The development of character is a valued objective for many kinds of educational programs that take place both in and outside of school. Educators and administrators who develop and run programs that seek to develop character recognize that the established approaches for doing so have much in common, and they are eager to learn about promising practices used in other settings, evidence of effectiveness, and ways to measure the effectiveness of their own approaches.



In July 2016, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine held a workshop to review research and practice relevant to the development of character, with a particular focus on ideas that can support the adults who develop and run out-of-school programs. This publication summarizes the presentations and discussions from the workshop.

Table of Contents


Front Matter
1 Introduction
2 What Is Character? Moving Beyond Definitional Differences
3 Views of What Works in Developing Character
4 Investing in Implementation and Evaluation
5 Developing a High-Quality Staff
6 Measuring Character
7 Workshop Themes
References
Appendix A: Workshop Agenda
Appendix B: Participant List
Appendix C: Biographical Sketches of Committee Members and Presenters
Appendix D: Worksheet for Breakout Sessions