History of Character Education in American Schools

By Reetah123

  • The Bible

    As education begins in America, children are taught to read for the purpose of reading the Bible. This way, they could learn about character and improve their religious beliefs.

  • Benjamin Franklin (1706 - 1790)

    Benjamin Franklin felt strongly that morals should be taught in school, mainly through history lessons.

  • Horace Mann (1796 - 1859)

    He believed in a universal education, and felt that character and morality should be taught in schools.

  • No more Bibles in Classrooms

  • William McGuffey (1800-1873)

    He believed that values and education went hand in hand.

  • YMCA (1900)

  • Boy Scouts (1910)

  • John Dewey (1859 - 1952)

  • Character Education Curriculum (1968)

  • Michael Josephson (1987)

  • President Reagan (1981- 1989)

  • President Clinton (1993 - 2001)

  • President Bush (2001 - 2009)

  • Character Curriculum (2017)

  • References

    Mulkey, Y. J. (1997). The history of character education. Journal of Physical Education, Recreation & Dance, 68(9), 35-37. Nucci, Narvaez, & Krettenauer. (2014). Handbook of Moral and Character Education. New York, New York: Routeledge. Watz, M. (2011). An historical analysis of character education. Journal of Inquiry and Action in Education, 4(2), 3.