Before coming to the Jubilee Centre for Character and Virtues, I spent three years training and working as a secondary school teacher. Working in this role fuelled my conviction for character education within schools and allowed me valuable insight into the concerns that teachers have about the idea of its implementation. This blog explores those... Continue Reading →
The teaching profession's reaction to the recent publication of the Department of Education’s (DfE) report Developing Character Skills in Schools can best be described as mixed. The survey, the DfE’s first foray into the field of empirical research on character education provision, was completed by 880 education institutes, and the report has produced some interesting... Continue Reading →
It is gratifying for us working in the Jubilee Centre for Character and Virtues to see how the newly-published Summary Report by the Department for Education on ‘Developing Character Skills in Schools’ (August, 2017) cites our work repeatedly as providing leading theoretical insights into character education in UK schools. Kudos for work well done is... Continue Reading →
The goals of character building in East Asian countries is often presented as a shared cultural construct and positioned within an East-West dichotomy. However, it is not at all clear that East Asian forms of character education are as easily identifiable and distinct or that they always transcend national and cultural values. The former Secretary... Continue Reading →
Contemporary Polish education is at an ideological crossroads, attempting to construct new ways of thinking, and new concepts of education and teaching in line with contemporary understanding of young people’s development. Since gaining independence in 1989, Poland has been reforming its education system to help young people adapt to the new world order. The changes... Continue Reading →
When my son was little, his aunt sent him a VHS tape of a TV character; Barney the purple dinosaur. At the end was an “educational” message from Sandy Duncan, a celebrity attached to the series: “And remember kids, real friends come and go but imaginary friends are forever.” I almost put my foot through... Continue Reading →
University of Birmingham School principal Michael Roden talks to Richard McComb There cannot be many homework planners where one of the most prominent pages asks pupils: “What virtues have you shown today?” Below the question, embedded in a heart shape, are words such as kindness, courage, service, resilience, honesty, loyalty and kindness. Anchoring the page,... Continue Reading →
“A few years ago, I was speaking at one of my very first autism conferences, and a parent came up to me with one question: ‘What will happen to my child when I’m gone?’ For me, this became the million dollar question in our autism community. While this father was crying, asking me this question,... Continue Reading →
The dying art of letter writing and the simple act of saying “thank you” are being revived in a national award scheme for children run by the Jubilee Centre for Character and Virtues. The Thank You Letter Awards encourage primary and secondary pupils to put pen to paper and express gratitude to an inspirational group... Continue Reading →
What is the most important moral lesson in a school’s character curriculum? According to American educational psychologist Thomas Lickona, it is the idea that teachers can only cultivate children’s character if they display it themselves. While we have all heard the mantra that virtue is first “caught” and then “taught”, I doubt whether the meaning... Continue Reading →
Gratitude has become a hot topic to teach in schools I believe that as adults, we naturally become more grateful as we get older; with the past to reflect on; remembering ‘cringe’ moments that we regret today (fortunately - forgiveness is a virtue!). I doubt anyone could deny that they screamed at their parents ‘it’s... Continue Reading →
Over the coming weeks and months, it will be interesting to see how the new Education Secretary Justine Greening lays out her vision for schools. Ms Greening’s previous incumbent, Nicky Morgan, stressed the importance of “building character and resilience in every child” in the White Paper Educational Excellence Everywhere, published in March. The paper noted... Continue Reading →
What would I learn at the Jubilee Centre for Character and Virtues if I got my work placement there? Would it actually be interesting, or would I end up making coffee and sorting out filing cabinets, like everyone else? I remember doing a questionnaire at school with the Centre’s name on it. I wonder what... Continue Reading →
A staff nurse enjoys working on a ward for the elderly but ongoing changes to the hospital regime means she has less time to spend with patients. There are fewer nurses on duty, she grows increasingly frustrated, stops enjoying her job and is worried that patient care is being comprised. The nurse’s worst fears are... Continue Reading →
Cultivating good character among school children is widely regarded, at the very least, as a worthwhile goal. We want young people to take decisions, in their public and private lives, for the right reasons. We want them to go out into the world and live flourishing lives that champion the virtues, not vices. In many... Continue Reading →
Educational assessment can seriously damage a child’s health in Britain’s modern schools system. At least, that is the belief of a union representing educational professionals. A recent survey by the Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL) suggests the mental health of children as young as six is being put at risk by overwhelming assessment stress.[i] What... Continue Reading →
The Government’s recently announced commitment to ensure that ‘by 2020 every primary and secondary school in England will be, or be in the process of becoming, an academy’ has generated discussion, concern and questions. The academy programme was initially introduced by the Labour government in 2000 and aimed specifically to turn around schools that were... Continue Reading →
Does a focus on character and virtues mean that social conditions do not matter? Since joining the Jubilee Centre, I have often been challenged by friends, colleagues, and even Michael Portillo, when I appeared as an expert witness on BBC Radio 4’s Moral Maze, to justify the whole concept of character – let alone virtue.... Continue Reading →
In this blog posting, I will be asking you for your views and stories on a phenomenon that intrigues me: dramatic and sudden (in other words, ‘epiphanic’) moral conversions. On the road to Damascus, Saul – the rabid persecutor of early Christians – reportedly went through an experience that had a profound effect on his... Continue Reading →
Welcome to ‘Virtue Insight’, the Jubilee Centre blog. On this blog, we, the staff of the Jubilee Centre, will be posting reflections on issues that are close to our hearts and to the work that we are undertaking across the field of character and virtues.
virtue insight 