Research On Thomas Lickona's Character Education Theory

The character education in America has a long history,and had a great vitality from the colonial era to the early 20 th century.Before the 1980 s,due to cultural relativism,logical positivism,progressive education movement,individualism thought,moral cognition theory and value clarification theory gaining the upper hand,plus the shake up in the study of experimental psychology,the character education once declined.After the mid-1980 s,the character education was regarded highly once more and formed the idea of “new character education” which was different from the traditional character education,because of the political conservatism,serious moral crisis and the weaknesses which the moral cognition theory and value clarification theory exposed.After a tortuous process of ups and downs in different historical periods,character education has occupied the mainstream position of the moral education in the United states.From decline to the renaissance,the complexity of the reasons behind it is worth all the country to attach great importance to and alert.The new character education profoundly influenced the United States,and had already been the fastest growing education movement there.Now,though 30 years of development,the new character education movement has become a worldwide moral education movement,formed the modern theory and pattern of school moral education,and been considered as a new trend of moral education in the 21 st century.Dr.Thomas Lickona is a developmental psychologist,professor of education at the State University of New York,one leader of the new character education movement,and is praised as “the father the new character education”.For more than forty years,from the research of the moral development of children to character education,from the young to follow Piaget,Kohlberg's moral development stage theory,and then gradually build up their own character education ideology.His achievements,for example,defining the character and the character education,establishing the evaluation principles and criteria for the character education,carrying out the diverse strategies and measures of the character education directed towards schools and families,are important parts of the theory system of the new character education movement.His twelve comprehensive approach of “values and the comprehensive programme of the character education” is the most important and representative model of practice in the new character education movement.In the content of Lickona's character education theory thinks highly of the value of the traditional virtue,establishes the core value of respect and responsibility as the character education;in the method,it emphasis on the internal consciousness of the moral subject and the unity of the external control,that is,the reflection type infusion,emphasizes the authority and leading role of the educator,pays attention to the care and respect for the students,advocates quality education through professional courses,creates a democracy moral atmosphere in the school and class;in the basic approach,it advocates a full range of character education,proposes to create character school,character family and character community and so on.These are the basic requirements of modern moral education.we can see the character education and the traditional education advocated by the different Lickona's character education theory.This paper is concerned with the new character education movement in the United States.First of all,analysis the concept of character and character education,discusses the development course of character education in the United States.It discusses the new character education's targets,principles,criteria,content,approaches,methods,main features and so on,summes up the main characteristics of the new character education.Character education is a moral education activity,which is a moral education to teach virtue and core moral value and cultivate virtue,mainly in schools,families and communities,transfer values to young people through lectures,sermons,example,indoctrination,rewards and punishment,cultivate their moral habits,which form a good character.The difference between the new character education and the traditional character education: after the return of the character education is the development and innovation of the traditional character education in the context of globalization and modernity.It is a new model that integrated a variety of modern moral education methods and continuously improve their own.The new character education believes that there are some common human core values,as well as some value in the modern society to help people to success and happiness of life and the view of virtue,all these ideas to impart to teenagers.However,the method is no longer a single infusion,but more emphasis on moral practice to cultivate good character habit of teenagers.The new character education has also absorbed and used for reference the stage and discussion of cognitive development theory as well as many positive factors in the theory of value clarification,so it is different from the old style of character education.It is not a simple reversion traditional character education,but to adapt to the development trend of American society,with the education reform and development direction of the United States,a new kind of transcendence and creation in the field of moral education.The theme of this thesis is Thomas Lickona and his character education theory.Therefore,it is a very important part of the paper from the second chapter to the fourth chapter of the content.The second chapter introduces Lickona and his academic career and achievements,and briefly summarizes his 10 writings and 8 representative treatises.The third chapter analyzed the theory sources of Lickona's character education,discussing how he was influenced by Aristotle,Macintyre,Dewey,Piaget,Erickson,Kohlberg and other scholars,their theories as well as religion.The fourth chapter introduces the main content of Lickona's character education,dwelling Lickona's definition on the character,his core values and practice strategy.Through the analysis of the forming process of Lickona's character education theory,we can fully understand the theoretical basis of character education;through the analysis and research on the Lickona's character education theory content,we can understand the essence of the new character education,and the existence of the character education problem;through the analysis of practical model of character education,we can learn many specific methods of moral education.It can help to improve moral education practice effect in China.The last chapter is about the evaluation and the inspiration of Lickona's character education theory,focusing on fully assessing his theory and discussing its inspiration on moral education in China from the three aspects: the transformation of the role of school,the action research for teachers and the Trinity moral construction of school,family and community.