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THE EFFECTS OF A RESPONSIBILITY-BASED CHARACTER EDUCATION PROGRAM ON MIDDLE SCHOOL ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT AND SCHOOL CLIMATE AT AN INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL IN EAST AFRICA

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Date Issued:
2005
Abstract/Description:
The purpose of this research was to determine the effectiveness of a character education program on middle school student academic performance, effort and attitude about their school located in an international setting. Middle school students at the participating international school were assigned to either an experimental or control group. Those students in the experimental group classes received a series of 12 lessons focusing on the character trait of responsibility. Those students in the control group classes did not receive these lessons. Twelve responsibility-based lessons were presented to students in the experimental group. Student academic grades in six different academic subjects, effort scores in six different academic courses, and student attitude concerning school climate constituted the dependent variable. The literature review and the general results of this study indicate that there are many factors that may influence student academic performance, effort or attitude. Various character education programs which have been designed to be integrated into school curricula as part of pre-existing courses or as stand alone programs have had varying levels of success. There is limited quantitative data available to support the claims that many existing programs make related to their effectiveness. The data collected from this study were also inconclusive making it difficult to generalize the findings beyond the scope of this study. While certain middle school grade levels showed statistically significant improvement in some academic disciplines or effort improvement in some subjects it would not be appropriate to generalize the findings based on this investigation. Implications of this study and suggestions for future investigations are discussed.
Title: THE EFFECTS OF A RESPONSIBILITY-BASED CHARACTER EDUCATION PROGRAM ON MIDDLE SCHOOL ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT AND SCHOOL CLIMATE AT AN INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL IN EAST AFRICA.
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Name(s): HOWARD, TERRY, Author
ROBINSON, EDWARD, Committee Chair
University of Central Florida, Degree Grantor
Type of Resource: text
Date Issued: 2005
Publisher: University of Central Florida
Language(s): English
Abstract/Description: The purpose of this research was to determine the effectiveness of a character education program on middle school student academic performance, effort and attitude about their school located in an international setting. Middle school students at the participating international school were assigned to either an experimental or control group. Those students in the experimental group classes received a series of 12 lessons focusing on the character trait of responsibility. Those students in the control group classes did not receive these lessons. Twelve responsibility-based lessons were presented to students in the experimental group. Student academic grades in six different academic subjects, effort scores in six different academic courses, and student attitude concerning school climate constituted the dependent variable. The literature review and the general results of this study indicate that there are many factors that may influence student academic performance, effort or attitude. Various character education programs which have been designed to be integrated into school curricula as part of pre-existing courses or as stand alone programs have had varying levels of success. There is limited quantitative data available to support the claims that many existing programs make related to their effectiveness. The data collected from this study were also inconclusive making it difficult to generalize the findings beyond the scope of this study. While certain middle school grade levels showed statistically significant improvement in some academic disciplines or effort improvement in some subjects it would not be appropriate to generalize the findings based on this investigation. Implications of this study and suggestions for future investigations are discussed.
Identifier: CFE0000620 (IID), ucf:46518 (fedora)
Note(s): 2005-08-01
Ph.D.
Education, Department of Child, Family and Community Sciences
Doctorate
This record was generated from author submitted information.
Subject(s): CHARACTER EDUCATION
RESPONSIBILITY
ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT
INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL
Persistent Link to This Record: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0000620
Restrictions on Access: public
Host Institution: UCF

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