Character education: A role for literature in cultivating character strengths in adolescence

Abstract

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.