The Rise of Character Education in Britain

Abstract

Education for character has risen up the political agenda in a number of countries, especially the US and the UK, as governments and educators have sought to find ways to improve children’s life chances and address various societal challenges. Schools are viewed by advocates of character education as having a crucial role to play in improving individual character, as the best means to develop a better society. The book is structured around three core sections. In Part I we explore what character education is and why it is problematic, before examining how it has emerged in UK education policy. In Part II we turn to review specific examples of character education projects in the UK. In Part III we consider citizenship education as an alternative way to pursue some of the espoused aims of character education and argue that it actually addresses some of the same concerns far more effectively.