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Dissertation Abstract

Character Education: A Program Design for Nine- to Eleven-Year-Old Youth in an Eastern Virginia Rural Public School Setting

Gwendolyn W. Roy
Regent University

This paper is a descriptive study that introduces the reader to a design of a character education program. This design is built on the theoretical foundation of the Character Countssm framework that supports the theory that through the teaching of character education youth can develop and enhance their character traits and learn to make ethical decisions even in stressful and peer influential situations. Through investigation of the literature and youth involvement in a character study, this paper researches the effectiveness of character education on ethical decision making and the influence of teacher-parent-community involvement in the development of good character traits. A section of the literature addresses the Biblical integration of key character traits in school curricula. Theoretical evidence indicates that stories of Biblical characters can be used to influence good character trait development and help students eliminate confusion when seeking to make ethical decisions. This paper makes recommendations for replication of the design in school and community settings in expectation that future researchers will use this study as a catalyst for implementation of character education programs in their communities.