Character education: An analysis of state History-Social Science and English-Language Arts curriculum frameworks and content standards

Purpose. The major purpose of this study is to analyze the extent to which Character Education is addressed and aligned, in terms of state (1) policy goals, (2) curriculum frameworks and standards, and (3) assessments. The state documents for the study are delimited to History-Social Science and English-Language Arts curriculum frameworks and content standards. Each of the state documents is analyzed within and between states, focusing on three components: (1) Purposes of Character Education, (2) Core Values of Character Education, and (3) Process of Character Education. This analysis determines alignment of each state to itself and other states.; Methodology. State documents from five states were analyzed according to a Character Education Conceptual Framework developed for this study. Personal interviews with state level education leaders assist in clarifying the analysis of the documents. Character Education Codible Units are captured from the state publications, and the extent of their alignment to the conceptual framework was determined using specific coding guidelines.; Findings. There is a great gulf between state Character Education policy goals and curriculum frameworks and content standards. Character Education expectations do not meet curriculum or standard requirements. State History-Social Science and English-Language Arts policy documents emphasize the Purposes of Character Education over Core Values and the Process to achieve Character Education. Most states include Character Education as an adjunct in their History-Social Science documents. Generally, it is classified as civic education, or citizenship training. Character Education in state English-Language Arts documents is virtually nonexistent. State documents neither require nor emphasize national Character Education achievement testing or any state level assessment for Character Education. Such determinations are left to the local education communities. Furthermore, there is no state guidance system in place to monitor the delivery or implementation of Character Education curriculum in the states.