Document Type

Article

Abstract

Character education programming is gaining popularity in America’s schools as one possible way to raise an intelligent and caring generation of students. However, many schools fail to allocate time, money, and resources to such initiatives. The present study examined the impact of an ethical sensitivity intervention in a religiously affiliated independent school. A self-report Likert scale and analytic rubric were used to measure development of different sub-skills of ethical sensitivity in fourth and fifth grade students (N = 25) before and after the intervention over a two-month period. Results suggest that degree of ethical sensitivity increased over the course of the intervention. More specifically, significant growth was noted in students’ abilities to read and express emotion and control social bias, while not as much growth was detected in perspective-taking skills. In addition, written communication skills developed more over the course of the intervention than oral communication. Implications of these findings are discussed.

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