Abstract
Below is a brief summary of the historical and academic underpinnings of character and values education in Scotland.
Marvin Berkowitz, Professor of Character Education and Co-Director of the Centre for Character and Citizenship at the University of Missouri-St. Louis, defines character as "the set of psychological characteristics that motivate and enable the individual to function as a competent moral agent, that is, to do 'good' in the world." (Berkowitz, 2011) Character Education can be thought of as "the deliberate effort to help people understand, care about, and act upon core ethical values" (Lickona, 1991). There are many other definitions, but what does it mean for Scotland?
Scotland has a long and intertwined history with character and values. In the midst of his radical approaches to social reform, Robert Owen founded the Institute for the Formation of Character at New Lanark in 1816. The country's history in education is much tied to its culture and underpinning values. Scotland's traditional aspirations relate to social reform, justice and a shared determination to address broad and general questions relating to philosophy, ethics, economics, technology, humanistic approaches to pedagogy and democracy. Notable Scottish thinkers in these areas include Adam Smith, David Hume, Robert Owen, John MacMurray, Alasdair MacIntyre and many others.
Character and values education are not new ideas, and their renewed focus is a natural extension of Scotland's educational history. The influential 1947 report of the Advisory Council on Education in Scotland states the following:
"Our real wealth is in the character and skill of our people."
"The secondary school... should provide a rich social environment where the adolescent grows in character and understanding through the interplay of personalities rather than by the imparting of knowledge."
"The breaking of new ground rather than the treading of safe ground has become the task of all in education."
In the book entitled Pioneering Moral Education, Dr William Gatherer provides what Professor David Carr described as "a very objective no-nonsense critical assessment" of 20th Century approaches to moral education led by the Scottish philanthropist Victor Cook, leading to the establishment of the Gordon Cook Foundation. This book, possibly the only publication in existence that details a specifically Scottish approach to moral education, delivers an honest portrayal of the difficulties and failures experienced by Victor Cook in his mission to establish a place for moral education, while at the same time describing how his work represented "...the establishment of moral education in schools throughout the world."
Today, with the continuing development of initiatives such as Curriculum for Excellence (CfE), Getting It Right For Every Child (GIRFEC) and the enthusiasm for which professionals in Scotland have embraced programmes such as Rights Respecting Schools and Eco Schools, Scotland is being recognised internationally as a global leader in citizenship education. Character and values-based approaches are integral to these policies. The purpose of CfE is to develop young people's attributes and capacities. Scotland's professional teaching standards are underpinned by the values of social justice, integrity, trust, respect and professional commitment. Similarly, other policy agendas such as the Wood Commission report, Global Citizenship, Enterprise in Education and the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (2005-2014) provide an ideal context for approaches aimed at developing and empowering young people's values, skills and attributes.
Recent developments in science, technology, psychology and philosophy have resulted in a global resurgence and the emergence of new and robust frameworks for character and values development. A plethora of new programmes have been made available around the world, the research and evidence base is continually growing and initial findings suggest that there are strong correlations between skills, character qualities and positive outcomes for children and young people (OECD, 2015). In the UK, the Jubilee Centre for Character and Virtues in University of Birmingham is contributing to the research base for character, as are Scottish institutions including University of Glasgow and University of Aberdeen.
This is a rapidly expanding area of practice and research. This conference aims to provide an introduction to the key issues to help practitioners, policy makers and researchers to understand and inform the relevance of this work for children and young people in Scotland. For more information please consult the Key Reading tab above.
