Teaching Character in the Primary Classroom

"Teaching Character in the Primary Classroom provides an excellent and very accessible overview of the emerging field of character education. It covers, in detail, the theory of character education as well as advice and guidance about how this should be applied in practice in primary schools."    

Professor James Arthur, University of Birmingham

Character matters. 

As more and more schools are choosing to teach Character Education, trainee and beginning teachers need to know more.  What is Character Education? Can it really be ′taught′? How does children′s learning benefit from discussions around character in the classroom? How do I teach it? What does good teaching of Character Education look like in the classroom?

Teaching Character Education in Primary schools tackles these questions, and many more. This is a practical guide to why and how we can teach character in primary schools. It begins by exploring why character matters and considers what ′character′ is and (importantly) what it is not. It goes on to discuss the place for teaching character in primary education and includes practical guidance on how it can be taught. The text also looks at character beyond the classroom, how parents and the wider community can be included in the teaching of character and how outdoor learning and education can contribute.

This book is written for all those who are new to teaching character.

Tom Harrison is the Director of Education at the Jubilee Centre for Character and Virtues at the University of Birmingham. He has a leading role on several research and development projects and in particular those relating to Character Education.

Ian Morris is Head of Wellbeing at Wellington College in Berkshire. He has taught religious studies and wellbeing in the independent and state sectors since 2000.

John Ryan is Director of Primary Education at the University of Birmingham, where he is responsible for the PGCE Dip Ed course and teaches professional studies.