A character education program: Integrating behavior modification techniques to decrease observable violent behavior in an elementary classroom

The purpose of this experimental study was to test the theory that a character education program, which integrates behavior modification techniques, would decrease observable violent behavior in elementary school students. The study was conducted at an inner city elementary school in Western New York, using three teachers and their classes of students. This study included the development of a character education behavior modification program called C.H.E.E.R., the training of teachers who would be implementing the C.H.E.E.R. Program with their classes, and the assessment of student behavior. The independent variable was the C.H.E.E.R. Program while the dependent variable was the behaviors of the students. It was hypothesized that the observable violent behavior of students would decrease after implementation of the character education program. Quantitative analysis of the data through analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) indicated that the character education program showed statistically significant results in favor of the hypothesis. This study has implications for teaching professionals, administrators, educational psychologists, counselors, students and their parents.