Character Education in Ontario Schools Dr. Douglas Fleming Faculty of Education, University of Ottawa Faculté d’éducation, Université d’Ottawa

“Character development is the deliberate effort to nurture the universal attributes upon which schools and communities find consensus. These attributes provide a standard for behavior against which we hold ourselves accountable. They permeate all that happens in schools. They bind us together across the lines that often divide us in society. They form the basis of our relationships and of responsible citizenship. They are a foundation for excellence and equity in education, and for our vision of learning cultures and school communities that are respectful, safe, caring and inclusive.” Ministry of Education (2008,12).

2006 discussion paper 2007 consultations 2008 publications Finding Common Ground: Character Development in Ontario Schools, K– 12https:// y/booklet2008.pdfhttps:// y/booklet2008.pdf Guide etGuide2008.pdf

Student Voice … Student voice and engagement are essential to all character development processes. Curriculum Connections … All Ontario Curriculum documents include expectations about the development of character. Social Action … When students are actively engaged in local and global issues, they are developing character. Transitions … Character attributes are significant assets to students as they move through the many changes in school and life. Community Partnerships … Engaging the community in sharing the responsibility for character development is beneficial for all. Board-wide Actions … Ontario school boards are committed to practices that reflect their identified character attributes.

Conference Board of Canada (2000): personal management skills (honesty, adaptability and respect for diversity); Leithwood, Fullan, & Watson (2003): parents place great importance on character development (responsible and ethical citizenship); Human Resources and Social Development Canada & Ontario’s Ministry of Education (2007): reliability, responsibility, integrity, initiative and respect.

Goleman (1996, 2006): Emotional Intelligence, one’s “ability to identify, manage and express one’s emotions in a mature and conscientious manner” is more significant for school success than one’s Intelligence Quotient (IQ). For an alternative opinion (at least in terms of academia, see: mic-assholeshttp://thesiswhisperer.com/2013/02/13/acade mic-assholes

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OCDSB document: ocdsb/ss/cd/Pages/ACommunityofCharacter.aspxhttp:// ocdsb/ss/cd/Pages/ACommunityofCharacter.aspx Acceptance Appreciation Cooperation Empathy Fairness Integrity Optimism Perseverance Respect Responsibility Lesson plans:

By laying stress on a strong “Protestant” work ethic and notions of meritocracy, traditional approaches to character education serves neoliberalism (Kohn, 1997) and appeals to those who believe that society is in moral decline (Apple, 2006). Winton (2007) argues that Character Education enforces “a conformity to standardized expectations for behavior”. It does this by placing stress on: individualism; assimilation and social cohesion; the avoidance of conflict; the discounting of potential benefits of recognizing conflict; marginalizing dissenting opinions; a limited notion of active citizenship.

Nonetheless, Winton (2007) believes that working with Character Education opens up some possibilities. She argues that teachers “can encourage students to draw on their knowledge of history and current events to identify means of resistance and advocating change. This would provide students with opportunities to develop a sense of their own agency as well as teach students to use their knowledge to enhance and frame their participation… She further states that “individuals committed to social justice and democratic education must approach claims that character education supports citizenship education with caution and ask ‘What kind of citizenship education? For what purpose?’ before embracing character education as a means to prepare students to transform society.”