Historical perspectives 2:

1

• Historical perspectives 2
• Enlightenment, science Character

2

• Bliss it was in that dawn to be alive,
• But to be young, was very heaven!
• Wordsworth

3

• Greek ? Christian ? Enlightenment
• Virtues dominant throughout
• Strong emphasis upon habit and training
• Protestantism individualism work ethic
• Mercantilism ? Industrial Revolution (urban)
• The Age of Reason, deism, empiricism
• The rise of nation states

4

• BENEVOLENT PATERNALISM
• Read the Arthur pp10-12 about New Lanark.
• What is admirable about this model? (Especially
  consider its historical context.)
• What risks of emergent modern society does it
  face? How does it respond to / overcome them?
• How effective do you think it was?
• How do those reflections apply now?

5

• David Fordyce spoke of developing the childs
  imagination in moral matters and wrote that
  dull, formal lectures of several virtues and
  vices were of no use in the formation of good
  character.
• Character education is not the same as behaviour
  control, discipline, training or indoctrination.
• Arthur
• One difficulty with religious traditions is
  that they are often transmitted as dogma, and
  conversation is reduced or converted to a special
  type of dialogue instruction.
• Noddings

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• The misunderstood Victorians
• Christian loyalty to the tribe more than faith
• Socially repressive society but real reformers
• Confident about progress (see recent US language)
• Liberalism / traditionalism balance contrast
  Vitai Lampada Gradgrind / If Recessional
• An intermediate time sure but changing (Barnardo)

7

• Victorian models of Character education often
  amounted to little more than the appearance of
  conformity to a set of public virtues, revealing
  nothing of any inner moral qualities. For many,
  character was not an ideal, but a display of the
  required manners solely towards those they
  considered their elders and betters.
• Arthur

8

• The scholars intellect should be regarded
  mainly as the channel through which to influence
  his feelings, purposes and acts knowledge about
  morality has missed its aim when no moral purpose
  is awakened in the child. A moral instruction
  lesson ought to appeal to the scholars feelings,
  and also to affect his habits and his will.
• The (secular) Moral Instruction League, late
  C19th
• The way of salvation open to those who do not
  have biblical faith is to act in conformity with
  the moral requirements of the natural law which
  is, love of neighbour.
• Arthur, summarising Papal Encyclical Veritatis
  Splendour (1993)

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• POETRY OF CHARACTER
• (Have a break during / after)

10

• Developments in psychology
• Philosophically underpinned by utilitarianism
  (community over virtue, practical over a priori)
• Awareness of mind Freud, Jekyll Hyde
• Fills the gulf left when secular moral education
  dies in 1930s (why?)
• Piagetian research, cognitive development
  theories (Kohlberg, Peters, Dewey, Erikson)
  1950s-1970s
• Engagement versus habit
• See Figure 2

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• Most programmes of character education promoted
  particular virtues that involved children
  making pledges and oaths, and repeating slogans
  and creeds... the crude methods used in character
  education teaching involved the overuse of
  extrinsic motivation. Dewey wanted schools to
  develop an ethos throughout the curriculum and
  life of the school that encouraged active service
  and critical social enquiry.
• Arthur, citing Dewey

12

• STAGES OF MORAL DEVELOPMENT
• Look at the model youve been given (Arthur
  pp58-66)
• In what ways does this model work? What teaching
  implications does it have?
• How has the legacy of the early twentieth century
  affected its view of character?
• Can you see ongoing impact in UK educational
  practice?
• What (valuable components) has it lost or
  sacrificed from earlier models?

13

• Peters recognised that a rational code of
  behaviour was beyond the grasp of young children
  and that as a consequence of this fact they can
  and must enter the palace of Reason through the
  courtyard of Habit and Tradition. Peters
  maintained that how this was done should not
  stultify the development of a rational code. He
  called this the paradox of moral education.
• Arthur, citing Peters (emphasis added)
• How do we feel about this?

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• CHECKPOINT
• What paradoxes of education do you face in
• Using your official authority in moral problems?
• Variable rates of childrens development?
• Linking these theoretical discussions into
  character education?
• How do you resolve those problems?
• What has all this got to do with character?

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• Neither Dewey nor Kohlberg fully appreciated the
  power of virtues in character education,
  preferring to view them as historically fixed
  social conventions... (Arthur, who then cites
  Hunter 2001) They talk about the importance
  of justice, respect and tolerance, but what is
  the origin of these virtues?
• Intellectual and moral virtues are inseparable
  Teachers must have equal concern for mind and
  character, schools should be neither morally
  neutral factories for increasing cognitive output
  nor witless producers of obedient well-adjusted
  youngsters.
• Grant (1986)

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• Homework
• Make one practical opportunity at some point in
  the next couple of weeks to approach each of the
  opposing poles of moral education
• A Virtue moment where you explicitly talk in
  terms of virtues to young people, and lead them
  to showing / developing them.
• A Stage-based moment in which you use questions
  rather than providing ideas, supporting young
  people in coming to their own conclusions about a
  character development opportunity.
• What went well in each? What was difficult in
  each?