1. Behavior Problems : Can Character Education Improve it?
Action Research Paper
By Jacqueline Holzer
EDU /Fall 2010

2. Introduction
Behavioral problems have been a constant in the school environment for centuries. Recently the problem has begun to receive more attention, as the disruptiveness is impeding the learning and safety within the school environment. Within this paper, prior research of the concern with behavioral problems will be discussed, theorist views on children's developmental stages, current instructional strategies, along with the researchers implementation of character education and improving student behavior.

3. Statement of Problem
With positive character not being effectively enforced within the school, as well as within the home, the school environment is becoming challenged. Teachers constantly deal with disruptive behavior in a classroom, thereby taking away from the teaching time. Some students may not be aware of why they are behaving a certain way, while others are aware and just don’t care. Children need guidance and with Character Education they are introduced to areas such as moral, respect and integrity. The researcher believes through character education students will grow into mature and respectful individuals, thinking about their actions before hand and/or resolving problems in the appropriate manner.
“Citizens are realizing that a society cannot operate unless its citizens follow certain moral principals, and schools are realizing that without character education, which can help establish a good learning environment, education itself may not be effective“

4. Review of Related Literature
Although there is no thorough data, character education can produce positive results
(Winton, 2008; Skaggs & Bodenhorn, 2006)
Children see their surrounding world and develop their character based on what they see and what they are taught
(Rynders, 2006; Brannon, 2008)
97% of teachers agreed that schools need discipline and behavior to grow
(Public Agenda, 2004)
“Gradually students come to feel no moral discredit in rule violation and grow unresponsive to discipline”
(Goodman, 2007)
By teaching students how to handle and address a potential problematic situation they are able to better control their lives
(Rynders, 2006; Gable, Hester, Hester & Hendrickson, 2005; McArthur, 2002)
Peaceable Magnet School: Teachers and staff saw a difference in attitudes and behaviors in students as they discussed and explored “peace”
(Celia & Anstine, 1999)
“A teacher who is motivated and persistent regarding character education is likely to believe in his or how own ability to build students’ character and the ability of teachers in general to overcome negative influences outside of the classroom”
(Milson & Mehlig, 2002; Varham, 2005b)
“Citizens are realizing that a society cannot operate unless its citizens follow certain moral principals, and schools are realizing that without character education, which can help establish a good learning environment, education itself may not be effective”
(Davis, 2006)
Each community has different values they believe in
(Bulach, 2002)
“Character Education teaches students to do the right thing for the wrong reason”
(Davis, 2003)
“We cannot force the issue of character development. We can only reinforce the appropriate components of character when we have the opportunity to observe them in action”
(Milliren & Messer, 2009)

5. Review of Related Literature
Current Instructional Strategies
“Character Counts!”: trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring, and citizenship
(Rynders, 2006; Barton, Richard & Wenglinsky, 1998)
“PRIDE”: address both moral and performance character concerns
Monday: Plan for Success, Tuesday: Reading, Wednesday: Improve your grades, Thursday: Develop your character, Friday: Enjoy your day
(Butler-Banks, 2010)
“Alternative Dispute Resolution”: negotiation and mediation. Peer Mediation: positive side of conflict, provide structure to handle conflicts, teach responsibility, develop life skills, promote understanding & sensitivity, higher level of citizenship, reduce disciple, increase teaching time
(Varnham, 2005a)
“Character Matters! And The CEP”: Tolerance, respect, caring and love for one another is practiced, taught and learned
(Winton, 2008)
“Grimm Approach”: Fairy Tales by the Grimm Brothers (Cinderella, Hansel & Gretel). Include moral law and general types of human experiences
(Bryan, 2005)
Character through Social Studies: Expose students to how women and men of our history were faced with difficult, challenging situations and how they overcame it through truth, integrity, honesty and loyalty
(Sanchez, 2006; Ellenwood, 2006)
“Judicious Discipline”: use “the language of citizenship rights and responsibilities into class meeting to teach positive goal setting and peaceful conflict resolution”
(Landau & Gathercoal, 2000)
Character Education goal: “to help young people understand, care about and act upon core ethical values”
(Davis, 2006)
Theorist
Maria Montessori & Lawrence Kohlberg
children develop character by exploring and making free choices
(Brimi ,2009; Vardin, 2003)
Maslow: Hierarchy of Basic Needs: the need of the individual to fulfill physiological requirements
(Smith, 2001)
Dr. Thomas Linkona: “Eleven Principals of Character Education Effectiveness”
(Bulach, 2002)

6. Statement of Hypothesis/ Research Design
HR1: Implementing character education to 15 third grade students in P.S X after school program in Brooklyn, NY will decrease behavioral problems and produce a positive and safe learning environment.
Quasi Experimental: Nonequivalent Control Group Design
One single group pretest- posttest design
One single group is pretested (O), exposed to treatment (X), and post tested (O)
Symbolic Design: OXO
Groups are not randomly assigned

7. Participants/ Instruments
15 third grade students in an after school program at P.SX in Brooklyn, NY
11 female and 4 male
1 teacher/researcher
Instruments
Heartwood “Character Counts” curriculum- two times a week for six weeks
Parent & Principle consent form
Parent Pre-survey- 10 questions to asses the adult in the participants lives and the exposure to positive morals
Pre-Post-Survey- 15 questions to asses the traits of the participants

8. Possible Threats to Internal/External Validity
Threats to External
History
Being a follower, desire to be accepted, act out to gain attention
Ecological Validity
Different views based on their atmosphere & up-bringing
Maturation
Overtime experience a difficult time & default back to behavior problems, curriculum can become repetitive
Pretest Treatment
Testing before the treatment may affect results
Testing/Pre-test Sensitization
May not answer honestly can affect results, knowing they are being surveyed may result in temporary behavior change
Selection-Treatment Interaction
Upon agreement from family member, students are not given an option of participating
Differential Selection of Subjects
Each child has different personalities & outlooks
Experimenter Effects
Passive elements- some students may respond & engage more than others. Gender can be a threat to response & participation
Selection-Maturation Interaction
Some students mature faster than others
Reactive Arrangements/Participants Effects
Hawthorne Effect- students may change their behavior if they think they are being studied. Present as a way to get to know them.

9. Procedure/Results Procedure Results
“Character Counts”- forty minutes- two times a week for six weeks
Read aloud- “Fly Away Home”, Magical Hands”, “Even That Moose Won’t Listen To Me”, “Teammates” etc
Lessons included writing, listening, team work, drawings
Example lesson- students draw a web identifying the main attributes of the character in a story, discuss about their own experience
Example discussion- speaker holds the line of string and passes to the next person who wishes to speak
Touched on the Heartwood attributes
Courage, Loyalty, Justice, Respect, Hope, Honesty, Love
Results
Positive-Weak correlation between the parent/guardian implementing positive character attributes and the effectiveness of “Character Counts” in the classroom
Researcher compared the parent responses to question 10 to the student responses to question 1

10. Pre-Survey & Post- Survey Data
Parent Pre-Survey Question #10- Are positive morals are enforced in our household?
Student Post-Survey Question #1-Do you take responsibility for you actions?
Post Student (X)
Pre Parent (Y) x y 4 3 2 1
Rxy=

11. Pre-Survey Post-Survey Average of Data
Average of each survey question from the parent and student pre-post-survey
Parent Survey Average
Student Pre Survey
Student Post Survey x y
3.1
2.2
2.8
2.1
2.4
2.7
2.6
1.9
1.8 2
2.5
3.2
2.9
2.3
*Figure 2- the blue represents the student post-survey; the pink presents the student pre-survey and the yellow represents the parent pre-survey.

12. Discussion/ Implications
The statement of hypothesis was not proven wrong, but was not proven to be 100% successful
Analyzing the data you can see the trend line is moving in a positive direction
There was minor improvement in the students behavior
The results show that parent involvement does not prove to have a significant impact
Implications
Time & Place- if the study was conducted during regular school hours the researcher believes there would have been a stronger correlation
Different schools/different students- the program is mixed between PS.X and a nearby school
Surveys- wrong choice of wording. If asked different questions or presented in a different way the results could have had accurate responses
Prior expose to curriculum- student participants are exposed to Character Counts in their nearby school
Parent post-survey- this would have assessed their change in addressing behavior and exposing their child to positive morals
Comprehension/writing- if participant has difficulty writing and comprehending the lessons would have been frustrating due to the assignments

13. References
Barton, P.E.,Coley, R.J., & Wenglinsky,H. (1998). Order in the Classroom: Violence, Discipline
and Student Achievement. Policy Information Center: Research Division. Princeton, NJ: Educational Testing Service. Retrieved from Key to Saferschools:
Brannon, D. (2008). Character Education: It's a Joint Responsibility. Kappa Delta Pi Record, 44(2), Retrieved from ERIC:
Brimi, H. (2009). Academic Instructors or Moral Guides? Moral Education in America and the Teacher’s Dilemma. Clearing House, 82(3), Retrieved from Academic Search Complete:
Bryan, L. (2005). Once Upon a Time: A Grimm Approach to Character Education. Journal of Social Studies Research, 29(1), 3-6. Retrieved from ERIC
Butler-Banks, C. (2010, February 4,). PRIDE in school and self: Waterloo Middle School uses character education to improve academics. New York Teacher, LI(9), 18-19
Bulach, C. (2002). Implementing a Character Education Curriculum and Assessing Its Impact on Student Behavior. Clearing House, 76(2), 79. Retrieved from ERIC:
Celia E..J., & Anstine, R.T. (1999). Promoting Peace in a Place Called School. Learning Environments Research, 2(1), Retrieved from Education Research Complete database: AN
Davis, D. (2006). Character Education in America's Public Schools. Journal of Church & State, pp Retrieved from Academic Search Complete database :
Davis, M. (2003). What's Wrong with Character Education? American Journal of Education, 110(1), Retrieved from ERIC:
Ellenwood, S. (2006). Revisiting Character Education: From McGuffey to Narratives. Journal of Education, 187(3), Retrieved from Academic Search Complete database:
Gable, R., Hester, P., Hester, L., Hendrickson, J., & Sze, S. (2005). Cognitive, Affective, and Relational Dimensions of Middle School Students: Implications for Improving Discipline and Instruction. Clearing House: A Journal of Educational Strategies, Issues and Ideas, 79(1), 40. Retrieved from ERIC database: EJ725133
Goodman, J. F. (2007). School Discipline, Buy-In and Belief. Ethics and Education, 2(1). Retrieved from ERIC Database: EJ

14. Landau, B. , & Gathercoal, P. (2000). Creating Peaceful Classrooms
Landau, B., & Gathercoal, P. (2000). Creating Peaceful Classrooms. Phi Delta Kappan, 81(6), 450. Retrieved from ERIC:
McArthur, J.R. (2002). The Why, What, and How of Teaching Children Social Skills. Social Studies, 93(4), Retrieved from ERIC database:EJ770138
Milliren, A., & Messer, M.. (2009). "Invitations" To Character. Journal of Invitational Theory & Practice,15, Retrieved from ERIC:
Milson, A., & Mehlig, L. (2002). Elementary School Teachers' Sense of Efficacy for Character Education. Journal of Educational Research, 96(1), 47. Retrieved from Academic Search Complete database :
O’Connor – Petruso, S.,(2008) Stat.scales.analyses.threats.design.ppt.
Public Agenda, and Common Good. (2004). Teaching Interrupted: Do Discipline Policies in Today’s Public Schools Foster the Common Good?. Public Agenda. Retrieved from:
Rynders, L. (2006). If You Matter to Someone, There is Always a Glimmer of Hope. Reclaiming Children & Youth, 14(4), Retrieved from Academic Search Complete:
Sanchez, T. (2006). Harry Truman and The Atomic Bomb: An Excursion into Character Education through Storytelling .American Secondary Education, 35(1), Retrieved from Academic Search Complete database:
Skaggs, G., & Bodenhorn, N. (2006). Relationships Between Implementing Character Education, Student Behavior, and Student Achievement. Journal of Advanced Academics, 18(1), Retrieved from Academic Search Complete database:
Smith, C.J. (2001). School Discipline and Classroom Management: A Must for Improved Instruction. Walden University Cyberspace Chapter of PDK International. Retrieved from Walden PDK on March 19, 2010:
Vardin, P. (2003). Character Education In America. Montessori Life, 15(2), Retrieved from ERIC:

15. Varnham, S. (2005a). Seeing Things Differently: Restorative Justice and School Discipline. Education and the Law, 17(3), Retrieved from ERIC database: EJ820184
Varnham, S. (2005b). Citizenship in schools: the gap between theory and practice. Education & the Law, 17(1/2), Retrieved from ERIC:
Winton, S. (2008). The appeal(s) of character education in threatening times: caring and critical democratic responses. Comparative Education, 44(3), Retrieved from Academic Search Complete: