Abstract

Character education can be understood as any form of holistic moral education focusing on the systematic development of virtues as stable traits of character, with the aim of promoting human flourishing, and founded on some general virtue theory. Character education accommodates fairly different theoretical, disciplinary, and practical perspectives, and this chapter outlines some of the key concepts, features, and controversies underlying these different “varieties.” In recent years, a renewed interest in character education has led to the development of various research-informed models and frameworks for teaching character at all levels of education. Some of the core approaches to developing character are considered, as well as how character educationists might assess the outcomes of their efforts through the evaluation of character-education programs and the measurement of virtues. The chapter concludes by discussing the potentially positive outcomes of character education for schools and students.