The Complexity of Character: An Ability-Based Model for Higher Education

• Published in: Journal of Character Education Vol. 11; no. 1; pp. 51 - 65
• Main Authors: Graham, Sandra E, Diez, Mary E
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: IAP - Information Age Publishing, Inc 2015
• Subjects: Affective Behavior; Citizenship; Cognitive Processes; Decision Making; Guidelines; Higher Education; Intellectual Disciplines; Interpersonal Competence; Liberal Arts; Majors (Students); Moral Development; Skill Development; Spiritual Development; Student Evaluation; Teaching Methods; Undergraduate Students; Values Education; Wisconsin (Milwaukee)
• ISSN: 1543-1223

Character development in higher education is a complex process. This process has often been delegated to a single course on ethics or courses on religion. The authors of this article pose an alternative higher educational process whereby character development is rooted in a series of abilities that are contextualized throughout the entire undergraduate curriculum. These abilities, developed and assessed by faculty who study both the theoretical frameworks and who assess for student learning of these abilities, provided an overall framework for developing character within the context of their discipline and of a liberal arts general education.