across time. Most of the existing literature on character strengths is based on older adolescent samples from affluent countries and with little Latin American representation. This study supports existing literature on the relevancy of character strengths in the educational context, but adds the importance of seeing it as a contextual and relational outcome.

This study aims to synthesize empirical evidence on the role of character strengths in strengthening student well-being in the digital era and to examine its implications for character education policy. Using a systematic literature review guided by the PRISMA framework, this study conducted identification, screening, and eligibility assessment processes, resulting in the inclusion of 26 peer-reviewed international articles published between 2011 and 2024 from Scopus, Web of Science, and ERIC databases. Data were analyzed through thematic synthesis to identify dominant digital risks, character strengths associated with well-being, and their functional roles. The findings indicate that digital risks do not exert deterministic effects on student well-being; rather, their impact is conditional and shaped by students’ character strengths. Self-regulation, hope, gratitude, perseverance, and critical thinking consistently emerged as key strengths that function as direct predictors, moderators, and mediators of student well-being. These findings highlight the importance of reframing character education from a moral–normative orientation toward a strength-based and evidence-informed approach. The study concludes that strengthening student well-being in the digital era requires sustained educational investment in character strengths as preventive psychological capacities that support adaptive digital engagement and flourishing.

Background: The present study explores gender differences through a characterological lens, inspired by the positive-psychological VIA-Youth measure. Existing research on gender differences in character development has established a certain stereotype of girls outperforming boys in western culture. Methods: Based on a sample of 695 students in elementary, middle, and high school students, we analyzed gender differences in character development in the Chinese cultural context using multidimensional scaling (MDS) profile analysis, providing a cultural account of gender differences via profile patterns. Results: Our study identified specific items where pre-adolescent and adolescent boys outperformed girls (while acknowledging there are also specific items where girls outperformed boys) based on data sourced from a Chinese context. We found gender differences in the same character strengths due to situational factors, such as intensive and sustained educational interventions and established gender traditions/expectations, which can shape the exhibition of particular character strengths differently among girls and boys. Conclusion: Findings can offer an antidote to a Western-dominated research perspective on character or moral education. It enriches the literature on moral education in a different cultural context and provides evidence of gender differences in character strengths.

Background: The present study explores gender differences through a characterological lens, inspired by the positive-psychological VIA-Youth measure. Existing research on gender differences in character development has established a certain stereotype of girls outperforming boys in western culture. Methods: Based on a sample of 695 students in elementary, middle, and high school students, we analyzed gender differences in character development in the Chinese cultural context using multidimensional scaling (MDS) profile analysis, providing a cultural account of gender differences via profile patterns. Results: Our study identified specific items where pre-adolescent and adolescent boys outperformed girls (while acknowledging there are also specific items where girls outperformed boys) based on data sourced from a Chinese context. We found gender differences in the same character strengths due to situational factors, such as intensive and sustained educational interventions and established gender traditions/expectations, which can shape the exhibition of particular character strengths differently among girls and boys. Conclusion: Findings can offer an antidote to a Western-dominated research perspective on character or moral education. It enriches the literature on moral education in a different cultural context and provides evidence of gender differences in character strengths.

Relatively little is known about the symbolic and cultural leadership practices and approaches used to imbed character education in high schools in China. In addition, there is a lack of published studies and reports investigating the revival between character and moral education in the Chinese school system. Without additional information, it is impossible to understand and develop effective leadership approaches that will shape and mold school cultures to effectively support both character and moral education. The literature reviewed in this study revealed little information about if, and in what form, there is a return to moral education focusing on traditional Chinese, including Confucian-related, values, virtues, and principles in China. The research methodology consisted of a case study of three carefully selected high school principals. The study sought to: (1) identify traditional Chinese, including Confucian-related, values, virtues, and principles held by these principals; (2) describe the roles played by these high school principals in shaping and molding character education; (3) delineate symbolic and cultural leadership approaches used in implementing and supporting character education; and, (4) discuss leadership implications in character education development and implementation. Within the cultural context of China, the researcher developed a symbolic and cultural leadership portrait of the high school principal, and how principals shape and mold school culture through their leadership actions to support character education. The following are some of the general findings of this study: (1) The role of the principals in China is similar to that of a government agent: ie they receive orders and directives that they must follow. Within the school setting, they are the 'lead' character educator and they play out this role by 'modeling' the desired morals and values in both their personal and private lives; (2) Confucian-related moral and ethical teachings were considered helpful and somewhat important in character education by the principals. However, these morals and values were not found in the formal moral curricula established for the respective public high schools in China, rather, they were found in some of the articles used within the school's literature curriculum; (3) the five most important morals and values that should be at the heart of character education programs in China were found to be: patriotism; love to learn; loyalty to one's responsibility; honesty; and filial piety. Based on these findings, six recommendations for further study were made.

Character and moral education of children plays a crucial role in shaping a quality person. This research aims to analyze the role of parents in children's character and moral education in Rotonongo Hamlet, Gerdu, Karangpandan. This hamlet was chosen because its unique social and cultural context can provide in-depth insights into how the local environment influences children's character and moral development. A qualitative approach was used in data collection, through observations and interviews to understand parental behavior, values instilled, and character education strategies in the family environment. The results of the study are expected to provide a better understanding of the relationship between the role of parents and children's character education in Rotonongo Hamlet, as well as its implications for the development of effective character education programs that are appropriate to the local context. The conclusions of this study are expected to provide valuable contributions to efforts to improve the morality of the younger generation through the role of parents in the family environment.

Character education has a significant role in instilling positive character strengths that help to shape a positive mind, a positive attitude, and positive behavior in children. Next to the commonly used didactic approaches, narrative interventions can be used to ‘package’ key moral messages about character strength in entertaining storylines. Unfortunately, empirical studies on the effectiveness of narrative methods for teaching character education to children is scattered across different disciplines. This review aimed to comprehensively describe the published studies, and identify the main elements used for children’s character education in the narratives. Eight databases of studies published between January 1980 and March 2018 were searched for narrative interventions that focused on character education aimed at children. The searches yielded seven studies with a great variety in outcome measures. Findings consistently suggest that narratives with positive approaches can generate honesty and kindness effectively in children. Employing a positively framed story, giving instructions, and encouraging children to explain the key story events half way and at the end of the story can especially produce preferable results in adopting the character strengths.

이 연구는 대학 차원 인성교육의 내용체계를 개발하는 데 목적을 두었다. 현행 동향에 있어 대학기반의 인성교육은 교양교과 단위에서 주로 활성화되어 있긴 하나 이전의 학령기 기반의 인성교육 운영 사례와 비교해 볼 경우 특별히 내용적인 측면에서 상호간의 변별점을 크게 갖지 못하는 경향이 있다. 이에, 대학 차원에서 운영되는 인성교육의 실정은 인성교육이 학문적으로 고유하게 갖는 위상과 정체성에 기반하여 그 배경 구조와 기초 내용을 구성하지 못하는 한계가 수반되며, 인성교육의 지식과 기술 부분에서 무엇보다도 중요한 인성 덕목을 균형적으로 학습하지 못하는 제한점 역시 포함한다. 그리고 이러한 실정은 대학 차원의 인성교육이 체계화된 교수ㆍ학습 방법이나 평가, 인성 덕목의 지식과 기술을 통합화한 주제 중심의 실천 사례를 폭 넓게 다루는 데 어려움을 초래하기도 한다. 이상의 제한점을 감안하여 본 연구는 대학 차원의 인성교육이 강화될 수 있도록 내용체계의 관점에서 몇 가지의 대안 요소를 제시하였다. 대안 요소의 예로는 1) 교육학적 배경 구조 기반의 인성교육 이론ㆍ실제화, 2) 다중 차원의 인성교육 덕목 정립화, 3) 주제 통합 중심의 인성교육 내용 다양화, 4) 교수ㆍ학습 패키지 기반 인성교육 내용 맥락 다양화, 5) 다중 공모작 기반의 인성교육 내용 맥락 다양화가 구성되었다. 이런 다섯 가지의 내용체계 요소를 통합화한 관점에서 대학이 인성교육 교과 수업(예: 교양 등)을 실제로 운영할 수 있는 예시적 모형을 제안하였고, 아울러 다섯 가지의 내용체계 요소들이 현실적으로 실행되기 위해 수반되어야 할 구성조건을 중심으로 역시 논의 및 제언하였다.This purpose of this study is to develop character education content systems at university level. Currently, university-based character education content systems are active mainly in liberal arts courses. When compared to character education implemented in elementary school, however, it does not show much differentiation in terms of content. The character education currently implemented in university, which is based on its unique academic status and identity, fails to construct its infrastructure and basics. Its further limitation involves failure to perform balanced learning in the virtues of personality that are important in terms of knowledge and skills for character education. And such reality causes difficulty for university character education in broadly handling the cases of theme-centered practices that incorporate systematized teaching-learning method, evaluation, and knowledge and skills for the virtues of character strengths. Considering these limitations, this study presented several alternative elements in terms of content with the aim of strengthening university-based character education. The alternative elements included a) theory and practice in character education based on educational infrastructure, b) establishing virtues of multi-dimensional character education, c) diversifying character education with a focus on theme integration, d) diversifying the content and context of character education with a focus on a teaching-learning package, and e) diversifying the content and context of character education with a focus on proposals selected through public competition. With a view to integrating the five elements of content above, the study suggested an exemplary model in which universities can actually operate the courses in character education (such as liberal arts course). Moreover, it focused its discussions and suggestions on the constituents that are required for the five elements of content to be implemented.`

In 2003, the Character Education Partnership published a landmark volume: Beland, K., Tolman, J., Posey, J., & Davidson, M. (2003). Eleven Principles Sourcebook: How to Achieve Quality Character Education in K-12 Schools. Washington, DC: Character Education Partnership. The outcome of an impressive collaboration, drawing from theory, research, and best practice, the Sourcebook lives up to its name as a comprehensive resource for those planning to bring character education into their schools or districts in systematic ways. However, as we will note, the Sourcebook is a large document; it is not subway reading. And it is a written document, which means that people are going to have to find ways to put its ideas into action. Indeed, over the past 2 years, we have found ourselves needing to find ways to put the concepts and tools from the Sourcebook into practice in New Jersey in various contexts. We believe our experiences with implementation will be valuable for others who also want to put the Sourcebook to sound use. We begin with an overview of the document and a description of how the document is introduced to people through a national training program. This is followed by a description of how the Sourcebook is used by the New Jersey Center for Character Education in its statewide training programs. Finally, we present an application of the Sourcebook outside of a strictly character education (CE) context, to show how it was used as part of a training program to prepare individuals for the role of social-emotional learning (SEL) coordinator in their schools or districts.

Any democratic society must concern itself with the socialization of its citizens. This begins in childhood, and schools are critical to this process. The interrelations and roles of educating for character (character education, moral education) and educating for citizenship (citizenship education, civic education) are explored, largely in a North American context. It is argued that citizenship education necessarily entails character and moral formation, but this integration is hindered by negative stereotyping between the two fields. In addition, negative stereotyping between the fields of moral education and character education further complicates attempts at synthesis. Through explorations of each of these domains and their similarities and differences, it is concluded that the role of schools in fostering the development of moral citizens in democratic societies necessitates focus on moral development, broader moral and related character development, teaching of civics and development of citizenship skills and dispositions. Moreover, these outcomes overlap and cut across the fields of moral, character and citizenship education.

The ability to know, measure and cultivate those elements that contribute to the flourishing life is transforming the world of education. The findings of positive psychology are being used to more effectively educate for psychological well-being alongside that of traditional academic learning. One crucial area of study in positive psychology is character strengths. Individuals who are not only cognizant of their strength profile but use their strengths daily are happier, higher achieving, more resilient and more satisfied with their lives. These findings give new life and scope to what schools might call “character education”. By cleverly capitalizing on the skills of regular classroom teachers all schools, regardless of their human and financial resources, location or demography, can begin embedding principles of positive psychology. We need to promote robust, cross-curricular learning in our students and better equip regular classroom teachers for the task; accessible, evidence-based and well-integrated curricula are needed. English literature, by virtue of its content and pedagogy, presents a rich opportunity for an innovative model. Learning about and cultivating character strengths through and in conjunction with literature can be achieved via robust classroom pedagogy that cultivates higher-order student understanding and personal reflection. However, more than exclusively achieving the agenda of positive education, the science of well-being has a great deal to offer our study of literature. Using character strengths in our literature study can enrich the analytical process. After providing an empirical and theoretical base, this chapter offers suggestions for activities on character education in the English classroom. Vitally, it demonstrates that a rich focus on well-being need not come at the expense of academic rigor, deep ethical and emotional competencies or analytical essay writing, all of which are an integral part of study in the literature classroom.

This study is part of a bigger research project that addresses the infusion of social emotional learning (SEL) in students' academic subjects such as English, Mathematics, Science and Character Education. Seventy-six teachers were involved in the infusion of SEL in four schools. After the Posttest 1, besides administering a teacher questionnaire, 19 out of 76 teachers were interviewed individually to assess their perceptions of SEL, their views on their SEL infusion in class and their perceptions of the factors that enhance or hinder SEL implementation. The interview questions were divided into three categories: the importance of social and emotional competencies (SECs) for students; infusion of SEL into the school curricula and their own attempts at imparting SECs to their students during their lessons. Teachers' perceptions of their role in infusing SEL and their doubtful belief that SEL will lead to students' academic achievement may impede the success of their SEL infusion in class. Furthermore, although they perceived that students with low SECs have poor self-management and relationship-management skills, they did not translate this into practice in enhancing their students' SEL. Implications for the classroom will be discussed.

Aim/Purpose: The purpose of this systematic literature review is to explore the use of gamification in reading instruction between 2020 and 2024, focusing on the main theories and models, implementation strategies in various educational settings, measurable effects on student engagement and comprehension, and future directions for research. Background: Reading instruction faces persistent challenges, including declining student engagement, varied reading comprehension levels, and a lack of motivation among learners. Traditional methods often fail to captivate students, resulting in suboptimal literacy outcomes. In response to these challenges, educators and researchers are increasingly turning to gamification as a promising approach to reinvigorate reading instruction. Gamification, which incorporates game design elements into non-game contexts, has the potential to enhance student motivation, engagement, and comprehension. Methodology: In order to guarantee precision and reliability, this systematic literature review follows the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyzes (PRISMA) 2020 guidelines. This review focuses on studies published in the Web of Science, Scopus, and ScienceDirect databases from 2020 to 2024 and applied inclusion criteria to select 15 peer-reviewed studies from 421 retrieved, focusing on gamification in reading instruction. Contribution: This paper addresses a gap in the existing literature on gamified reading instruction by examining the theoretical foundation, different implementation strategies, and measurable effects of gamification in reading instruction across various educational settings and age groups. Additionally, it offers recommendations and guidance for future research in the field of gamified reading instruction. This study also offers a systematic approach for educators to implement gamified reading instruction. Findings: This review examined a total of 15 papers, encompassing various educational settings and age ranges. The investigations were conducted in multiple countries, including China, Indonesia, and Spain, demonstrating a worldwide interest in gamified reading education. Self-determination theory (SDT) is significant in the domain of gamified reading teaching. Primary school extensively incorporates gamified reading instruction, emphasizing the use of badges, leaderboards, narrative contexts, and avatars to foster captivating and individualized learning experiences. Multiple studies consistently demonstrate that the integration of game aspects into reading teaching leads to improvements in reading speed, reading accuracy, reading immersion, interactivity, and frequency. Recommendations for Practitioners: Educators are encouraged to integrate gamification elements tailored to different educational stages, such as badges and narrative contexts in primary education and collaborative challenges in higher education, to enhance student engagement and comprehension. Recommendation for Researchers: Researchers should focus on conducting longitudinal studies to assess the long-term effects of gamification and work on integrating varied theoretical frameworks to provide a more consistent foundation for future research. Impact on Society: This paper proposes that implementing gamification in reading instruction has the potential to positively influence reading comprehension and student motivation, ultimately leading to improved educational results on a larger scale. Future Research: Future research should explore the long-term effects of gamification on reading instruction, address the identified limitations of current studies, and investigate its effectiveness across different cultural and educational contexts.

This study addresses the urgent need to strengthen character education in response to the moral degradation caused by globalization, which has weakened students’ connection to local cultural values. It specifically aims to analyze the integration of Boru Ni Raja, a Batak Toba cultural concept that honors women as symbols of family dignity and moral integrity, into character and contextual education in the Silindung region. Using a systematic literature review guided by the PRISMA framework, 42 relevant articles published between 2015 and 2025 were analyzed to identify theoretical patterns, challenges, and opportunities for cultural integration in education. The findings reveal that Boru Ni Raja embodies values of respect, responsibility, loyalty, and social solidarity that align with the goals of 21st-century character education. The study is novel because it introduces a gender-based cultural framework, a perspective rarely discussed in previous educational literature on Batak Toba local wisdom. Academically, it contributes to expanding the theory of culture-based and gender-responsive education, while practically, it provides guidance for teachers to design contextual learning rooted in local culture. The study recommends future empirical research to validate this conceptual model in schools across Silindung and to compare it with other cultural contexts in Indonesia.

The science of character strengths and mindfulness has increased voluminously in the last couple decades but the application of each in the classroom, especially character strengths, has been limited and shallow. We outline four distinct areas of learning around mindfulness and character strengths to enable teachers to bring forth an optimal impact on the strengths of children. Special attention is given to parents in this model as well. We argue that the zeitgeist of social-emotional learning in the classroom offers particular value around well-doing as children learn prescribed skill-sets and the building of positive relationships. What is missing from social emotional learning (SEL), however, is a focus on well-being that speaks to the positive identity of each unique child. Research and practices from the new science of character serves as a pathway for supporting and boosting child well-doing and well-being which leads to child flourishing. To this end, we adapt Niemiec’s (2014) integration programme (Mindfulness-Based Strengths Practice; MBSP) to an individualised coaching model. We share some of these adaptations and offer numerous concepts for teachers to use personally and with students (e.g., strengthsight, the autopilot mind), exercises to support teachers (e.g., ‘catch AP-ASAP’, ‘the 10 second pause’, the use of signature strengths), and offer new research (partial replication study) on the most common ‘emergent’ character strengths in young children. We discuss a framework devised to boost strengths-based thinking and positive beliefs in children that flows from moment-making to meaning-making to memory-making, and on to mindset-making.