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An Ethics Curriculum for Children, a read-aloud literature-based curriculum, aims to teach elementary school students seven universal attributes of good character. Lessons and home assignments are organized around multicultural stories. The program activities are designed to connect the experiences of characters in the stories to students' own lives. Heartwood Ethics Curriculum for Children also includes integration of character education themes across curricular topics and parental notification and involvement, optional parts of the implementation of this program.
One study of An Ethics Curriculum for Children met the WWC evidence standards with reservations. This study included nearly 1,000 elementary students attending semirural school districts in western Pennsylvania and southern Illinois. The study examined effects on students' behavior and knowledge, attitudes, and values.1
An Ethics Curriculum for Children was found to have no discernible effects on behavior or on knowledge, attitudes, and values.
| Behavior | Knowledge, attitudes, and values | Academic achievement | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rating of effectiveness | No discernible effects | No discernible effects | Not reported |
| Improvement index2 | Average: 0 percentile points Range: -4 to +4 percentile points |
Average: +5 percentile points Range: -8 to +14 percentile points |
Not reported |
|Institute of Education Sciences
Character Education