The Construction of Children's Character

The Construction of Children's Character presents a comprehensive and critical assessment of contemporary character education theory and practice from a variety of perspectives—historical, cultural, philosophical, psychological, empirical, political, and ethical.

The idea that character education should be an important element in the curriculum of public schools is controversial. Critics reject the idea that schools should be involved in teaching values. Proponents often disagree among themselves—some detailing the proper values students should be taught, others arguing that character development must be part of a larger process of constructing an ethical community in the schools. The contributors to this volume bring a breadth of perspectives, experience, and approaches to the problem of assessing contemporary character education.