https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0555-0397
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ABSTRACT
Character education has enjoyed renewed interest both in the United Kingdom and in other parts of the world. However, to date, few studies have examined how character education is enacted ‘in situ’. Drawing on data from a study in three English secondary schools, this paper traces how political and scientific discourses on character are mobilised in educational practice. Employing a discourse analytic reading of teachers’ and school managers’ interview accounts, the paper examines how different semantics of character were drawn upon, negotiated, and assembled with a focus on the construction of the subject. It was found that, depending on the school context, the participants foregrounded an ethical-culturalist or psycho-economic semantics or blended both. While the construction of a strong and self-steering subject was prominent, normative ideas of what it means to be a good person were also highlighted and suggest that local enactments of character education go beyond mere instrumentalist aims of shaping a productive workforce. The paper concludes with some reflections on the opportunities and dangers of an intensified focus on the reflexive capacities of the individual.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Notes
1. Between 2014 and 2016 over £10million was made available to support character education projects in schools and other organisations with a substantial proportion of funding earmarked for projects with a ‘military ethos’ (see Department for Education , Citation2014a; Timpson Citation2016). The scheme was replaced by £22 million initiative to develop ‘essential life skills’ in 12 ‘opportunity areas’ across England.
2. Allen and Bull (Citation2018) highlight the influence of the Christian, neo-conservative John Templeton foundation, which funds a large number of character education projects, including the majority of research undertaken by Jubilee Centre for Character and Virtues.
3. In England, pupils between the ages of 11 – 18 typically attend secondary schools.
4. Academies are schools that are funded directly by the government with some academies having sponsors, such as faith groups, universities or business. Academies do not have to follow the national curriculum but do need to follow some government-specified rules. They are inspected by the national school inspectorate OFSTED (Gov.uk Citation2020).
5. The percentage of ‘disadvantaged’ pupils refers to the share of pupils in each school who are eligible for the Pupil Premium grant. The Pupil Premium is a grant paid to primary and secondary schools in England with the aim of raising the attainment of disadvantaged pupils as well as supporting children whose parents serve in the armed forces. The grant is calculated depending on the number of pupils who have ever received Free School Meals; those who are in care and those who are children of members of the armed forces (Gov.uk Citation2021).
6. The term ‘voluntary-aided school’ refers to a state-funded school that is maintained by the local authority, but is supported by a trust or foundation (often of religious nature) which contributes to the building costs and has influence on the running of the school (Gov.uk Citation2020).
7. The Social and Emotional Aspects of Learning programme (SEAL) was rolled out in schools from 2008 to 2010 (see: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/social-and-emotional-aspects-of-learning-seal-programme-in-secondary-schools-national-evaluation).
9. The ‘positive education’ movement is spearheaded by positive psychologist Martin Seligman and promotes 24 ‘character strengths’, including grit, zest, self-control, ‘gratitude’, ‘social intelligence’ (see Peterson and Seligman Citation2004).
10. I thank Sam Sellar for drawing my attention to this point.