Character Education Research Of American Schools

Character education has become one of the main aspect of the moral education in American schools just after the theories of moral cognition-development and value clarification fade out. And the character educational campaign has already become a national education crusade participated in by the whole people. To study the character education of American schools makes so important sense that we can learn something positive and helpful to the development of moral education in our schools.Firstly, the paper distinguishes the two terms—character and character education, and describes the evolvement of character education in American schools. It focus on the comparison and analysis about the classical character education emerged in 20th century and the new one. It is believed that the rising of the campaign of the new character education has been influenced by the politically ideological trend of conservatism. The new character education is not only the inevitable choice to face the crisis of American moral education, but also the result of the development of the theory.Secondly, the paper summarizes the theory and practice of American schools' character education across-the-board. In the aspect of theory, the renaissance of virtue ethics is the philosophic basis of the rising of character education, while the development of character psychology provides the psychologic basis for it. And the substance of character education lies in the advocation and the cultivation of core values. In another aspect—the practice, it gives several practical examples of character education, including character education practice in Blue Ribbon Schools, Child Development Project and No Child Left Behind Act. On the basis of these, an overview is made on the practical model of character education in many aspects, including the goal, the principle, the content, the approach, the method, the relationship between subject and object of education and so on. Some essential points of character education model have also been clarified.Finally, the paper gives a basic comment on the character education of American schools. An idea has been put forward that the development of character education will play a helpful role in enlightening the development of our schools' moral education: 1. Pay more attention on moral education in schools and enhance it; 2.Set up Marxian core values, carry forward and cultivate the national spirits; 3.Strenthen the government-dominant school education; 4.Add moral education to the teaching of course; 5.Utilize all kinds of new methods of moral education extensively; 6.Form the cooperative atmosphere of moral education. Therefore, to cultivate qualified constructors and reliable successors of socialism of our country, much more should be done on the development and innovation of the moral education.