EDUCATION WITH CHARACTER

Subtitled 'the moral economy of schooling', James Arthur's book will surely become the standard interdisciplinary work on the emerging field of character education. A keynote quotation for the book is given by Ernest Hull SJ when he says that ' Character is life dominated by principles, as distinguished from life dominated by mere impulses from within and mere circumstances from without'. This clearly shows why the development of character is a central component not only of education but of stable and creative democracies.

Character education has assumed a higher profile in the UK since 1997 against a background of what Arthur calls 'a litany of alarm' concerning teenage problems associated with moral relativism, alcohol and drug abuse, crime rates, self-centredness and ethical illiteracy. Education with character is meant to be the antidote to such trends by 'instilling certain virtues so that they become internal principles guiding both the pupil's behaviour and decision-making for operation within a democracy'. Good as far as it goes, but one wonders if this is patching up symptoms of a dyfunctional world-view in which life and education are understood primarily in terms of production and consumption, where pleasure is substituted for happiness and gratification for meaning. As Arthur points out, critics of character education regard it as a right-wing throwback to earlier more authoritarian and repressive times.

Arthur takes the widest sweep in approaching his theme. His next chapter gives a historical perspective on character education, including Robert Owen's early 19th century work in New Lanark, Scotland, Victorian approaches typified by Samuel Smiles's book Self-Help: with Illustrations of Character and Conduct, which we learn sold 20,000 copies in its first year and 250,000 by the end of the century. Nowadays, the trend continues with a plethora of self-help manuals aimed at self-improvement but not generally allied to the idea of service to others. The YMCA and public schools also made a contribution, as did more secular institutions towards the end of the century. Governments stepped in, as did initiatives like Outward Bound, then, in the 1960s the advent of psychology made it the dominant discipline within moral education allied to progressive theories of education putting the emphasis on the needs of the child. This trend has arguably over-reached itself.

Since the new approach is largely virtue-based, Arthur moves on to consider the virtues of character before coming to theological insights into character, theories of character development, the politics of character, the social foundations of character and the relation between character and the market economy. All of this lends a refreshing breadth of insight to Arthur's analysis, which is subtle and consistently well-informed. He links the rediscovery of character education to New Labour's communitarian politics, and quotes Government documents to the effect that education should reaffirm 'our commitment to the virtues of truth, justice, honesty, trust and a sense of duty'. He also points out the difficulties of implementing a state-sponsored character education within a pluralist society by raising questions about the kind of virtues and good life that they have in mind. And, as I mentioned at the beginning, there is a tension between the intrinsic and utilitarian approaches to education. Passing on 'enduring values' is not the same as training young people to contribute productively to the economy and making them pay for their university education as an investment.

Another dilemma is highlighted in a quotation from James Davison Hunter, who argues that a renewal of character means a renewal of a constraining credal order, which is too high a price to pay: 'we want character without conviction; we want strong morality without the emotional burden of guilt or shame; we want virtue but without particular moral justifications that invariably offend; we want good without having to name evil; we want decency without the authority to insist upon it; we want moral community without any limitations to personal freedom. In short, we want what we cannot possibly have on the terms that we want it'. The penetrating accuracy of such an assessment does not bode well for the current renewal of character education unless it is also based on living examples and taught in situations that actively encourage the practical development of the qualities extolled. The spelling out of principles of practice and the emphasis on school ethos and teachers as examples is helpful, as are Arthur's observations on schools who have given character education some serious thought.

Arthur's conclusion is that 'character is ultimately expressed in action', even though one's understanding of character and its development will depend on the perspective form which the issue is viewed. At its heart, character education is about 'how individuals are formed as moral agents', and schools are now assigned a greater role than in the past when home and Church had a greater influence. In secular terms this has been linked to social reform but moral values are bound to come up against economic values, as Arthur points out. While there is no overall consensus in the field, the need for such initiatives is generally agreed. Arthur's book provides an indispensable field guide to its history and current practice, and should be read by all involved in this emerging educational discipline.