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Developing character skills research Dr Iro Konstantinou & Jonnie Noakes
8 May 2019, BSA Annual Conference for Heads
Building Character
The Tony Little Centre for Innovation and Research in Learning
Established in 2015 to promote a culture of evidence -informed practice , creative innovation and disciplined enquiry in teaching and learning
‘Skills for the 21st century’
‘To thrive in today’s innovation -driven economy,workers need a different mix of skills than in thepast. In addition to foundational skills like literacyand numeracy, they need competencies likecollaboration, creativity and problem -solving,and character qualities like persistence,curiosity and initiative .’
World Economic Forum, (2015). New Vision for Education, Geneva
‘Skills for success in life’
‘Skills for humanity’
‘The world is changing – education must also change .Societies everywhere are undergoing deeptransformation, and this calls for new forms of educationto foster the competencies that societies and economiesneed, today and tomorrow . This means moving beyondliteracy and numeracy, to focus on learningenvironments and on new approaches to learning forgreater justice, social equity and global solidarity .’
UNESCO, (2015). Rethinking Education: Towards a global common good? Paris
The role of universities
‘Too often, today’s culture sends young people messages that emphasize personal success rather than concern for others and the common good.’
‘As a rite of passage for many students and a major focus for many parents, the college admissions process is powerfully positioned to send different messages that help young people become more generous and humane in ways that benefit not only society but students themselves .’
Weissbourd, R., (2016). Turning the Tide. Inspiring Concern for Others and the Common Good through College Admissions. Harvard Graduate S chool of E ducation: C ambridge, MA
Schools setting the curriculum
Skills and dispositions valued across cultures
Perseverance (‘grit’)Self-controlTrustAttentivenessSelf-esteem and self -efficacyResilience to adversityOpenness to experienceEmpathyHumilityTolerance of diverse opinionsEngaging productively in society
Heckman J and Kautz T (2013)
Why character education matters
To teach skills and dispositions for success in later life
To nurture personal values and virtues for responsible citizenship
To foster happiness, well -being and successful relationships at school, home and work
- In short, to promote personal and societal flourishing
How character can be taught in schools
Through the academic curriculum
Through the co -curriculum
Through collaboration with other schools
Explicitly and implicitly, cognitively and experientially
‘What learning experiences do we want the boys to have while at Eton?’
W e want them to experienc e learning as a genuinely independent and interdependent experience through:
·ac ademic integrity and sc holarship
·intellec tual c uriosity and c ritic ality
·respec t for the viewpoints of others
·a c ollaborative spirit and approac h
·giving and rec eiving feedbac k
·struggle, risk- taking and autonomy
·self- regulation and self- awareness
·depth and mastery
·c reativityEton College T&L Strategy 2018-20
We also want them to see the moral, social, cultural and emotional development of character as integral c omponents of suc c ess in all spheres. W e want them to learn:
•teamwork, c ollaboration and empathy
•c onfidence to c ope with c hallenging s ituations
•ambition and grit
•resilienc e in overc oming setbac ks
•good dec is ion- making and taking responsibility for c onsequences
•honesty and integrity in their relationships with others
•to rec ognise the importance of c onsidering, apprec iating and ac c epting others
•how to c ontribute to their wellbeing and that of the wider c ommunity
•awareness of physic al and mental health, emotional maturity and spiritual ric hness
•the satisfac tions and rewards of leadership and servic eEton College T&L Strategy 2018-20
What does the research say?
Motivation
Meaningful work and flow
Mindfulness
Competence
Autonomy
Personal responsibility
Optimism
Gratitude
Empathy
Social connectedness
Resilience
Growth mindset
Sleep
Exercise
Character at Eton: Growth Mindset
Results revealed that students who took the growth mindset course learned to be more growth -minded. This adds to the growing body of research suggesting that by just learning about the power of your own thinking and your brain’s ability to change, you can become a more growth -minded person.
Character at Eton: Growth Mindset
We also found an intriguing connection between growth mindset and prosocial attitudes. Not only did we find a statistically significant relationship between students’ mindset scores and their prosocial attitude scores, but students who took the growth mindset course actually improved their prosocial attitudes.
Character at Eton: Happiness
Boys’ life satisfaction and positive emotions increase during the time they are at Eton in terms of four trends:
1. social support, from friends and community2. sense of autonomy in pursuing individual interests3. sense of competence , through achievement in various domains4. deep sense of gratitude , for vast opportunities the school
provides
Theoretical frameworks for character
ProsocialKind (not callous)Generous (not greedy)Forgiving (not vindictive)Tolerant (not bigoted)Trustworthy (not deceitful)Morally brave (not apathetic)Convivial (not egotistical)Ecological (not rapacious)
EpistemicInquisitive (not passive)Resilient (not easily defeated)Imaginative (not literal)Craftsmanlike (not slapdash)Sceptical (not credulous)Collaborative (not selfish)Thoughtful (not impulsive)Practical (not only ‘academic’)
Claxton and Lucas (2013)
Theoretical frameworks
Character strengths
VIA Institute on Character
Positive Education
Theoretical frameworks
Theoretical frameworks
Jubilee Centre for
Character and Virtues
Character at Eton Character needs to be embedded within the curriculum and co -curriculum: what does your school value?
We have found 5 character traits and dispositions to be most important in the Eton community:
Respect
Gratitude
Perseverance
Motivation
Happiness
Interventions we have put in place
Community engagementResearch has consistently found that favourable exchange with one’s proximal social environment has positive effects on both mental health and wellbeing (Argyle, 2001;Tough et al. 2017).
Respect - teamwork - openness to experience -gratitude - empathy
Preliminary qualitative results
Descriptions of experience included: insightful, inspiring, interesting, made me feel good, exposed me to new possibilities
Qualities developed included: developed in confidence, communicating with different people, teamwork
One described the experience as a mirror, as it made them reflect on themselves more
As the time progressed ideas emerged of empathy: contributing to community is rewarding, volunteering is important, giving back to the community, those who might not have the means or opportunities
You feel grateful for opportunities you get
Eton Aspirations Team
Year 12 and 13 boys tutor Year 8 and 9 pupils in Maths at Holyport
They enjoyed the experience so they decided to carry on and do Humanities
Eton Aspirations Team
Holyport
81.3%(much/very much): widen their social experiences
69.6% (much/very much): learn more about GCSEs
78.1%(much/very much): spend time with friends
100%: would like to be given the opportunity to do something similar in the future
Eton Aspirations Team
Eton
The most important thing I've learnt from this experience has been a larger understanding of the way people think. Most if not all Etonians think very rationally and methodically, but Aspirations is interesting in that our intellectual conversations are being had with students of a different academic level, studying separate syllabuses and of differing backgrounds.This has been helpful to me when teaching Mathematics or Logic, because of the need to look at problems and empathize with the way our Holyport students progress through thinking stages. In Humanities, it has not only made me more open -minded, but provided our mentors with the fun and sometimes frustrating task of playing devil's advocate!
Eton Aspirations Team
Eton
By going through the basics of your subjects, you are not only revising these important foundations in a fun way, but simultaneously gain a true appreciation for your own understanding and knowledge of the subject.
Beyond that, it is fulfilling to know that you are actively helping bright young kids participate in discussions and topics they may have otherwise not come across naturally, and know that you are making a positive contribution to their education.
Oxford Character Project Leadership
London Academy of Excellence and Eton College
empathy, vocation, service, gratitude and humility
Oxford Character Project Leadership The experience has been informative and given me the opportunity to open my mind to different opinions and perspectives around many different topics.
The idea of practical wisdom is something I have learned and has helped me to better understand leadership. Also, that a leader needs to realise their own limits and especially other people's talents and facilitate these, letting them develop as the leader does too. I've improved my understanding that good leaders must want to actually care and know the people they are leading, and not be a commanding, unfeeling person who stunts growth of talents, skills and personality.
Evidenced -based interventions: peer connectionsGlobal connectedness (i.e., connectedness combined across the domains of family, school, peers, and neighborhood) predicted well ‐being [...] rec iprocal relations were revealed by analyses that examined connectedness at the domain level, that is , for family and school contexts .
J ose, 2012
T he social risk of being rejected by peers outweighs other potentially negative outcomes of decis ions, such as threats to one’s health or the prospect of getting caught.
B lakemore, 2018
Peer connections (social connectedness): how?
Encourage healthy relationships in
● Classroom, e.g. active listening; cultural awareness● School -wide, e.g. mentoring programmes across year
groups● Community -wide, e.g. charitable work (Bower et al., 2015)
Evidenced -based interventions: gratitude
● Constructive conflict resolution● Trust● Willingness to forgive● Emotional support to others: altruism● Perceived social support● Motivation to improve relationships● Relationship formation
Gratitude: how?
List things to be grateful for (weekly or daily)
Write about people they are grateful for
Write a letter of thanks
Write about things that went well and their causes
(Emmons, 2003)
Evidenced -based interventions: resilience
1. Emotional awareness2. Impulse control3. Realistic optimism4. Causal analysis (flexible thinking)5. Empathy6. Self-efficacy7. Risk taking
Reivich, 2008
Resilience: how?
1. Self-efficacy2. Active coping (problem -solving, planning, emotional regulation)3. Optimism or positive attributional style 4. Social support networks 5. Cognitive flexibility (positive acceptance of difficult situations, ability to diverge from
original plan)6. Purpose in one’s activities 7. Spirituality or religion (mindfulness or belonging to a religious group)
Helmreich, et al., 2017
Resilience: how? 1. hold high expectations - risk, challenging goals and change are good for us2. focus away from the self - encourage them to help others and volunteer3. people are not born smart - encourage a Growth Mindset4. failure often leads to success - the only bad failure is the one we don't learn from!5. normalise, don't personalise - encourage them to see failure/difficulty as normal6. bad feelings are normal 7. learning anything worthwhile requires some frustration - teach strategies to cope8. bad feelings don't last9. don't over worry or over protect - allow them to make mistakes and take risks10. perfection doesn't exist - be the best that you can11. one size does not fit all
Rae, 2014
Self -regulation and motivated learning
1. What are the perceived effective motivating processes for academic engagement?
2. To what extent can an intervention on self -regulation strategies impact on motivating processes for academic engagement?
a. Mapping strategies for self -regulation and motivationb. Emphasis on emotional regulation c. Emphasis on behavioural regulationd. Revisit definitions of self -regulation and motivation
The resilience project Linked to academic achievement and mental wellbeing
Year 9 pupils and teachers
1st year: intervention
2nd year: refresher
3rd year: end -of programme conference
Measuring mental wellbeing and GCSE results
Q&A
Get in touch
@eton_cirl
References Argyle, M. (2001). The Psychology of Happiness, 2nd ed. New York: Routledge.
Blakemore, S. J. (2018). Inventing ourselves: the secret life of the teenage brain.
Bower, J. M. et al. (2015). Building social connectedness in schools: Australian teachers’ perspectives. International Journal of Educational Research , 70 :10 1- 10 9.
C laxton and L ucas (20 13). W hat kind of teaching for what kind of learning? https:/ / webcontent.ssatuk.co.uk/ wp- content/ uploads/ 20 13/ 0 9/ C laxton- and- L uc as- W hat- kind- of- teaching- chapter- 1.pdf
E mmons, R . A. & McC ullough, M. E . (20 0 3). C ounting blessings versus burdens: an experimental investigation of gratitude and subjective well- being in daily life. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology,84: 377- 389.
Helmreich et al., (20 17). Psychological interventions for resilience enhancement in adults. C ochrane systematic review.
J ose et a., (20 12. Does S ocial C onnectedness Promote a Greater S ense of W ell‐B eing in Adolescence Over T ime? J ournal of research on adolescence, 22(2).
R eivich, K . (20 0 8). T he seven ingredients of resilience. https:/ / www.c nbc .com/ id/ 25464528
T ough, H. et al. (20 17). S oc ial relationships, mental health and wellbeing in physical disability: a systematic review. B MC Public Health, 17:414.
U N E S C O, (20 15). Rethinking Education: Towards a global common good? Paris
W orld E conomic Forum, (20 15). New Vision for Education , Geneva
