Research

Two studies reviewed by the WWC investigated the effects of Lessons in Character. One study (Dietsch, Bayha, & Zheng, 2005) was a randomized controlled trial that met WWC evidence standards. The other study (DeVargas, 1998) was a quasi-experimental design that met WWC evidence standards with reservations.

The Dietsch, Bahya, and Zheng study included 372 fourth-grade students from eight schools in Louisiana and Florida. It compared outcomes for students in 11 randomly assigned classrooms using the curriculum against the outcomes for students that did not use the curriculum in 10 control classrooms in the same schools. The DeVargas study included 61 fifth-grade students drawn from nine schools using the curriculum and six comparison schools in Fort Worth, Texas. The two studies focused on Lessons in Character as implemented in classrooms rather than as a schoolwide intervention.