This article summarizes issues in defining character education (CE) that are relevant to program development and evaluation. No authoritative definition exists for CE, but several features seem prominent. These include a focus on enhancing civic, moral, self-regulatory, and/or intellectual virtues; and (at least implicitly) prioritizing the…

The current environmental situation is in a state of crisis, marked by the phenomenon of global warming, which reveals a worsening scenario that is gradually encroaching closer to us. There is a pressing need for global collaboration to address these issues through environmental education and to ensure long-term sustainability. Environmental…

This paper introduces Games-based Character Pedagogy (GBCP), a pedagogical model designed to integrate character education into Quality Physical Education (QPE). It explores the role of character development in education and how it can inform UNESCO's reform agenda for QPE. Building on the Teaching Games for Understanding (TGfU) model, GBCP…

Education plays a vital role in fostering trust -- both in institutions and among individuals. It does so by developing foundational skills such as literacy and numeracy, nurturing the values and attitudes needed for democratic participation, and ensuring that education institutions themselves earn and sustain learners' trust. Recent global…

Working with students in ways that emphasize creativity and improvisation presupposes a posture of openness and self-regard for all stakeholders. The teacher in such a setting can neither impose an ideology nor fix expectations for growth. The students, composing and improvising collectively, will encounter opportunities to test beliefs and…

Empathy among doctors, other healthcare professionals and patients must be prioritized and regarded as a foundational element of clinical practice. Recognizing the limitations of traditional medical education, we developed a four-part model to cultivate a healthcare team culture rooted in empathy. This holistic approach emphasizes: motivation to…

After the polarizing 2016 presidential election, I heard from many distressed students who felt they lacked the skills or confidence to have difficult conversations with those who disagreed with them politically. In response, I developed a course that aims to help students grow in the virtues and skills necessary for listening and dialogue,…

Troubling signs about the state of humanities in higher education are not new, but the steady decline in humanities majors is cause for concern. The humanities, however, play a critical role in society and public life, promoting citizenship and public engagement along with valuable skills. There are untapped opportunities for expanding history,…

Young people are increasingly lamented as unable to cope with 'everyday realities of life' with educational institutions and parenting styles accelerating what some refer to as the 'snowflake generation'. This paper addresses confusion that exists in the framing of social and emotional wellbeing, delineating three competing perspectives: (1)…

Excellent schools strive to develop a comprehensive and integrative improvement process for students and their families that integrate best practices of positive school culture, climate, and social and emotional learning; character development skills, enhanced academic achievement strategies, and positive parent engagement. Character.org's…

Physical education is the only school subject that provides access to psychomotor learning opportunity for all students, and, thus, should be the primary content identified in physical education standards. Half of the recently released 2024 SHAPE America National Physical Education Standards now focus specifically on social and personal…

As part of THE FUSED Health Education Series, this article takes a deep dive into the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) 15 Characteristics of Effective Health Education Curriculum. The Characteristics emerged after a review of professional literature on effective health education programs and curricula and determined that these…

Competition often reveals the ugly side of being human. Many athletes seek glory through competition and their competitive behaviors often reflect prideful and dishonorable intentions. Educators should view sport as a context in which valuable lessons for life may be taught. The truly satisfying athletic experience is not achieved through victory…

In this 25-minute conversation café, participants synthesized the findings of Braun, Kaipainen & Usman's (2018) environmental scan of experiential learning (EL) at the University of Calgary with their conference learning to create an experience and evidence-informed hypothesis of the next strengths, challenges, and required supports on the EL…

The mission statement of the U.S. Military Academy (USMA), commonly known as West Point, clearly articulates character is a core competency needed to be an effective Army officer. But the lessons of a protracted period of war and conflict, beginning with the events of September 11, 2001, have underscored the importance of character in the military…