Heart of The Matter

Alberta Education Cataloguing in Publication Data Alberta. Alberta Education.
The heart of the matter : character and citizenship education in Alberta schools. ISBN 0-7785-3791-9 1. Moral education - Alberta. 2. Character. 3. Citizenship - Alberta. 4. Education - Alberta - Curricula. I. Title. LC312.A333 2005 For further information, contact: Alberta Education Learning and Teaching Resources Branch 8th Floor, 44 Capital Boulevard 10044 108 Street NW Edmonton, Alberta T5J 5E6 Telephone: 7804272984 in Edmonton or toll-free in Alberta by dialing 3100000 Fax: 7804220576 This resource is primarily intended for: Teachers Administrators Counsellors Students Parents General Public A PDF version of this resource is available at www.education.gov.ab.ca/charactered Print copies of this resource can be purchased from the Learning Resources Centre. Order online at www.lrc.education.gov.ab.ca/ or telephone 7804275775. Copyright 2005, the Crown in Right of Alberta, as represented by the Minister of Education. Alberta Education, Learning and Teaching Resources Branch, 44 Capital Boulevard, 10044 108 Street NW, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, T5J 5E6. Every effort has been made to provide proper acknowledgement of original sources. If cases are identified where this has not been done, please notify Alberta Education so appropriate corrective action can be taken. Permission is given by the copyright owner to reproduce this document, or any part thereof, for educational purposess and on a nonprofit basis, with the exception of materials cited for which Alberta Education does not own copyright. 370.11/4
Character and Citizenship Education in Alberta Schools
Chapter 1:
Character and Citizenship Education in Alberta Schools 1 9
Table of Contents
Chapter 2:
A Sample Framework for Character and Citizenship
Chapter 3:
Choosing Approaches for Character and Citizenship Education 15
Chapter 4:
Assessing Character and Citizenship Education Initiatives 23 35
Chapter 5:
Creating a Safe and Caring School Culture
Chapter 6:
Infusing Character and Citizenship Education Across the Subjects 45
Chapter 7:
Choosing Resources to Support Character and Citizenship Education 57
Chapter 8:
Integrating Character and Citizenship Education in Co-curricular and Extracurricular Activities 61
Chapter 9:
Bullying Prevention and Character and Citizenship Education 73 91 97
Chapter 10:
Involving Parents in Character and Citizenship Education
Chapter 11:
Developing Community Partnerships
Chapter 12:
Instructional Strategies that Support Character and Citizenship Education 105 135
Chapter 13:
Getting to the Heart of the Matter
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Table of Contents
Appendix A:
Sample Approaches that Support Character and Citizenship Education 139 173 201 205 211 215 219 227 235 241 253 265 277
Appendix B:
Assessment Tools
Appendix C:
What Character and Citizenship Looks Like
Appendix D:
Using Action Research to Initiate School Change
Appendix E:
Attributes of a Safe and Caring School
Appendix F:
Sample Evaluation Tools and Strategies
Appendix G:
Bullying Prevention Resources
Appendix H:
Graphic Organizers
Appendix I:
Service Learning
Appendix J:
Issue-based Inquiry
Bibliography Index Feedback
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Thank you to the many individuals and groups who contributed to the development of this resource, including those jurisdictions who presented to the Learning Commission on the importance of character and citizenship education in Alberta schools. The following groups and school jurisdictions participated in the review of this resource: Alberta Home and School Councils Association Aurora School Ltd. Battle River School Division No. 31 Black Gold Regional Division No. 18 Canadian Rockies Public Schools Christ the Redeemer Catholic Schools Edmonton Public Schools Edmonton Regional Learning Consortium Elk Island Catholic School Board Elk Island Public Schools Foothills School Division No. 38 Golden Hills School Division No. 75 Grasslands Regional Division No. 6 Greater North Central Francophone Education Region No. 2 Greater St. Albert Catholic Regional Division No. 29 Hope Foundation, University of Alberta Lakeland Roman Catholic School District No. 150 Northern Gateway School Division Parkland School Division No. 70 Pembina Hills Regional School Division No. 7 Red Deer Public School District St. Albert Protestant Separate School District No. 6 Sturgeon School Division No. 24
Acknowledgements
Advisory Committee
Alberta Home and School Councils Association Alberta School Boards Association Alberta Teachers Association Association of Independent Schools and Colleges in Alberta Battle River Regional Division No. 31 Calgary Roman Catholic Separate School District No. 1 Calgary School District No. 19 College of Alberta School Superintendents Edmonton Public Schools Elk Island Public Schools Regional Division No. 14 Greater North Central Francophone Education Region The Society for Safe and Caring Schools and Communities University of Alberta Heidi Schreiner Gerald Kujala Suzanne Lundrigan J-C Couture Andy Jackson Gerry Lawrence Patricia Makowski Kay Haslett Michelle Dick Bernadette Provost Sandy Forster Rita Spain Denise Moulun-Pasek Vicki Mather George Richardson
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Acknowledgements
Development and writing team

Resource Development Services, Edmonton Public Schools Edgar Schmidt Joanne Neal Barb Milne Sandra Gluth Janet Thomas Nancy Armstrong Dana Antay-Moore InPraxis Group Inc. Patricia Shields Douglas Ramsey Contributing writers Crystal John Linda Ellefson Michelle De Abreu Additional thanks to: Prevention of Family Violence and Bullying Cross-ministry Committee
Graphic design
Lime Design Inc.
Indexing
Judy Dunlop Information Services
Additional layout
Trish Agrell-Smith
Alberta Education staff

Learning and Teaching Resources Branch Director Assistant Director Project Manager Editor Document Production Copyright Cross-branch team Alberta Children and Youth Initiative French Language Services Branch Curriculum Branch Learner Assessment Branch Special Programs Branch Aboriginal Services Branch Field Services Raja Panwar Greg Bishop Catherine Walker Rebecca Pound Dianne Moyer Sandra Mukai Paula Coombs Ren Langevin and Yannick Dufour Shirley Douglas Renate Taylor Majeau Gail Sarkany-Coles Doris Gladue Colleen McClure and Sandra Woitas
Additional thanks to: Lorraine Stewart and Wally Diefenthaler
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it is next to impossible to separate the teaching of values from schooling itself; it is a part of schooling whether people are willing to acknowledge it or not. The question ... is how the educator can influence students character development effectively so that the impact is positive. Williams 2000, p. 34
Chapter 1
he primary responsibility for character and citizenship development lies with parents and families, but schools play an essential supportive role. Whether they are conscious of it or not, schools are involved in teaching cultural and societal mores and values, and in shaping students ideas about what constitutes good behaviour. Schools help students to develop civic responsibility, healthy attitudes towards themselves and others, and a commitment to lifelong learning.
Often we think of learning as consisting entirely of academic skills and knowledge, but character and citizenship are the foundation of learning. For this reason, Albertas Guide to Education highlights key skills, knowledge and attitudes related to character and citizenship that schools are expected to teach and model for children, including the skills and attitude to pursue learning throughout their lives, and an understanding of the rights and responsibilities of citizenship.1 In addition, students completing high school are expected to: respect the cultural diversity and common values of Canada demonstrate desirable personal characteristics, such as respect, responsibility, fairness, honesty, caring, loyalty and commitment to democratic ideals.2
One way to achieve these outcomes is through character and citizenship education. Character and citizenship education is a deliberate effort to cultivate civility, ethical behaviours, self-management skills and personal attributes that our society values in its school graduates, community members and employees. It represents a consensus on certain attributes or core values such as respect, responsibility, fairness, empathy and self-discipline that transcend socioeconomic and cultural lines. Character and citizenship education nurtures these attributes in an explicit, intentional, focused and systematic manner by promoting, modelling, teaching, expecting, celebrating and consciously practising them in everyday actions.
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Character and citizenship education is an inclusive concept regarding all aspects of how school communities can support the positive character development of students, staff and other school stakeholders. It is woven throughout the school day for all students and is integrated into the curriculum, discipline policies, and coand extracurricular activities. All schools are doing some form of character and citizenship education, although these efforts may not be explicitly called character and citizenship initiatives. For example, comprehensive programs such as those of The Society for Safe and Caring Schools and Communities, Lions-Quest and Effective Behaviour Supports are all forms of character and citizenship education. For an overview of sample approaches to support character and citizenship education, see Appendix A. The sample approaches discussed in the appendix include: Caring Relationships (Noddings) Center for the 4th and 5th Rs (Lickona) Circles of Courage (Reclaiming Youth at RiskBrendtro, Brokenleg and Van Bockern) Community of Caring (Kennedy Foundation) Comprehensive School Health Approach Developmental Assets (Search Institute) Effective Behaviour Supports Emotional Intelligence (Goleman) Habits of Mind (Costa) Hope Research (Hope Foundation of Alberta) Lions-Quest Canada/Thrive! Moral Intelligence (Borba) Professional Learning Communities (DuFour et al.) Resiliency Research Safe and Caring Schools Initiative Skillstreaming: New Strategies and Perspectives for Teaching Prosocial Skills (Goldstein and McGinnis) Virtues Program (Popov, Popov and Kavelin) You Can Do It! (Bernard).
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Why We Need Character and Citizenship Education

A growing body of school-based research suggests that character and citizenship education provides significant benefits to students, school culture and the community-at-large. The potential of character and citizenship education, and the key goals that it fosters, include: a climate of respect for self and others the attributes of active citizenship higher academic achievement improved interpersonal relationships greater self-discipline fewer behavioural problems a continued focus on safe schools a positive school culture enhanced employability skills.
Chapter 1
Classrooms today represent a microcosm of our rich and diverse society. Alberta schools are dynamic environments that emphasize high standards, and respect and safety, but we cannot take this for granted. A continuous focus on positive character attributes can help build classrooms where students are ready to learn and teachers are able to teach. At the same time, the education of students contributes not only to their personal development and opportunities, but also to their ability to fulfill social and economic potential as a province and as a people. Character and citizenship education contributes to the development of conscientious community members and responsible citizens. In faith-based schools and programs, character and citizenship education is a synthesis of faith and culture, and is often built on gospel values. Effective character and citizenship education provides school communities with an understanding and a framework for practising core values in daily living that will actively shape future society.
Purpose of This Resource

This resource is based on the work and efforts of many education partners including The Society for Safe and Caring Schools and Communities, the Alberta School Boards Association, the Alberta Teachers Association and the College of Alberta School Superintendents. It is also a response to recommendation #5 from Albertas Commission on Learning (2003) on expecting clear outcomes and values. The report affirms that schools play an important role, along with parents and community members, in modelling and reinforcing essential values and preparing students to be productive and contributing citizens (p. 51).
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This resource provides schools and jurisdictions with a sample framework and strategies for developing and/or supporting a culture of character and citizenship. The framework encourages individual schools to assess and put action plans in place to improve their cultures. It also looks at how character and citizenship education can be supported by administrators, school staff, parents, students, school jurisdictions and the larger community. It supports safe and caring schools. This resource may be especially helpful to leadership teams who are working collaboratively to make character and citizenship an integral part of school culture.
Understanding Character Education

In recent years, there has been increasing attention to the necessity of educating for character. However, there is also increasing debate over what character education is and how it should be represented in school curricula. Critics argue that schools or teachers should not impose values on students and question whether knowing what good behaviour is guarantees its practice. Many theorists, educators and community members now agree on the necessity of educating for character and citizenship. Some suggest schools and teachers always influence student character, whether or not they teach values explicitly. Debate about appropriateness and effectiveness of various approaches continues. It is important that the knowledge, skills, attitudes and values students are expected to learn guide decisions about character and citizenship education initiatives. What knowledge should be taught? What skills should be developed? What perspectives should be considered? What values should be upheld? In other words, what does it mean to have good character?
Conceptions of Character
Good character consists of knowing the good, desiring the good, and doing the good Lickona 1991, p. 51
Much of the debate about whether and how to teach for character is tied into a debate about what character means. Character can refer to: personality traits or virtues such as responsibility and respect for others emotions such as guilt or sympathy social skills such as conflict management or effective communication
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behaviours such as sharing or helping, or cognitions such as belief in equality or problem-solving strategies.
Chapter 1
One useful definition is offered by Thomas Lickona, who describes character as a reliable inner disposition to respond to situations in a morally good way. Character so conceived has three interrelated parts: moral knowing, moral feeling, and moral behaviour (1991, p. 51). One of the most debated issues in character education is whether or not there are such things as universal values or virtues that determine good character. During the last several decades, many schools and teachers did not want to teach character education because they felt that values were always contextual and could not be taught as absolutes. While some people still agree with this position, others argue that there are indeed values that are universal in the sense that most people in all major cultures around the world would agree that values are important for a positive, functioning society. Schools and/or jurisdictions need to identify and agree on their own set of core values. From a faith-based perspective, it is character modelled on gospel values that gives stability and enables individuals to embrace life and act in the right way. Character is built on virtue. Character education gives students the moral bearings on which to make right decisions and to behave morally.
Understanding Citizenship Education

As with character education, our conceptions of what citizenship education is are changing as our understandings of citizenship are expanding. In a traditional conception of citizenship education, the purpose was to produce loyal and dutiful citizens. As understandings of citizenship expand to address issues such as human rights, language, nationalism, globalization, equality, multiculturalism and pluralism, citizenship education is becoming more centred on the concept of inclusion and respect for diversity. More recently, citizenship education began explicitly recognizing the role of developing skills and processes. Strategies such as inquiry, literature studies and case studies develop the cognitive and critical-thinking skills associated with active and participatory citizenship.3
Conceptions of Citizenship
Most experts agree that citizenship involves a number of interrelated skills, beliefs and actions. Osborne identifies five elements that constitute citizenship and that influence outcomes typically represented in curriculum. These elements are described in the chart on the following page.4
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Elements of Citizenship
National consciousness or identity
Sense of identity as a national citizen Awareness of multiple identities, such as regional, cultural, ethnic, religious, class, gender Sense of global or world citizenship
Political literacy
Observance of rights and duties
Values
General intellectual skills
Knowledge of the Understanding and political, legal and belief in basic rights social institutions of and duties of ones country citizenship Understanding of key Understanding of how political and social to deal with, and if issues possible resolve, Necessary skills and conflicts knowledge for effective political participation
Understanding of Literacy and intellectual societal values competence Knowledge and skills to deal with conflicting values in acceptable ways
In Osbornes view, global citizenship is part of national identity, in which students come to see themselves as members of a world community and learn to balance the claims of nation against claims that transcend national boundaries.4 Westheimer delineates three categories of citizenshipmoving across a continuum from individually-centred action to decisions motivated by a recognition of the issues and problems of the broader society.5
Personally Responsible Citizen Examples

Participatory Citizen
Justice-oriented Citizen
Critically assesses social, political and economic structures Explores strategies for change that address root causes of problems Knows about social movements and how to effect systemic change Seeks out and addresses areas of injustice
Acts responsibly in the community Recognizes the importance of Works and pays taxes participation Obeys laws Organizes community efforts to care Picks up litter, recycles and gives for those in need, promote blood economic development or clean up Helps those in need, lends a hand environment during times of crisis Actively participates in civic affairs Contributes time, money or both to and social life of the community at charitable causes local, provincial and national levels
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Relationship Between Character and Citizenship Education

Traditionally, educating for citizenship in Alberta schools has always been linked, in one way or another, to character.6 The link between citizenship and character education can be characterized as one of perspective and scope. Citizenship education recognizes the need for attributes and virtuesrespect, responsibility, fairness, honesty, caring, loyalty and commitment to democratic ideals. Character education recognizes that commitment and responsibility to community and a democratic society are part of what constitutes good character. However, while citizenship education has traditionally been more concerned with individuals participation in their communities, nation and the global world, character education has been more centred on individuals development. This relationship is illustrated in the following graphic representation.
Chapter 1
The Relationship Between Character and Citizenship Education

Character education Individual
Moral development Social and emotional learning Values and virtues Social skills Conflict resolution
Citizenship education Communities

Safe and caring communities Caring relationships Moral communities Social problems, such as violence, racism and drug abuse
Society
Political knowledge and participation, human rights and global citizenship
As citizenship education has received more attention from educators and the public, the link between citizenship and character education has become more explicit and more contentious. Expanding understanding of the complex and multifaceted nature of citizenship has implications for the way we define and make pedagogical decisions about character education in schools. To what extent is citizenship considered to be a value, to be developed the same way that values such as honesty and fairness are developed? Or is character education a role of educating for citizenship, one that implies that values are the foundation for any citizenship program? Although the values identified in many character education resources can be considered essential for the well-being of individuals and society, they are not distinguishing or exclusive traits of citizens in a democracy. As citizenship education grapples with ways to teach that respect an individuals multiple identities and affiliations, and character education recognizes the importance of an individuals interactions in and affiliations to communities and society, the lines between citizenship and character education are increasingly blurred. There is also an increasing recognition that character and citizenship education must reach beyond an emphasis on character traits and attributes as the
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sole focus and consider how to foster critical thinking, decision making and participation in ones own learning as well as in society. A greater focus is being placed on developing character and citizenship in the context of schools as communities of learning. While the empirical research on schools as communities is still quite limited, the findings are consistent in suggesting that there are a wide range of benefits for students and teachers who experience their schools in this way.7 The What Works Clearinghouse is currently doing a systematic review of evidence on the benefits of comprehensive schoolwide character education interventions. For more information, visit their Web site at www.w-w-c.org/comingnext/character.html.
Endnotes
1. Alberta Education 2004, p. iii. 2. Ibid., p. 2. 3. Shields with Ramsey 1998. 4. Adapted with permission from Kenneth Osborne et al., Citizenship Education: An Introduction to Citizenship Education, The Centre for Canadian Studies at Mount Allison University, 1999, www.mta.ca/faculty/arts/ canadian_studies/english/ about/multimedia/citizenship /page_01.html (Accessed December 1, 2001), pp. 1, 2. Material prepared by the About Canada Project at the Centre for Canadian Studies, Mount Allison University. 5. Adapted with permission from Joel Westheimer, Citizenship Education for a Democratic Society, Teach Magazine (MarchApril 2003), pp. 18, 19. 6. von Heyking 1998. 7. Roberts, Hom and Battistich 1995.
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A Sample Framework for Character and Citizenship

It is not a question of whether to do character education but rather questions of how consciously and by what methods. Howard, Berkowitz and Schaeffer 2004, p. 210
Chapter 2
ne central question needs to be asked before implementing any character and citizenship initiative: How can we ensure that this initiative reflects a commitment to improving the school and community culture? Identifying, discussing and supporting a rationale for initiating character and citizenship education in the jurisdiction and/or school are important first steps. Teachers, administrators, students and parents have to work together to identify and explore these reasons, describe a shared sense of purpose, and develop an action plan that encourages sustainable change and growth for all community members. To be meaningful, this kind of initiative is based on the needs of the students in the school or jurisdiction. For this reason, character and citizenship education may look different from one jursidiction or school to another. The most effective initiatives are school-based (or what Michele Borba calls home-grown), with jurisdiction support. They are not prepackaged, although they often build on existing programming efforts such as The Society for Safe and Caring Schools and Communities Toward a Safe and Caring Curriculum or Lions-Quest programs.
Building and sustaining a character and citizenship education initiative is an ongoing process of overlapping steps. The following sample framework offers strategies for how a school-based team might begin the process in five steps. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Building a vision Strengthening school culture Developing and maintaining leadership Sustaining change Assessing results
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1. Building a vision
Building a vision usually begins with a team of committed individuals working together to address specific issues at the school or jurisdiction level. A vision must be significant and broad in scope; single issues such as bullying or drug abuse, although important and requiring attention, do not create a substantial, long-lasting vision for change. These issues are related to other, real challenges in the school community and need to be examined within a wider context. Building a vision involves a number of elements. Identifying core values. One way to start building a vision is to begin with the end in mindby articulating the character attributes and corresponding behaviours that the school or jurisdiction values. A vision will address the question What do we want students to know and be able to do? In some faith-based schools and programs, gospel values will be the basis for the character and citizenship vision. Examples of gospel values include, but are not limited to, faith, hope, charity, gentleness, hospitality, humility, kindness, patience, prayerfulness, respect, forgiveness and righteousness. Creating consensus. Use brainstorming and discussion to help generate common understandings and build consensus about which issues to address first. Such strategies help define the aspects of character and citizenship education to be emphasized by all staff. Defining standards. An effective schoolwide or jurisdiction-wide initiative requires a shared understanding of standards for creating, implementing, and evaluating character and citizenship education. Effective approaches articulate the actions to be taken and the people responsible for them. The implementation of the plan is monitored and tracked. These criteria guide stakeholders in creating a community and culture that support the schools character and citizenship education initiative at school, at home and in the community. Outlining expectations for behaviour. A general understanding and consensus of what behaviour is acceptable needs to be established across the school community as well as in each classroom. This begins with an understanding of jurisdiction standards for student behaviour and how these standards operationalize at the school and classroom level. Planning for implementation. Planning for implementation involves identifying strategies for integrating character and citizenship education into school life. This process may begin with a review of literature on character and citizenship education, including the work of authors such as Michele Borba and Thomas Lickona.
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Communicating the vision. It is essential to clearly articulate the vision to all staff, students, parents and the wider community involved in the school- or jurisdictionwide initiative. Goals and visions need to be phrased in terms that are meaningful to the school community and specific to its culture and priorities. Sample questions to consider at this stage of the process might include the following. What are the core values of character and citizenship for this school or jurisdiction? What are the intended results of a culture of character and citizenship? What specific student outcomes are expected? How will these be measured? What strategies will be implemented to help students achieve the outcomes? How will implementation be monitored? How will results be shared and with whom? What are good sources of information about character and citizenship education?
Chapter 2
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2. Strengthening school culture

School communities exist in a pluralistic social context in which various groups promote different values and expectations. However, every school or school jurisdiction has its own predominant culture that most students, staff and parents adhere to and support. This culture reflects and perpetuates a set of expectations, behavioural norms and attitudes. Creating a new predominant school culture that is based on character and citizenship requires a shift in thinking and action. Consider the following elements. Auditing school culture. A cultural audit, scan or survey is a way to identify the schools areas of strength and those requiring attention. Thorough assessment provides an in-depth picture of the school culture and may provide clues to underlying, less obvious reasons for what is working and what is not. For sample tools for assessing school climate, see Appendix B. See also Chapter 5, pp. 3638 for additional information on auditing school culture. Creating change. There are countless ways to create change in a school. Some culture shifts occur through small systemic changes involving key people, expectations or structures in a school. To be most successful, whatever process and methods are chosen must build a new community around shared values and goals. An analysis of the schools cultural audit may provide possible direction for next steps. This analysis may also be broadened to a jurisdiction level by including students, staff, parents and community members from across the jurisdiction.
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Chapter 2
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Facilitated forums are efficient and effective ways of working through specific issues identified in the audit. Student or staff forums, as separate or combined groups, create opportunities to learn about important issues and potential solutions, and to build a community of people connected to common core values and principles. Sample questions to consider at this stage of the process might include the following. How can we gather information about our school needs? Who are the major stakeholders in our school community? What major issues are affecting our students and staff? What actions and strategies can we use to deal with these issues and change our school culture?
3. Developing and maintaining leadership

Building a sustainable culture of character and citizenship requires a team of people who work together to articulate a common vision for action. Leadership by the whole team, rather than one individual, improves the success rate for implementing any framework. The leadership team must continually communicate the vision for the school. They must encourage and provide professional development opportunities for staff. As more people grow in their understanding of character and citizenship education, they integrate core values into learning activities, school events and other aspects of the school culture.
Sample questions to consider at this stage of the process might include the following. How will leadership be developed and sustained? How will new leadership be encouraged? What professional development would be helpful to move the initiative forward? What professional development opportunities will be needed in the future?
4. Sustaining change
Sustaining a culture of character and citizenship in a school involves a number of components and actions, including the following. Shared leadership. With continual effort to identify leaders among staff, students and parents, the vision is sustained and expanded. Leaders in character development may be different from those individuals otherwise identified as leaders. Students, parents and staff who are leaders may be those who quietly demonstrate the characteristics that are goal behaviours of the community.
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Long-term thinking. Sustainability requires ongoing staff development, examination of results and reflection on the processes being used. Sustainability also means frequently rechecking on the goals and objectives related to progress towards a vision. Growth needs to be celebrated throughout the process. Resources. Identifying and accessing suitable learning and teaching resources to support character and citizenship education is important. Resources include not only teaching materials, literature and human resources, but also research literature, implementation tools, communication tools and assessment strategies. Communication. Key messages should be communicated at school and in the community through posters and other types of displays. Naming core values and elaborating what they look and feel like for students is a critical element for sustaining change and integration into classrooms and daily life. Jurisdiction initiatives. Professional development support, information sharing and mentorships are effective strategies that support school-based programs. Jurisdictions can share information about successful school programming. Parent and community involvement. Actively involving and engaging parents, agencies and businesses outside the school contributes to the effectiveness and longevity of character and citizenship education initiatives. Community involvement gives students the opportunity to see their learning in a broader, long-term context. In partnership with the family and community, support in some faith-based schools and programs also involves church and parish agencies. The interconnections and relationship of all these partners working together to model moral and ethical values, inspire hope and create a focus for learning. Sample questions to consider at this stage of the process might include the following. Is the leadership team made up of individuals representing school demographics? What resources will enhance implementation? What are the criteria for evaluating resources for the school and/or jurisdiction? What strategies would communicate core values and other key messages? What partnerships with agencies outside the school would support this work? Which partnerships would encourage students to achieve the outcomes?
Chapter 2
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Continual tracking and analysis of results related to identified outcomes allows schools and jurisdictions to evaluate effectiveness of implementation initiatives. This ongoing assessment also creates opportunities to celebrate success and to share good news within the school and wider community. Initiatives are maintained and reexamined in a thoughtful way.
5. Assessing results
Collecting data related to the key outcomes identified in Step 1: Building a vision is necessary in order to evaluate the effectiveness of implementation and outcomes. Analysis of data directs continual refinement of initiatives. Communicating results to stakeholders helps to maintain support, and also creates opportunities to share and celebrate successes within the school and the community.
Sample questions to consider at this stage of the process might include the following. What data will be collected at the beginning of the initiative against which later outcomes will be compared (e.g., office referrals, lates, attendance)? What practical tools can be used to assist with data collection? Who will compile and analyze the data? How will the data be analyzed and shared? What is the most simple, practical approach that will still prove effective?
Next Steps
Research into professional learning communities provides valuable insight for schools and jurisdictions undertaking character and citizenship education initiatives. Continual assessment of the process guides initiatives and resource commitments, with professional development as a key element. Character and citizenship education initiatives are built around shared vision and ongoing planning, discussion and commitment. The following chapters deal in greater depth with various components embedded in the sample framework outlined in this chapter. Each section offers information and sample strategies to help schools and jurisdictions understand different approaches, plan for assessment, and improve school culture. Specific ways to integrate character and citizenship education into subject areas, and co-curricular and extracurricular activities are discussed. Ideas for developing community partnerships and supporting implementation through resources such as professional development are also provided. Chapter 12 offers practical instructional strategies and activities for teaching character and citizenship education in the classroom.
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Choosing Approaches for Character and Citizenship Education

Small things done consistently in strategic places make change happen. Cile Chavez
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his resource uses the term character education not to signify a particular philosophy, method or program, but as the broad, general area of moral formation which can encompass diverse approaches. Williams suggests character education allows for many definitions and interpretations of character, including definitions that are focused on right and wrong, and that are as interested with matters of care (i.e., mutual respect and cooperation), as with more traditional ethics (i.e., justice and fairness) (2000, p. 33). It may also relate to such topics as moral reasoning, pro-social skill development, caring communities, antibullying and anti-racism education, conflict resolution, and violence prevention education.
General Approaches
The literature emphasizes several different theoretical approaches. Howard, Berkowitz and Schaeffer identify three general approaches to character education: a traditional approach a cognitive-developmental approach a caring communities approach.1
These perspectives are helpful in planning and implementing character and citizenship programming. Some schools or jurisdictions may emphasize one approach over another; others will incorporate all three approaches.
Traditional approach
A traditional approach focuses on action and habit as fundamental. Using a paradigm that originated in Aristotelian philosophy, this approach sees formal, often direct, instruction as a critical feature of character education. Instruction is often explicit in defining specific character traits and highlighting good examples of these traits. The school then has a responsibility to model, value and encourage these traits, thereby increasing the likelihood that students will do the right or good thing.
Cognitive-developmental approach
This approach is a process-oriented pedagogy rooted in an ethical view that emphasizes context rather than absolutes: moral actions and decisions are based on the context of the situation. In this approach, the school teaches critical thinking, social problem solving and considering alternate points of view as primary elements
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in knowing what is good and right. This indirect instruction paradigm focuses on building a childs understanding (as described by Kohlberg) and sociomoral development (as described by Piaget), which in turn emphasizes the interpersonal interactions of peers under the guidance of caring adults.
Caring communities approach

In a caring communities approach, the focus is on relationships rather than individuals. Emotions and sentiments are seen as the root of moral action and reasoning. Pedagogically, the school focuses on the school community and the relationships of the people in it. Concern for the emotional health and well-being of students is critical, with the school structure reflecting this focus.
Continuum of Citizenship Education

Traditionally, citizenship education in Canada has focused on identifying and ingraining the knowledge, skills, dispositions and attitudes required for citizenship. As our understanding of citizenship has changed, approaches to teaching have changed as well. As Joel Westheimer explains, An initiative that supports the development of personally responsible citizens may not be effective at increasing participation in local and national civic affairs. Moreover, efforts to pursue some conceptions of personal responsibility might undermine efforts to prepare participatory and justice-oriented citizens. We also should distinguish between programs that emphasize participatory citizenship alone and those that include an emphasis on the pursuit of justice (2003, p. 19). Westheimers category of personally responsible citizen addresses the focus of many character and citizenship education programs. Effective approaches should address all three categories of citizenship.2
Personally Responsible Citizen Educational Seeks to build character and personal responsibility approach
Participatory Citizen
Develops strategies to accomplish collective tasks Teaches how government and other institutions work Focuses on importance of planning and participating in efforts to guide school policies or care for those in need
Justice-oriented Citizen
Emphasizes collective work related to community life and issues Prepares students to improve society by critically analyzing and addressing social issues and injustices Less likely to emphasize charity and volunteerism as ends in themselves More likely to teach about social movements, and how to affect systemic change
Emphasizes honesty, integrity, selfdiscipline, hard work Nurtures compassion
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Sears and Hughes have proposed a similar continuum that characterizes approaches to citizenship education as moving from passive to active.3 Moving character education beyond a passive transmission model means involving students and the whole school community in actively identifying and building core values that are meaningful to them. The differences between these two approaches are shown in the table below.4 Passive Conception of Citizenship Education
Students are taught a common body of knowledge about national history and political structures. Political and military history is emphasized and presented as a narrative of continuous progress. Political institutions are presented as operating in a lock-step fashion (e.g., how a bill is passed, how parliamentary debate works). Teaching styles and techniques vary but focus on common answers on matters of fact and/or value. Students are taught a set of national values and norms, i.e., that current political structures are the best ones possible. Students are taught that informed voting is participation by the average citizen who needs information-gathering skills to vote in an informed manner.
Chapter 3
Activist Conception of Citizenship Education

Students learn how to uncover ways in which institutions and structures support social organization (e.g., capitalism and patriarchy). Students learn ways that social and political structures have discriminated against certain groups and have changed to be more democratic and inclusive. Students develop commitment to equal participation of all individuals and groups in society, and challenge manifestations of privilege and inequality. Students develop critical reflective problem-solving skills and cross-cultural skills. They participate with a variety of people to make the world more just and environmentally sustainable.
An extensive research review concludes that four practices that are most effective in promoting citizenship include: student participation, discussion and collaboration promoting student autonomy and influence social skills training helping and social service behaviour.5
These practices also support development of character.
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Using Core Values to Infuse Character and Citizenship Education

There are a number of ways jurisdictions and schools can choose to use core values as a focus for organizing and delivering instruction to support character and citizenship education. Core values are interrelated and many are described by more than a single word. Schools need the flexibility to use language that is most meaningful to their students, teachers and community.
Identifying core values

The Guide to Education provides basic direction for developing students of character through selected learning outcomes and the general goals of schooling. However, specific values for emphasis are identified at the school or jurisdiction level. The process of identifying core values is a way of building community-wide understanding and common language. Active engagement of students, school staff and the community builds consensus and support for values or traits chosen. One way to do this is through focus groups involving a broad range of participants. In identifying core values, schools and jurisdictions can consider the list provided in Albertas Commission on Learning report, Every Child Learns. Every Child Succeeds (2003). Adapted from the North York Region District School Board, the list is not exhaustive, but it presents schools and school jurisdictions with a starting point. The list includes the following values: courage respect initiative responsibility perseverance honesty empathy integrity fairness optimism.
See Appendix C for a more detailed description of each of these core values. Similar lists of values, attributes or virtues exist in numerous books, articles and Web sites. In a faith-based school or program, gospel values permeate the ethics, curriculum and cultures of schools. These values challenge students to be thoughtful about ethical issues and to have a right relationship with self, others and the world.
Using core values as a reference

Some schools and jurisdictions use their identified core values as a foundation or underpinning for character and citizenship education. The values become reference points for choosing, planning and assessing learning activities, school policies and extra- and co-curricular events. Teachers take advantage of teachable moments throughout the school year to discuss and reinforce these specific core values informally and directly, as opportunities arise. Core values act as a filter in instructional decision making about literature choices, and selection and organization of topics or themes across subject areas.
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Providing direct instruction in core values

Some jurisdictions and schools provide explicit instruction about core values. They create opportunities for students to learn about core values through: ethical discussions and stories to know what the value is observing role models and participating in a caring community to see what the value looks like ethical decision making, positive relationship building and service learning to practise and apply the value, and related language, behaviours and attitudes.
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Michele Borba suggests the following five steps for the direct instruction of a particular core value. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Identify behaviour. Identify core value. Identify habit. Weave it in. Track it.
A number of resources provide information and sample strategies for supporting this type of direct instruction. For example, The Virtues Project (2000), developed by Linda Kavelin Popov, offers a bank of information on a number of specific core values. This information includes: what the value is why practise it how to practise it what it would look like in different types of situations signs of success sample affirmations activities to support understanding such as mind mapping, roleplaying scenarios, reflection questions, picture prompts, poster points and sample quotes.
Through religious education programs and through the permeation of gospel values in all curriculum, faith-based schools and programs support the growth of students as responsible citizens, encouraging them to act ethically and morally in the family, community and work environments.
Organizing by grade level

A number of schools and jurisdictions identify specific core values targeted at specific grade levels, taking into account developmental appropriateness. In this approach, grade-level teachers choose literature and other learning activities that enhance and deepen understanding of that specific value. For example, Grade 1 students may focus on kindness all year and Grade 6 students may focus on a more sophisticated value such as leadership.
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Organizing schoolwide themes

Core values can also be used as a thematic focus for classroom and school activities. A schedule of monthly themes may be developed for a single school year, or three or four sets of ten core values may run over a three- or four-year cycle. Some schools choose to break down a core value into four related values that can be introduced weekly to support and build on an overall monthly theme. For example, an overarching monthly theme on kindness might incorporate a weekly focus on related values such as helpfulness, patience, thankfulness and tolerance. Some schools or jurisdictions with a well-established character and citizenship initiative may revitalize their focus by developing an annual theme such as the Year of Compassion or the Year of Courage.
Exploring related behaviours

Another strategy is to deepen understanding of a monthly target value by exploring specific behaviours that demonstrate and support that core value. For example, students understanding of kindness could be enhanced by discussing and practising behaviours such as using kind words, offering to help, inviting others to join and showing appreciation.
Critical Questions
Although it may be appropriate to directly teach students about core values, it is important to critically consider the pedagogy and intent of the instruction, and identify other approaches that may be used to supplement direct instruction. Kohn proposes key questions to consider when choosing approaches and developing strategies for supporting character and citizenship education.6 At what level are problems addressed? Is the goal to fix students, or is it more comprehensive? Kohn argues that there is a tendency to oversimplify social problems without taking into account political and economic realities such as unemployment, racism and other inequities. He contends that behaviour and character reflect the context in which we find ourselves, and argues that character and citizenship education should start with school culture, rather than solely attempting to change students. What is the view of human nature? In order for character and citizenship education to be effective, it must begin with a positive view of human nature. Educators need to ensure they are working to build on students (and schools) strengths, rather than operating from a deficit model that aims to fix them.
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What is the ultimate goal? Educators need to look beyond a tendency to romanticize the past and preserve certain traditions by seeking to help students become active citizens, and principled and caring members of the community. Which values? The reality is that schools, as social institutions, are value-laden whether or not educators choose to articulate and make explicit those values. Kohn encourages educators to identify what values currently exist in their schools and to carefully choose which to emphasize. What is the theory of learning? A final essential question encourages educators to think carefully about how the instructional strategies used fit into an overall theory of learning. Schools need to consider how they will track and reinforce the core values they have identified. Kohn suggests that many schools attempt to transmit values to students through lectures, rote drilling and extrinsic rewards, even when they use a more constructivist approach in all other areas. The use of reward systems or other reinforcement strategies may be counterproductive because they may impede development of intrinsic motivation and commitment.
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Kohn encourages educators to use active learning processes that engage students in deep, critical reflection about certain ways of being (1997, p. 429) and in turn foster a genuine and long-lasting commitment to ethical behaviour. He also suggests that the most successful programs are those in which the promotion of childrens social and moral development is grounded in a commitment to change the culture of schools (1997, p. 437). (See Chapter 5 for strategies for strengthening school culture.)
The Ethics and Implications of Character and Citizenship Education

As with any teaching practice, ethics are central to all aspects of character and citizenship education in schools. It is important to consider ethical questions that inform any initiative developed. For example, How might intended changes affect others? Who has an interest in being informed about this initiative? Who will own information generated by the initiative?
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These kinds of questions can be further informed by four types of ethical practices. Ethics of hope: Character and citizenship education is motivated by an interest in making schools better places for students. It should be informed by a concern and optimism regarding the broad range of issues affecting students and the school community. Ethics of caring: It is too easy to see project completion as the central purpose of a character and citizenship initiative. At all times, the real people involvedstudents, teachers and othersmust be kept at the forefront. Ethics of openness: Character and citizenship initiatives can unwittingly create insiders and outsiders in a school. It is important that all stakeholders be involved and informed. Ethics of responsibility: As professionals, teacher-researchers must be committed to principled action. The welfare of students and the need to maintain collegiality must be kept in mind at all times.
Endnotes
1. Howard, Berkowitz and Schaeffer 2004. 2. Adapted with permission from Joel Westheimer, Citizenship Education for a Democratic Society, Teach Magazine (MarchApril 2003), pp. 18, 19. 3. Sears and Hughes 1996, Sears 1996. 4. Adapted with permission from Yvonne Hbert, A Research-based Focus on Literacy and Citizenship Education Issues (paper presented to the Third International Metropolis Conference, Israel, November 29December 3, 1998), Metropolis Site International, 1998, www.international. metropolis.net/events/Israel/ papers/hebert.html (Accessed August 15, 2004). 5. Solomon, Watson and Battistich 2001. 6. Kohn 1997. 7. Carson et al. 1989.
These four types of ethical practices, originally developed by Carson et al. to guide action research projects, are a reminder that ethical issues are often complex and the school environment is multifaceted.7 A scan, survey or cultural audit, based on a synthesis of the research literature, offers a series of questions to help educators align school culture and organization with approaches and strategies for character and citizenship education. See Appendix B for sample tools for assessing school cultures.
Collaborative effort
Research clearly shows that character and citizenship education is most effective when it is deliberate, thoughtful and grounded in school-based decision making. The most successful character and citizenship education initiatives involve teachers working together toward a common goal. Even if every teacher does only one small thing in his or her classroom, this collaborative effort will be much more effective than different teachers working in isolation towards different goals. Whatever approach to character and citizenship education a jurisdiction or school chooses to implement, it is important to consider Michael Fullans caution that change is a three- to seven-year process and his advice to Think big. Start small. Move slowly. With broad involvement, careful planning, conscientious implementation and purposeful reflection, schools can create character and citizenship education that is meaningful, sustainable and thereby successful for everyone involved.
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Assessing Character and Citizenship Education Initiatives

Accountability looks forward. Being accountable is not a ledger page or a spreadsheet. It means taking the information and using it to make judgementsabout quality, about how good is good enough and, most importantly, about how to make changes that will enhance and extend student learning, for all children. Earl 1998, p. 21
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ssessment of student achievement is an important component of the educational process. Approaches to assessing character and citizenship education initiatives go beyond student achievement scores. It is important that jurisdictions, schools and classroom teachers find authentic and appropriate methods to comprehensively and systematically measure development of character and citizenship. No initiative can be considered successful unless there are positive outcomes.
The field of character education is rife with initiatives and programs but woefully poor in evaluating them. Educators need to know what works, and we all need to pay closer attention to the effects of what we do, not only to help improve our work but also to answer questions asked by parents, administrators, and the broader community. Berkowitz n.d., Foreword
A similar situation exists in citizenship education. Although studies cite improvement in student attitudes, behaviour and participation, and provide testimonials about increased student achievement, few studies directly link citizenship education initiatives to student learning and growth. Even fewer studies assess the effectiveness of this type of instruction. The process of developing character and citizenship projects begins with assessment in mind. Detailing what will be assessed defines the purpose of initiatives.
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Assessment is based on questions about projected impact of the work. For example, how will the initiative impact: student understanding, attitudes and behaviour instruction the school environment (e.g., organization, scheduling, activities, leadership, decision making)?
Answering these questions is an ongoing process of developing character and citizenship education initiatives.
Planning for Assessment

A thoughtful assessment guides the development and evaluation of the results of initiatives. Many strategies may be used before, during and after implementation of initiatives. The Character Education Partnership (CEP) describes the following framework for assessment.
Three forms of evaluationneeds assessment, process evaluation, and outcome evaluationare useful tools throughout planning and implementation. Needs assessments provide information about what students, staff, and community members want and need from the program; process evaluations assess the quality and comprehensiveness of implementation efforts; and outcome evaluations document evidence of program effectiveness. Posey and Davidson 2002, p. 1
Assessment of character and citizenship initiatives includes monitoring three primary components of character: knowledge, feelings and behaviour. Some measures indicate changes in attitudes or behaviour (e.g., student self-reports), others may even provide contradictory evidence (e.g., teacher/parent reports or school records). Collecting multiple measurements (e.g., surveys, school records and testimonials) from multiple stakeholders (including students, parents and staff ) on an ongoing basis is recommended.
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An assessment workplan helps schools to determine assessment approaches that help meet the needs of students and work to strengthen school and community. The following is an example adapted from the Character Education Partnership.1 Evaluation Goal
Establish character and citizenship education goals
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Timeline
Evaluation Procedure
Baseline Assessment. Issue a survey to all September 30 Issue survey students, staff and parents regarding October 1 Calculate survey results strengths, weaknesses and recommendations October 15 Report results for the initiative. November 1 Design checklist November 721 Observe classrooms and/or interview teachers December 1 Report results February 15 Decide on assessment measurements related to goals of initiative March 1 Issue school climate survey to students, staff and parents March 15 Calculate survey results April 1 Collect discipline and attendance records April 21 Report results
Assess current implementation procedures Process Evaluation. Design a checklist of programming components that should be observable schoolwide, then assess current implementation procedures through interviews and observations. Evaluate the effectiveness of the initiative Outcome Evaluation. Prioritize initiative goals and designate appropriate assessment measurements (e.g., issue a school climate survey to assess students perceptions of schools strengths and needs; collect discipline records to track incidents of misbehaviours; review attendance records to estimate correlations between school climate and attendance).
Use evaluation results to improve planning and implementation
Action Research. Propose planning and May 1 Report findings and propose program adjustments to the school implementation improvements based on the community needs assessment, process evaluation and outcome evaluation results.
Evaluation tools
A true experimental model, with random selection of two or more similar groups (one group receives intervention and others do not), produces empirical assessment results, but is not generally practical or appropriate for school-based initiatives. Practical evaluation strategies for school-based initiatives include: pre- and post-tests surveys interviews school records observation data.
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Action research
Dr. David Townsend of the University of Lethbridge has developed an action research process used extensively by teachers. This 12-step process is an effective way to: develop a deep practical understanding of how an initiative impacts those involved ensure upfront planning for assessment and evaluation.2
These steps occur and reoccur in cycles, and in loops within cycles. It describes, rather than prescribes, what groups of teachers actually do as they engage in collaborative research. Researchers, most often classroom teachers, first detail the initiatives design describing: assumptions requirements strategies plans timetables concrete activities expected effects.
Over time, the researchers work collaboratively with staff to monitor how the initiative unfolds. The action research process can be summarized as the following steps.2 1. Define the focus or problem 2. 3. 4. Ask the right questions (for example, Whats the next thing we need to know more about in our school?). Begin reflection. Read the literature, consult colleagues, and talk to experts and others with experience. Continue reflection. Consider what information is relevant and practical to your purpose and situation. Identify information that could be modified or adapted to suit the circumstances. Share preliminary conclusions with the team. Be prepared to deal with conflicting information and ideas.
Collect information
Make sense of the information
Share the information
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5.
Plan action Share individual intentions with members of the team. Build personal commitment and group support. Develop a plan of action. Write it down. Start putting your plan into effect. Reflect on action: begin to think critically about what is happening and why. Gather data to answer your research question. Document results carefully. Meet regularly to share information. Compare pre- and post-intervention data. Use the collective knowledge of the group to make sense of what is happening and why. Refocus, as necessary. Persevere. Think about evidence-based practice. Use all the evidence available to determine what has been accomplished, what may have gone wrong, and why. Make sure your conclusions are supported by the data collected. Commit to making conclusions about the impact of your efforts. Share conclusions with the group. Be prepared to disseminate your report beyond your group and beyond your school and/or jurisdiction. Celebrate not only at the end, but at all appropriate times. Take time to relax. Take time to consolidate your learning and gains before starting something new. Begin the process again.
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6.
Take action
7.
Collect information
8.
Analyze and evaluate in a continuous way
9.
Assess achievements
10. Publish results and conclusions
11. Celebrate
12. Future action
See Appendix D for more information on action research.

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Needs Assessment
Before a character or citizenship education initiative is developed, the schools areas of need and readiness to commit are assessed. Needs assessments may be developed to consider: needs of students, teachers, leadership, jurisdiction and the broader community commonly-held assumptions about character and citizenship education degree of commitment to character and citizenship education support available (resources, professional development, funding, jurisdiction support) parent and community interest and involvement.
Needs assessments may include strategies such as focus groups, interviews, surveys and questionnaires.
Once school and community needs are determined, a specific focus is defined with consideration of the following questions. Is it possible to address the issues in the time available? Is the climate of the school supportive of this focus? Will this focus be of value to school, staff and community? Will addressing this issue enhance professional practice of staff? Will it be possible to adequately assess an initiative related to this focus? Is there access to literature or resources that provide background information on this issue?
Developing Knowledge of the Issue

Once a focus has been identified, the next step is to learn about the issue. The time involved varies with the quantity of information available and the scope of the issue. A knowledge base and discovering what others have experienced helps to refine goals and focus on likely solutions. Consider the following strategies for developing background knowledge. Talking Seek out expert knowledge by talking to individuals in your school jurisdiction who have taken courses, attended conferences or applied relevant information in the classroom. Contact universities to learn of professors or graduate students who have researched the issue. Check with the Alberta Teachers Association, The Society for Safe and Caring Schools and Communities, and regional consortia for experts or presenters of workshops on the topic. Make contact by telephone or e-mail. Arrange a meeting or ask for advice.
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Literature review Work with a teacher-librarian to search print and web-based materials. Refer to bibliographies to identify additional sources or writers working in the field. Professional development Conferences, workshops and courses are excellent networking opportunities. These events allow participants immersion in the topic and discussion with others interested in the same topic. They can also provide skills training and materials to assist in planning and implementing initiatives. Documenting Thorough documentation creates a record for future reference, builds continuity and ensures that information is accessible for sharing with others.
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Designing a Data Collection Plan

A data collection plan describes the initiative to be implemented, types of data to be collected and individuals responsible for the plan. Data is gathered for different purposes at different steps in the process. Baseline data determines the extent of a problem and clarifies the existing situation. It answers questions such as How big is the problem? and What is the current situation? Baseline data is essential in ensuring that assessment of the initiative is based on authentic change and improvement. Data measures impact of the intervention by answering questions such as Are we making a difference? and Is the situation changing?
Other guidelines for data collection include the following. Choose data sources that directly assess the initiatives success. Collect data from as many sources as possible. Keep a data log that includes the date, time and information collected. Organize the data around themes, key issues or topics.
Process Evaluation
An assessment of the implementation process ensures that assessments are meaningful. Outcomes may vary due to differences in how, and how well, an initiative or project was implemented in different classrooms, schools or school jurisdictions. If a schools character and citizenship education initiative is not being implemented the way it was intended, then assessment of student learning, behaviour and actions has no context. Success or effectiveness cannot be claimed.
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The following questions are examples that may be considered in developing assessments that focus on process. These questions should be discussed by the action team in collaboration with administrators, teaching staff and, if appropriate for the project, school board members, parents and students. What are the goals of the character and citizenship education initiative? What issues or problems do the goals address? What does the school or jurisdiction want to learn? How does the school plan to use the information? What other evaluation methods are being used by the school or jurisdiction? How successful do these methods appear to be? Are character and citizenship education initiatives working well? What improvements are possible? What issues and/or problems have arisen in the implementation? How might these issues be addressed? Who might be interested in participating in the evaluation process? What resources are currently available? What others might be available? How much time is practical for evaluators to commit to the effort? How is this initiative related to the curriculum? How does the initiative involve students, parents and community?3
Outcome Evaluation
Outcome evaluation assesses the success of the initiative in achieving its goals. Character and citizenship refer to a broad set of actions, beliefs, behaviours and psychological characteristics. Identifying specific goals for an initiative will help determine the most relevant evaluation procedures and instruments. Outcomes that are knowledge- or curriculum-based may be assessed as part of ongoing student evaluation in subjects such as social studies, science, health and life skills, and language arts. Those related to school climate; student skills, attitudes and behaviours; and discipline issues may require specific measures to determine impact. A clear sense of purpose for procedures and instruments used will help determine a plan for how the data is going to be analyzed and shared with school and community partners.
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Sources of Research Data

There are many possible sources of research data but not all will be applicable to any given situation. For example, the Developmental Studies Center uses three questionnaire scales to measure sense of community. They suggest that beginning in Grade 3 or 4, students can be surveyed about: classroom supportivenessby asking them to agree or disagree with statements such as: My class is like a family and Students in my class help each other learn classroom autonomyby asking them about opportunities to exercise autonomy, such as how often Students in my class can get a rule changed if they think it is unfair and In my class I get to do things that I want to do school supportivenessby asking them to agree or disagree with such statements as: Teachers and students treat each other with respect at this school and Students in this school help each other, even if they are not friends.4
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Data gathered directly relates to the research question. The list below identifies potential data sources.5 Consider how sources may provide data to contribute to your research question.
Document analysis
K K K K K K K student achievement data samples of student work anecdotal records behaviour records activity reports standardized test scores ____________________ K K K K K K self-evaluation records attendance records lesson plans student portfolios pre-test and post-test scores ____________________
Observations
K K K K checklists sociograms videotapes ____________________ K K K K anecdotal records rubrics photographs ____________________
Interviews
K K K K K students administrators experts surveys ____________________ K K K K K teachers parents focus groups questionnaires ____________________
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Surveys and questionnaires

Surveys and questionnaires are tools for collecting data from a large number of people.6 Advantages
Efficient means of gathering large amounts of data Respondents can be anonymous Rating scales yield data that can be displayed in tables and charts Useful for pre- and post-intervention data gathering
Disadvantages
Not a good source of quantitative data; best used to identify trends or themes Can lack the richness of personal interviews or direct observation Open-ended questions are time-consuming to analyze Questions must be worded clearly to avoid misinterpretation
Consider the following tips for using surveys and questionnaires.6 Ensure that all questions directly align with the research question and design. Field test the questions with three to five people not involved in the study. Understand that different formats of questions will yield different types of data. Use a computer database to save time in organizing and analyzing the data.
Interviews
Interviews are purposeful conversations between participants and researchers.7 Advantages
Provides opportunity for in-depth conversation with participants May yield rich data Questions may be clarified if necessary Room for additional questions Useful with younger students or students who have difficulty reading
Disadvantages
Interviews and data analysis may be timeconsuming If interview is poorly planned, data may be difficult to analyze Respondents do not have anonymity Possibility of interviewer bias Data is not easily quantified
Consider the following tips for conducting interviews.7 Develop a set of questions that focus on the identified research problem.
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Field test interview questions with three to five people not involved in the study. Consider group interviews with students, depending on the research question. Take time to develop rapport with respondents.
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Observation tips
Observation, looking with a purpose,8 can be effective especially when combined with other data-collection methods.9 Advantages
Provides holistic picture Is effective in classroom and on playgrounds Documents nonverbal behaviours Increases researchers sensitivity to multiple variables
Disadvantages
Might be difficult to isolate specific behaviours Multiple observations increase validity Time-consuming, labour intensive May be distracting to participants
Consider the following tips for collecting data through observation.9 Develop an observation plan and a data-collection template. Conduct observations at different times of the day. Consider using a videotape when ethically appropriate. Be aware that observers presence may affect participants behaviour, alter findings. Endnotes
1. Adapted with permission from Julea Posey and Matthew Davidson, Character Education Evaluation Toolkit (Washington, DC: Character Education Partnership, 2002), p. 41. 2. Adapted with permission from David Townsend, Action Research: Facilitation and Implementation (Edmonton, AB: The Alberta Teachers Association, 2001), pp. 1819. 3. Adapted with permission from Julea Posey and Matthew Davidson, Character Education Evaluation Toolkit (Washington, DC: Character Education Partnership, 2002), p. 8. (continued on next page)
Analyzing the Data

Most data collected to assess character and citizenship education initiatives is qualitative. This information must be carefully analyzed and interpreted to draw conclusions. The process of qualitative analysis includes critical reading, finding connections in data and forming judgements. Data is analyzed systematically and objectively. Making notes throughout the dataexamination process is effective. The sample steps below may provide general guidelines for organizing and analyzing qualitative data. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Jot down themes, patterns and big ideas from data. Pare down list to essential points. Label information according to themes identified, creating subthemes. Review all information. Identify points that occur frequently and are the most powerful. Match collected data with each major point.10
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Endnotes (continued)
4. Reproduced from Eric Schaps and Victor Battistich, Community in School: Central to Character Formation and More (presentation at White House Conference on Character and Community, June 19, 2002), Developmental Studies Center, copyright 2002 by Eric Schaps and Victor Battistich (reprinted by permission), www.devstu.org/about/articles /CharacterandCommunity.ht ml (Accessed August 20, 2004). 5. Adapted with permission from Action Research Guide for Teachers, published by the Alberta Teachers Association, 2000, p. 22. 6. Ibid., p. 23. 7. Ibid., p. 24. 8. Grady 1998. 9. Adapted with permission from Action Research Guide for Teachers, published by the Alberta Teachers Association, 2000, p. 25. 10. Adapted from Joan Richardson, Teacher Research Leads to Learning, Action, Tools for Schools (February/March 2000), www.nsdc.org/library/ publications/tools/tools200rich.cfm (Accessed November 4, 2004). Excerpted with permission of the National Staff Development Council, www.nsdc.org, 2005. All rights reserved.
Sharing Assessment Findings

Sharing the process and results of character and citizenship education initiatives: encourages reflection by the team helps to organize thoughts contributes to professional knowledge about what makes an initiative successful encourages others to understand evaluation.
See Appendix F for a list of sample evaluation tools and strategies.
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Creating a Safe and Caring School Culture

Building a safe, caring and inclusive school culture means teaching it minute by minute, day by day, integrating it into discipline practices and curriculum, using instructional models that provide practice in social and relationship skills and, most importantly, modelling it. Vicki Mather, Executive Director The Society for Safe and Caring Schools and Communities
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o what extent do character and citizenship education initiatives depend on school culture? How can they shape and change school culture? Why does culture matter?
Some educators assert that schools with a healthy culture are already successfully doing character and citizenship education, even though they may not explicitly identify it as such.1 Others argue simply that school culture is a necessary component of any kind of school improvement initiative: In study after study, where culture did not support and encourage reform, it did not happen if you dont have a strong and healthy school culture, none of the rest will matter (Peterson 1998, p. 1). Both positions agree that a successful effort to change what happens in the school environment is directly linked to school culture.
Exploring the Culture of the School

What is school culture and how does it relate to character and citizenship education? The culture of a school encompasses all conditions, expectations, beliefs and behaviours prevalent within that school community. A schools culture reflects values and attitudes of its members and the nature of relationships within that environment. Values and attitudes are more significant for a school culture if they are shared. Although individual members of the school community construct their own meaning for core values, the act of sharing gives these values significance in the school culture. Although the two terms school culture and school climate are often used interchangeably, school climate refers mostly to the schools effect on students, and the feelings and opinions about the various aspects of the school and how it operates, as perceived by students, teachers and administrators. School culture, on the other hand, refers more to ways members of the school community work
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together. School climate, which takes less time to change, influences school culture. Research consistently shows that making changes to an organizational culture is about a seven year process. The Alberta School Boards Association defines a safe and secure school culture as one that is physically, emotionally and psychologically safe characterized by: caring common values and beliefs respect for democratic values, rights and responsibilities respect for cultural diversity respect for law and order common social expectations clear and consistent behavioural expectations appropriate and positive role modelling by staff and students respect for individual differences effective anger-management strategies community, family, student and staff involvement (1994, p. 16).
Before schools begin to make changes to strengthen culture, they need a complete and realistic picture of existing school culture. Assessment can help schools and jurisdictions understand and describe current school culture while identifying desired changes and results. Assessment needs to be a collaborative process centred in the school environment. It may begin with students, parents, staff and community members identifying values that they believe are inherent to a positive school culture.
Conducting Assessments of School Culture

Cultural scans, surveys or audits provide opportunities for collaboration and dialogue, and starting points for reflection on the existing culture of the school. These surveys, based on a synthesis of the research literature, offer a series of questions to help assess school culture with regard to character and citizenship. Answers to these questions should be grounded in and supported by evidence gathered from the environment and the interactions that take place within that environment. Any gaps that become apparent when working through the survey may provide useful starting points for defining and strengthening the schools culture, and planning initiatives and activities that can support and enhance character and citizenship education. It is important to have a wide representation from all members of the school community participate in assessment activities because responses to the surveys will differ depending on who completes them. There is much information to be gained by seeking out multiple perspectives. For example, research about bullying and
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harassment clearly demonstrates that adults in the school do not witness a large majority of this student behaviour. To get the most accurate picture of the school climate, it is essential to gather data from students. Cultural assessments can also be revisited at different intervals during an initiative and can provide useful data for ongoing planning and implementation of initiatives. See Appendices B-1, B-2 and B-3 for sample tools for conducting cultural assessments with students. These student survey instruments, as well as detailed instructions for administrating these surveys, are also located on The Society for Safe and Caring Schools and Communities Web site at www.sacsc.ca.
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Beginning with Indicators

Developing indicators can be another useful strategy for exploring school culture. Indicators describe what a positive school culture looks like, and can be used to assess strengths and challenges within current school culture. Students, teachers, administrators, parents and community members discuss and negotiate a list of indicators, such as core values, behaviours and actions important to them. By assessing school culture against indicators, staff can define and plan instruction and assessment to best meet the needs of students, staff and community. Safe and caring school outcomes are developed around nine essential components of safe and caring schools: a caring and respectful environment a safe and secure environment effective discipline procedures focus on teaching and learning equity, fairness and tolerance use of supportive strategies behaviour management and skills development staff development, roles and responsibilities positive school-community relationships.
Supporting Safe, Secure and Caring Schools in Alberta (Alberta Learning 1999) examines these nine components and provides a scan that assists staff to determine the current situation in their schools. Analysis of each factor helps staff review efforts. Like other school-culture assessment tools, this scan needs to be completed by a variety of school stakeholders if it is to generate accurate data. Another example of indicators that could be used for assessment are those relating to The Society for Safe and Caring Schools and Communities. The Attributes of a Safe and Caring School were developed from a series of provincial roundtable discussions.
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The attributes describe how members of a safe and caring school community foster climate, support learning and promote services to others. The attributes detail how members of the school community: foster a safe and caring climate work cooperatively provide activities and programs develop behavioural guidelines choose and distribute resources.
See Appendix E for a description of these attributes. A faith-based school might develop additional sample indicators such as: opportunities for prayer and reflection parish involvement commitment to social justice and service learning permeation of gospel values across the curriculum.
Another strategy for gathering information about a school culture is to develop a set of exploratory questions and conduct a cultural audit through interviews, group discussion and examination of school documents and policies. See Appendix B-4 for a sample framework for a school cultural audit.
Building a Healthy School Culture

Once schools have a thorough understanding of current culture, they can begin setting goals and implementing changes. Improvement is a gradual and ongoing process. Initiating change and working to improve school culture requires collaborative planning and thoughtful identification of the principles on which any initiative will be based. These principles must be identified, agreed upon and internalized through processes that include staff, students, parents and other community members. Building a healthy school culture begins with defining what a healthy school culture looks like. Saphier and King assert that Cultures are built through the everyday business of school life. It is the way business is handled that both forms and reflects the culture (1985, p. 72). They identify 12 norms that need to be strong in order to create a healthy school culture:
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collegiality experimentation high expectations trust and confidence tangible support reaching out to the knowledge base
appreciation and recognition caring, celebration and humour involvement in decision making protection of whats important traditions honest, open communications.2
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Of the 12 norms, Saphier highlights collegiality, experimentation and reaching out to the knowledge base as most strongly associated with improved student achievement.3
Collaborative Problem Solving

A collaborative problem-solving process extends initial exploration of school culture and leads the way for developing an action plan. This process helps staff, administrators, parents, students and community members explore differences and search for solutions to support individual and group needs. Collaborative problem solving focuses on mutual gains and increases likelihood of reaching agreement on potentially divisive issues.4 Commitment to collaborative problem solving encourages collective action. Although problem-solving models vary, all are built on a collaborative process that includes the following basic stages.5 Preparationidentify key individuals or groups to participate, establish commitment to collaborative process and make necessary arrangements with representative members. Direction settingestablish expectations, determine guidelines and communicate ground rules for process, build support for shared planning, decision making, leadership, and identification and discussion of shared problems, issues and concerns. Generating and analyzing optionsgenerate and analyze options, and gain consensus on plan of action. Implementationoutline and clarify action plan, anticipate potential problems and methods of handling them, establish monitoring and evaluation plan. Monitoring and refiningmonitor what has worked, and adjust parts of the action plan that are not successful. Collaborative problem solving emphasizes group leadership and requires participants to demonstrate strong interpersonal communication skills.
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Leading for Change

The development of a strong school culture begins with the school principal. The principal sets the tone for the entire school, models behaviours that encourage and support other staff members, and helps them develop positive interactions with students (Alberta Learning 1999, p. 53). The principal is more than just an instructional leader. He or she is also a change leader who focuses on improvement of school culture. Change leaders share five characteristics: moral purpose an understanding of the change process the ability to improve relationships a desire to create and share knowledge throughout an organization the ability to generate coherent reform.6
As principals and other school leaders develop plans to change school culture, they consider the following principles of effective leadership.7
Take responsibility for student learning

Challenge assumptions. School leaders help staff members question assumptions about how much they can affect student learning. Volumes of research demonstrate that what happens in school makes a difference in student achievement. Leaders share findings and talk with staff about these studies. Create small victories. Leaders demonstrate patience and take a long-range view. They also identify, achieve and celebrate smaller objectives that provide evidence of growth along the way. Celebrate success. Leaders find ways to recognize individual teachers for students accomplishments, teaching teams for reaching student achievement goals, and the whole staff for evidence of improving student performance.
Create a collaborative culture

Cultivate effective teams. Schools plant seeds of collaborative culture when they develop capacity of teachers to work together. All teachers are assigned to teams focused on student learning. Team structure (e.g., course, grade level, interdepartmental, vertical) is less important than having all staff participate as a part of teams with student learning as the focus. Provide time for collaboration. A school is more likely to have a collaborative culture if there is a master schedule with a consistent time each week for teams to work together during the school day. Principals need to protect collaborative time for teamwork just as teachers protect instructional time for students.
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Ask each team to develop operational protocols. Teachers may benefit from establishing protocols to guide their work. Team protocols outline commitment of members to one another in carrying out their work. Monitor and celebrate the work of teams. School leaders do more than provide teachers with time to meet in their teams; they monitor the work of teams, collect and review documents and artifacts produced, and celebrate successful completion of group tasks.
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Emphasize common goals

Find common ground. School leaders acknowledge differences but concentrate on identifying a few big ideas for others to rally around. They generate support for big ideas by helping everyone understand best practices and presenting information that allows staff and community to assess how the school measures up to those practices. Ask for commitments. A school community that identifies specific actions and behaviours expected of members is more likely to create a healthy culture than one that focuses on failures. School leaders help groups shift the focus from shortcomings of others to their own sphere of influence, asking each groups members to share what they are prepared to do to bring critical concepts to life.
Focus on results
Develop targets and timelines. When schools focus on a few critical goals and establish benchmarks to monitor progress toward those goals, they are more likely to focus energies on well-researched innovations aligned with their goals. Be selective. Effective school leaders are a buffer between staff and well-intentioned groups or individuals (e.g., lobby groups, media, etc.) who want to press agendas on schools. School leaders understand that not all ideas for school improvement are practical or desirable, and recognize limits to a staff s capacity to implement meaningful change.
Students Role in a Caring Community

School staff and parents play important roles in shaping school culture, but for meaningful change to occur, students must be an integral part of the process. The best way to do this is to create a caring, supportive community in the classroom and school, so that students feel a sense of acceptance and belonging.
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There are many reasons why students should be meaningfully involved in their schools, including the following. Students can be a part of preventing as well as solving problems. Students can learn to tackle real-world problems and establish relationships with others through their involvement and participation in school leadership activity. Giving back to a community helps students develop empathy and tolerance for other points of view. Students have valuable ideas regarding school safety, leadership and responsible citizenship. Student involvement creates a sense of ownership for the well-being of the school community. Confident and connected students have fewer problems with drugs, alcohol, eating disorders and smoking. Student involvement encourages students to advocate for themselves, personally and collectively.
From the moment students come together in a school or a classroom, they begin to form a community. They work together on projects, spend time together at recess or during lunch, and begin to establish beliefs about each other based on their initial perceptions and ongoing interactions. Promoting a caring and supportive community is an ongoing process that takes time, energy and commitment. It not only involves daily modelling of positive character traits and exemplary behaviour but also requires a solid commitment to establishing meaningful relationships with others (both in the classroom and in the larger school community), encouraging dialogue between all involved (students, teachers, support staff, parents, board members), and making a genuine effort to listen to and understand others. To start the process of connecting and caring, teachers create opportunities in the classroom to help students get to know each other as unique and worthwhile individuals. Teachers also get to know each child. When a teacher and students know a childs story, relationships begin (Van Bockern and Wenger 1999, p. 216). When students are members of a nurturing, caring classroom where they receive respect and feel their contributions are valued and honoured on a daily basis, they develop a feeling of responsibility to the group and their membership in it. Positive behaviours and actions of respect and caring gradually become part of their daily lives and part of their character. Alberta Educations resource Working Together for Safe and Caring Schools, Grades 712: Resource Manual for Students, Staff and Parents (2003) was developed as a collaborative project with the Calgary Board of Education. The goal of this project was to encourage students to take a leadership role to promote safe and caring schools.
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The manual introduces the five dimensions of safe and caring schools: Student Involvement and Leadership, Relationships, Physical Security, Emotional Wellness, and School and Community Connections. It discusses the importance of each dimension and offers sample strategies for strengthening each dimension. It offers practical ideas and strategies for getting started, staying on track and evaluating the initiative. It also contains an inventory of tried-and-true strategies used by schools in the implementation of their own safe and caring schools initiatives. A PDF version of this resource can be downloaded at www.education.gov.ab.ca/safeschools/ authorized_resources.asp.
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Developing Social Skills

Getting along with others is a key component of a strong community, and an essential skill for life. While many students come to school with some social skills already in place, most students benefit from direct teaching of appropriate social skills such as thinking before acting, listening, establishing and maintaining friendships, dealing with feelings, accepting consequences, and dealing with peer pressure. These skills and specific behavioural expectations should be defined, modelled, taught and reinforced. Through consistent modelling, teaching and reinforcement of positive social skills, teachers, other school staff and parents help to enhance students self-control, respect for rights of others, and sense of responsibility for their own actions. These essential skills are a foundation for responsible, global citizens. There are numerous ways to teach social skills and communicate behavioural expectations in the classroom. Using a variety of strategies addresses different learning preferences. Consider strategies such as the following. Model social skills through daily interactions with students and all members of the school community by consistently speaking politely and respectfully, and demonstrating kindness. Display a chart of classroom expectations or rules. Role-play skills in different scenarios. Use cooperative games. Hold class meetings. Read literature that highlights character development by analyzing character behaviour. Use journal-writing activities to encourage reflection. Provide direct instruction about specific social behaviours.
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There are many resources available for direct teaching of positive social skills to students in Kindergarten through Grade 12. Most programs will include the following steps. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Identify what social skill needs to be taught. Introduce the skill to students through stories, video, discussion or role-playing. Identify components or steps involved. Model components or steps of the skill. Create opportunities for students to practise and reinforce the skill through other activities. Acknowledge and celebrate independent use of the skill. Provide opportunities and support to help students apply skills across environments and situations.
Endnotes
1. Yero 2002. 2. From Jon Saphier and Matthew King, Good Seeds Grow in Strong Cultures, Educational Leadership 42, 6 (1985), p. 67. Reprinted by permission. The Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development is a worldwide community of educators advocating sound policies and sharing best practices to achieve the success of each learner. To learn more, visit ASCD at www.ascd.org. 3. Richardson 1996. 4. Kouzes and Posner 1995. 5. Adapted with permission from Caring and Respectful Schools: Toward SchoolPLUS Ensuring Student Well-Being and Educational Success (pp. 12, 79), by Saskatchewan Learning, 2004, Regina, SK: Author. 6. Fullan 2002. 7. Adapted from Rick DuFour and Becky Burnette, Pull Out Negativity by Its Roots, Journal of Staff Development 23, 3 (2002), www.nsdc.org/ library/publications/jsd/ burnette233.cfm (Accessed November 9, 2004). Excerpted with permission of the National Staff Development Council, www.nsdc.org, 2005. All rights reserved.
6. 7.
The Alberta Education resource Supporting the Social Dimension: Resource Guide for Teachers, Grades 712 (2002) provides support for the teaching and learning of social skills and behaviours across Alberta Educations grades 712 programs of study. It includes guidelines, objectives and sample strategies for enhancing social competency skills in five focus areas: personal growth and goal setting, health and well-being, appearance and manner, ethical behaviour, and accountability. A PDF version of this resource can be downloaded at www.education.gov.ab.ca/safeschools/ authorized_resources.asp.
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Infusing Character and Citizenship Education Across the Subjects

Curriculum has two functions, it provides a mirror in which students see themselves, but it also provides a window through which students see others. Author unknown
Chapter 6
haracter and citizenship education is not a separate subject to be taught in isolation. Rather, it integrates guiding principles into the existing curriculum, and into daily experiences and interactions. Social studies has frequently been described as the traditional home of citizenship education, yet there is growing awareness of the role of citizenship education in other subject areas. Similarly, there are many opportunities to incorporate a focus on character attributes within the Alberta programs of study without adding new teaching resources or scheduling. Character and citizenship education can be interwoven through every aspect of school life, from how students and staff members greet one another, to how literature and social studies are discussed, to expectations of conduct in sports. There are a number of strategies for integrating character and citizenship education into existing subject areas. An English language arts teacher may pay special attention to character traits in a novel or may introduce or elaborate themes such as initiative, empathy and fairness in a poem. A math teacher may acknowledge and celebrate perseverance of students who work hard to improve. A science teacher may emphasize the importance of being responsible as a member of a lab group. A social studies class may spend time examining courage or altruism of various cultural groups in history. The Society for Safe and Caring Schools and Communities programs and resources use a framework of five topics to integrate character and citizenship education across all subject areas. The topics are: Living respectfully/building a safe and caring classroom (developing positive classroom climates, and an understanding of and commitment to respect and responsibility) Developing self-esteem (exploring individual strengths and weaknesses, and our relationships with others) Respecting diversity and preventing prejudice (learning about and appreciating multiple perspectives) Managing anger and dealing with bullying and harassment (addressing bullying and anger in self and others) Resolving conflicts peacefully/working it out together (using skills and courteous behaviours to resolve conflicts and solve problems).
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The Kindergarten to Grade 6 resources, Toward a Safe and Caring Curriculum, include sample learning and teaching activities that incorporate these five themes and can be used across the subject areas. Toward a Safe and Caring Curriculum, at the secondary level, also integrates safe and caring skills and attitudes across the subject areas. Visit the Web site www.sacsc.ca for sample lesson plans and instructional strategies.
Developing a Curriculum of Character and Citizenship
Nel Noddings poses the following five questions to encourage educators to think about curriculum in new ways. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. How is caring an essential part of teaching? Why is it important to teach children to care? How can caring be incorporated into the curriculum? Are some subject areas better suited than others for teaching themes of caring? What might a curriculum that included themes of caring look like and how would it be implemented?1
Noddings explores the use of a curriculum of caring as a critical aspect of creating a school community of caring. Although Noddings arguments focus on curriculum and instruction, her views are consistent with ideas presented in the previous chapter regarding school cultures that promote character and citizenship. Noddings suggests that caring can be taught by carefully selecting curricular content from two or more subject areas and then weaving this content around a larger theme of caring. Wiggins and McTighe refer to this larger theme as a big idea that then becomes the focusing rationale for planning and implementation of a given unit of study. They describe big ideas as core concepts, principles, theories, and processes that should serve as the focal point of curricula, instruction, and assessment big ideas are important and enduring [and] transferable beyond the scope of a particular unit (Wiggins and McTighe 2005, p. 338).
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Wiggins and McTighe expand on Noddings central theme of caring, identifying several other big ideas that further aims of character and citizenship education including: challenge character community conflict cooperation courage culture democracy fairness friendship honour interdependence justice liberty loyalty.2
Chapter 6
Additional big ideas such as creativity, discovery, exploration and invention also relate to character and citizenship education.
Science and Social Studies

Both science and social studies programs of study offer a multitude of opportunities for exploring issues and learning new skills related to character and citizenship education. A number of links between science and social studies create a rich context for character and citizenship education. Several of the overarching values and attitudes listed for Kindergarten to Grade 9 social studies correlate directly with the attitude outcomes for science at the corresponding grade level. (See Areas of Compatibility and Commonality Between Science and Social Studies Programs of Study on the following page.) Following this summary are samples of how the Alberta science and social studies programs of study can be used to support character and citizenship education in selected grades. The samples incorporate overarching big ideas. For each grade level, science attitudes and social studies values and attitudes are shown with a big idea that brings outcomes together, along with relevant character and citizenship traits that fall under that theme. This blending can be done across the grade levels and with a number of topics, but within the limits of this resource, we will only offer samples for one grade in each of the first three division levels.
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Chapter 6
Areas of Compatibility and Commonality Between Science and Social Studies Programs of Study
Science (Elementary) Rationale
Elementary and secondary science programs help prepare students for life in a rapidly changing worlda world of expanding knowledge and technology in which new challenges and opportunities arise. Tomorrows citizens will live in a changing environment in which increasingly complex questions and issues will need to be addressed. The decisions and actions of future citizens need to be based on an awareness and understanding of their world, and on the ability to ask relevant questions, seek answers, define problems and find solutions.
The Role of Social Studies (K12)

Social studies develops the key values and attitudes, knowledge and understanding, and skills and processes necessary for students to become active and responsible citizens, engaged in the democratic process and aware of their capacity to effect change in their communities, society and world.
Science (7, 8, 9) Program Rationale and Philosophy

To become scientifically literate, students must develop a thorough knowledge of science and its relationship to technologies and society. They must also develop the broad-based skills needed to identify and analyze problems; explore and test solutions; and seek, interpret and evaluate information. To ensure that programs are relevant to students as well as societal needs, a science program must present science in meaningful contextproviding opportunities for students to explore the process of science, its applications and implications, and to examine related technological problems and issues. By doing so, students become aware of the role of science in responding to social and cultural change, and in meeting needs for a sustainable environment, economy and society.
Active and responsible citizenship within the context of a democratic society Ethical decision making Knowledge, skills and attitudes to conduct ethical and effective inquiry and to communicate results in a variety of formats Critical and creative thinking skills including problem-solving abilities Responsible and ethical use of technology including the critical use of communication technologies
Senior High Science Programs Vision Statement

Students will be expected to show an appreciation for the roles of science and technology in understanding nature. They will possess enthusiasm and positive attitudes toward science, and maintain a lifelong interest in science. The learning context is an integral part of the senior high science programs. It will foster the expected attitudes in students, further the development of students skills and increase students understanding of science knowledge, science process, and the connections among science, technology and society. The context for learning will be relevant so students will experience science as interesting and dynamic. Learning opportunities will be made meaningful by providing concrete experiences that students can relate to their world.
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Sample Blended Unit for Grade 1
Science Topic E: Needs of Animals and Plants Social Studies Topic 1.1: My World: Home, School, Community
Science Attitudes
Students will demonstrate positive attitudes for the study of science and for the application of science in responsible ways. Students will show growth in acquiring and applying the following traits: curiosity confidence in personal ability to explore materials and learn by direct study inventiveness perseverance: staying with an investigation over a sustained period of time appreciation of the value of experience and careful observation a willingness to work with others and to consider their ideas a sense of responsibility for actions taken respect for living things and environments, and commitment to their care.
Big Idea
Living Things Enhance Our Quality of Life (at home, in school and in the community) appreciation cooperation confidence tolerance problem solving perseverance respect responsibility commitment sharing curiosity
Social Studies Values and Attitudes

Students will demonstrate an understanding of how identity and self-esteem are enhanced by their sense of belonging in their world, and how active members in a community contribute to the well-being, growth and vitality of their groups and communities. Students will: value self and others as unique individuals in relation to their world: appreciate how belonging to groups and communities enriches an individuals identity appreciate multiple points of view, languages, cultures and experiences within their groups and communities demonstrate respect for their individual rights and the rights of others recognize and respect how the needs of others may be different from their own value the groups and communities to which they belong: demonstrate a willingness to share and cooperate with others appreciate how their actions might affect other people and how the actions of others might affect them demonstrate a willingness to resolve issues and/or problems peacefully assume responsibility for their individual choices and actions.
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Science Topic A: Waste and Our World Social Studies Topic 4.1: Alberta: A Sense of the Land
Science Attitudes
Students will demonstrate positive attitudes for the study of science and for the application of science in responsible ways. Students will show growth in acquiring and applying the following traits: curiosity confidence in personal ability to explore materials and learn by direct study inventiveness and willingness to consider new ideas perseverance in the search for understanding and for solutions to problems a willingness to base their conclusions and actions on the evidence of their own experiences a willingness to work with others in shared activities and in sharing of experiences appreciation of the benefits gained from shared effort and cooperation a sense of responsibility for personal and group actions respect for living things and environments, and commitment to their care.
Big Idea
appreciation responsibility respect care and concern Environmental Stewardship commitment curiosity confidence inventiveness perseverance sharing cooperation

Students will demonstrate an understanding and appreciation of how elements of physical geography, climate, geology and paleontology are integral to the landscapes and environment of Alberta. Students will: value Albertas physical geography and natural environment: appreciate the diversity of elements pertaining to geography, climate, geology and paleontology in Alberta appreciate how Albertas fossil heritage contributes to the provinces unique character appreciate the variety and abundance of natural resources in Alberta appreciate the environmental significance of national and provincial parks and protected areas in Alberta appreciate how land sustains communities and quality of life demonstrate care and concern for the environment through their choices and actions.
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Science Topic E: Space Exploration Social Studies Topic 9.2: Issues for Canadians: Economic Systems in Canada and the United States
Science Attitudes
Interest in Science Students will be encouraged to: Show interest in science-related questions and issues, and confidently pursue personal interests and career possibilities within science-related fields Mutual Respect Students will be encouraged to: Appreciate that scientific understanding evolves from the interaction of ideas involving people with different views and backgrounds Students will be encouraged to: Seek and apply evidence when evaluating alternative approaches to investigations, problems and issues Collaboration Students will be encouraged to: Work collaboratively in carrying out investigations and in generating and evaluating ideas Stewardship Students will be encouraged to: Demonstrate sensitivity and responsibility in pursuing a balance between the needs of humans and a sustainable environment Safety Students will be encouraged to: Show concern for safety in planning, carrying out and reviewing activities
Big Idea
Space Exploration as a Political and Economic Activity mutual respect sensitivity critical-mindedness collaboration responsibility curiosity stewardship appreciation

Students will demonstrate an understanding and appreciation of how economic decision making in Canada and the United States impacts quality of life, citizenship and identity. Students will: appreciate the values underlying economic decision making in Canada and the United States appreciate the relationship between consumerism and quality of life appreciate the impact of government decision making on quality of life.
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All subject areas have potential for teaching and supporting character and citizenship skills and concepts.
Language Arts
The ability to use language effectively is linked to students abilities to become responsible, contributing citizens and lifelong learners.3 The five general student outcomes all afford potential opportunities for character and citizenship education by creating opportunities for students to: explore thoughts, ideas, feelings and experiences comprehend and respond personally and critically to oral, print and other media texts manage ideas and information enhance the clarity and artistry of communication respect, support and collaborate with others.
As students are guided to explore different perspectives, think critically, communicate in a variety of formats and work cooperatively, they also learn to develop and demonstrate character and citizenship skills.
Mathematics
Confidence, commitment to lifelong learning, displaying a positive attitude, persevering, taking risks and exhibiting curiosity are attributes developed within mathematics. Mathematics, both a science and an art, encourages students to appreciate mathematical contributions to civilization and culture.4 Applied and pure mathematics programs recognize mathematics as a common human activity that increases in importance in a rapidly advancing, technological society.5 Many challenges with regards to ethical use of science apply within the field of mathematics.
Physical Education
Critical elements of the physical education curriculum include developing life skills for personal health management using physical activity as a strategy for managing life challenges, and a setting to practise working with others.6 Positive interactions with others, self-confidence and goal setting are identified as benefits of physical education. All of the above outcomes relate to the development of student character.
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K9 Health and Life Skills, Career and Life Management (CALM)

Making effective personal decisions for current and future issues and challenges, planning and setting goals, employing critical reflection, coping with change and transition, managing stress, recognizing and expanding personal skills, and exploring service learning/volunteerism; these are all aims of the health and life skills curriculum that are encompassed in the general outcomes of Wellness Choices and Relationship Choices.7 All are pertinent to character and citizenship education. These same threads are explored in the Personal Choices element of the CALM curriculum.8
Chapter 6
Aboriginal Studies
Aboriginal Studies 102030 is a provincial course of choice suitable for all students in Alberta. This program of studies provides a framework for learners to enhance understanding of the diverse Aboriginal cultures within their region, Canada and the world. The program can serve to increase awareness, appreciation and understanding of the rich and long-lasting history, culture and contributions of Aboriginal peoples as part of our society. This program helps all students understand that societies are made up of individuals, but each individual has a responsibility to the well-being of the society. It will enable students to appreciate their own cultural values related to their ethical and spiritual beliefs. This program can provide students with a broader and deeper understanding of what character and citizenship looks like amongst diverse cultures and people.
Career and Technology Studies (CTS)

Career and Technology Studies are an optional series of courses designed to help junior and senior high school students develop skills they can apply in daily living now and in the future, make effective career choices, and prepare for entry into the workplace or further learning opportunities. A key feature of CTS is its focus on careers in a wide range of contexts. Careers relate not only to a persons job or occupation, but also involve ones personal life as a family member, a friend, a community volunteer, a citizen. In each CTS course, students are expected to demonstrate basic competencies or employability skills that will assist them in daily living and in the workplace. These basic competencies include managing learning and resources, problem solving and innovation, communicating effectively, working with others, and demonstrating responsibility. CTS courses can provide meaningful opportunities for students to explore personal values, improve communication and social skills, and develop practical skills requisite to active and responsible citizenship.
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Fine Arts
Music, visual art and drama provide unique opportunities for character and citizenship education. The music curriculum promotes awareness and appreciation of a variety of music, including music of the many cultures represented in Canada.9 Art education deals with ways in which people express their feelings in visual forms. Art focuses on the human condition. Art is also recognized as a cultural experience, an avenue to explore ways in which people around the world express values and ideas as they relate to beauty. Drama is both an art form and a vehicle for developing respect and appreciation.
All three elements of the fine artsmusic, art and dramapotentially afford opportunities for differing forms of communication, for striving for excellence and for occasions to consider what it is to be human.
French as a Second Language/Immersion Education

French second language learning, whether through core or immersion programs, connect students to the heart of Canadian citizenship. It recognizes the duality of our official languages and founding peoples. Through their study, students are linked to the present and past communities which shape Canadian society; from the early French Canadians and Acadians to the Mtis, Qubcois and Francophones across all provinces and territories today. Students more fully understand the societal values and sense of national identity that influence our country. They are in a better position to not only develop their intellectual capacity for learning, but to make choices to participate in, explore and contribute to the community and society at large.
Francophone Education
When Francophone parents select French first language education for their children, they choose to fully exercise their rights as Canadian citizens. It is a choice that reflects their status as an official language group. In recognition of this status, Francophones have access to and control their own schools. Through these, they are able to transmit and reinforce their core values and commitments to students and set the stage for their academic success. Francophone schools can instill in students a sense of belonging to their communnity on a multitude of levels, from the local to the global. A first language education imbued with characteristics of pride in ones linguistic identity, awareness of minority language issues, political and social issues and responsibilities, and respect for diversity prepares students for fuller participation as citizens in Canadian society.
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Religious Education
The religious education program used in Alberta Catholic schools from Kindergarten to Grade 9 is Born of Spirit published by the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops. Learning outcomes from this program can be articulated through all curriculum areas. The program used in Grade 10 is Christ and Culture and in Grade 12, In Search of the Good. Both programs are published by the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops. Grade 11 is a locally developed course called Alberta Youth Search for Meaning. In the context of religious education, character and citizenship education is reflected in the great virtues of faith, hope and love. The respect, responsibility and reverence for all life is inspired by the gospel and the teachings and examples of Christ. Through this model of living, students are called to justice, love and humility. All learning contributes to human development. Character development, both through religious education and character education, recognizes that relationships are critical to modelling and nurturing character virtues. The best way to know how to live is in conversation and partnership with others in the community, at home, school and church. Religious education works in tandem with character and citizenship education with the shared goal of nurturing the growth of students as responsible citizens who act ethically and morally in their family, community and work environments.
Chapter 6
Endnotes
1. Noddings 2003. 2. Wiggins and McTighe 2005. 3. Alberta Learning 2000a. 4. Alberta Education 1997, 1996. 5. Alberta Education 1998. 6. Alberta Learning 2000b. 7. Alberta Learning 2002c. 8. Alberta Learning 2002b. 9. Alberta Education 1989.
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Choosing Resources to Support Character and Citizenship Education

Be as careful of the books you read, as of the company you keep; for your habits and character will be as much influenced by the former as by the latter. Paxton Hood
any resources and existing programs support initiatives in the classroom and in the broader school community. Many provide strategies for both character and citizenship that range from explicit teaching of values to responsibilities and actions associated with active participation in a democratic society. The following chart outlines types of resources developed with specific contexts and purposes in mind.
Chapter 7
Types of Character and Citizenship Education Resources

Character education Individual
Character education resources focused on the development of virtues Social skills resources Conflict resolution resources
Citizenship education Communities

Safe and Caring Schools and Communities resources Cooperative learning resources Classroom meetings, collaborative decision making and cooperative discipline resources Prevention of violence, antiracism, drug and alcohol abuse prevention resources Peer mediation resources
Society
Human rights resources Cross-cultural awareness resources Service learning resources
Schools and/or jurisdictions need to develop their own criteria for selecting and assessing resources based on the needs of their students, and the goals and purpose of their particular character and citizenship initiative. Assessment of resources takes into account: effectiveness based on practiceclassroom implications, examples, student samples effectiveness based on researchresearch base of resource effectiveness based on implementationpracticality, flexibility, choices and requirements involved in implementing resource.
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Consider the following types of questions. For what context was this resource developed? Is this context similar to the setting for our initiative? Is there research that supports implementation of this resource? What kind of training or inservice is necessary to implement and maintain the resource? Is there any support provided? What are the costs? How much flexibility does this resource allow for implementation? What demands does the implementation of this resource place on staff? How much planning and instructional time does this resource require? Are additional materials needed to support this resource?
Assessing Contexts in Resources

The context in which a resource is designed to be used is an important consideration; resources can support multiple approaches, from the improvement of student achievement, to the reduction of discipline-related problems, to the promotion of a more democratic culture in the school. Resources related to character and citizenship education can be designed for use within the classroom community or the wider school environment. Appropriate resources for use in character and citizenship education initiatives, for classroom- or school-based use, should reflect: the diversity of learner interests, needs, abilities and experiences accessibility to all learners opportunity for students to develop critical, creative and reflective responses to learning experiences sensitivity to individual diversity and multiple perspectives.
Using an assessment scale such as the following provides criteria for decisions on whether or not a resource aligns with the philosophy of a character and citizenship education initiative. This scale is based on some of the principles developed by the Character Education Partnership. Similar scales can be developed from the philosophical base of any school or jurisdictions initiative.
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Assessing Resources for Character and Citizenship Education
Indicator To what extent does the resource: encourage core values as a basis of character and citizenship? define character and citizenship comprehensively to include thinking, feeling and behaviour? use a comprehensive, intentional, proactive and effective approach to character and citizenship development? encourage a caring school community? provide students with opportunities for moral action? strive to foster student self-motivation? engage the school staff in sharing responsibility for character and citizenship education? foster shared moral leadership and long-range support of the character and citizenship education initiatives? engage families and community members as partners in the character and citizenship-building efforts? Great extent Some extent Little extent Not applicable
The Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD) has a wealth of print and video resources for character education. For example, the Character Education/Service 20012002 Learning Topic Pack contains full-text articles selected from Educational Leadership magazine, Education Update and other ASCD publications; a list of ASCD books, videotapes and audiotapes; ERIC articles and abstracts; a bibliography of journal articles, and a list of selected Internet resources. For more information, visit the Web site at www.ascd.org.
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Integrating Character and Citizenship Education in Co-curricular and Extracurricular Activities

A school should not be preparation for life. A school should be life. Elbert Hubbard
Chapter 8
chools have the potential to be places of community that intentionally foster and encourage a culture of character and citizenship. Co-curricular and extracurricular activities act as valuable catalysts for schools to create this sense of community. They provide students opportunities to experience both independence and interdependencetwo ways of being that are necessary components of community and democratic membership. Participation in extracurricular activities is associated with lower levels of high school dropout rates. Extracurricular activities help students feel more connected to their school community.
Skills for Life

Co-curricular and extracurricular activities offer a forum beyond the daily classroom experience for students to develop, practise and demonstrate new attitudes and skills, and to work at becoming both independent and interdependent in a variety of different contexts. They are also crucial opportunities for staff, parents and the larger community to model traits of character and citizenship, including:1 critical thinking, reasoning and problem-solving skills responsibility and the ability to apply ethical principles adaptability and flexibility critical interpersonal skills, including speaking, listening and the ability to be part of a team self-discipline, respect for the value of effort and understanding of the need for individual contributions excitement about life, and ability to set and assess goals for the future ability to make a commitment and persevere, even through challenges
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understanding and respect for those not like oneself, including insights into diversity and the need for international perspective ability and willingness to empathize with the experiences and feelings of others conflict-resolution and negotiation skills honesty, integrity and belief in the golden rule ability to take responsibility for ones actions.
In addition to supporting character and citizenship development, these skills and attitudes are identified by researchers as necessary for success in the workforce. The key is making activities integral to the larger school culture with character and citizenship education at the heart.
Sharing Stories
There are a wide range and variety of co-curricular and extracurricular activities that support character and citizenship education. Consider the following stories that schools and jurisdictions shared about their extracurricular efforts to support and enhance positive school culture.
Models of excellence
Last year we asked our students to brainstorm examples of strong Canadians, beyond the school, who had achieved excellence in a variety of fields. In addition to having numbers on our classroom doors, every classroom now also bears the name of an individual the Roberta Bondar room, the Pierre Trudeau room, the Wayne Gretzky room, the Bryan Adams room, and so forth. We want our students to be surrounded by reminders of excellence as a way to inspire them to become contributing members of society.
Inspiring goal setting

We really encourage our students to set goals; to choose a direction, and then to plan and follow through. Twice each school year we host guest speakerspeople who have set significant goals for themselves and persevered through a variety of hardships and obstacles in order to achieve them. Speakers have included a mountain climber, a long distance canoeist, an astronaut and a cancer survivor. All of their stories have been very inspirational for our students, staff and parents.
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Everyday heroes
We have an honor wall at the front foyer of our school. We hang our plaques for academic achievement there, and they date back almost 40 years. We also have similar records for our citizenship and sports awards so that our students get a sense of a long history of what is important to us. We also have a section of the wall titled, Everyday Heroes. We make special slips of paper available to staff and students so that they can make note of those who have made particular contributions to the school or wider community. Its a nice way to celebrate character!
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Reflecting on values
At our school we know reflection deepens learning so this September we began schoolwide character and citizenship education journals. Once a week all students spend fifteen minutes writing in their character education journal about the core value or skill we are working on. Students share their reflections in small groups and selected entries are read over the schools public address system as part of daily announcements. These reflections show that students are gaining an understanding of the core values and are seeing how these values and traits relate to their own behaviour and interactions with others. For example: Perseverance I showed perseverance on my last day of swimming lessons. We were teamed up to race. It was at Mill Woods Rec Centre. We swam in the deep end. When it was my turn I swam as fast as I could and on my way back I was so tired but I didnt give up. I didnt want to let my team down. So I didnt stop and I made it. Grade 4 student Fairness I was fair when I was at the park. My friends and I were playing on the swings. I was on the swings for a long time. Other kids wanted to play on the swings too. I thought about it for awhile and said in my head, I was on the swings for a long time already, besides there was other stuff to play at the park. So I got off the swing and asked this little girl if she wanted to go on the swings and she did. I was fair when I let someone have a turn on the swings. Sometimes Im fair and sometimes Im not. Grade 4 student Friendship I helped my friend when she was on the low bar and I helped her down. Grade 2 student
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Language of character
At our elementary school, we believe that participation in extracurricular activities contributes to the total development of students. As a condition of participation, students are expected to demonstrate cooperation, respect, diligence, responsibility, fairness and generosity. We use the language from our character education in these extracurricular activities. For example, how can you show respect for the other soccer players both on your team and on the opposing team? Students that participate in our extracurricular activities contribute to a sense of community within the school.
Running with kindness

Our running club displays a kindness banner at all our meets and participants can earn kindness medals. When we are reinforcing the trait of sportsmanship, we remind students what it means to be a good sport and award a certificate to students who skillfully demonstrate this trait.
Learning from the game

As a team coach, you become an important part of many students lives. We see these students ten to 15 hours a week. Everyday that we see these students gives us an opportunity to talk about what character and citizenship means. Talking to them about being respectful will help them with their opponents, referees and spectators at a game. When the opportunity arises, be it a game, practice or team meeting, we take those teachable moments to reinforce character and citizenship. We read articles about character building, goal setting and responsibility and then discuss them with students. The resources Value of the Game by Bill Bradley and Coaching to Change Lives really help with the mental part of the game. We find that ideas from these resources help students improve their attitudes, communicate more effectively and contribute to team unity. Integrating character education into our team sports program allows students to experience what the game can teach us about becoming better citizens.
Welcoming newcomers
The student population in our school has traditionally been fairly stable and homogeneous. In recent years, however, we have seen newcomers from other parts of the globe, many of whom have had to flee their strife-ridden homelands because of war and unrest. The transition to a new way of life far from all that is familiar is an exciting yet difficult journey for them.
(continued)
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Welcoming newcomers (continued)

In order to help students and their families adapt, the entire Francophone school community has stepped in to help. The school board has hired liaison workers to help families navigate the education system and to link them with other social agencies in the city. The school introduces new pupils at assemblies and student council has a buddy system in place for them as well. Our parent society pays for speakers from the home countries to speak to all students about their traditions and history. We know these efforts to make a difficult adjustment somewhat easier have been appreciated. In return, new students and their families organize a day where they share elements of their culture, such as dance, food, music and clothing, with the whole school. Just as society at large grows richer and more diverse when people from all over the world choose to immigrate here, so are we privileged when they choose to join our Francophone community.
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Community service
Our schools industrial arts program took a special turn three years ago when the teacher decided to make the students yearlong assignment the construction of a house. With a loan backed by the local business association, they built the house from scratch on a vacant lot that belonged to the town. At the end of the year, the house was sold to a family in need for the cost of materials. That generated the funds to build the next house the following year. Its amazing how much time and energy the students donate to the project outside of class time. They see just how important their contribution isand we started way before reality television used the same idea!
Cross-age partnerships
There is real power in bringing together groups of students to learn from one another. I experienced this when I planned a service learning project that brought my class of grades 2, 3 and 4 students together with students from a hospital kindergarten program for students with severe special needs. What started as an opportunity for my students to read to students from another school on a one-time basis grew into a yearlong learning experience centred around respecting others and their differences. The students benefited from the relationships with their new young friends, and so did we teachers as we watched the interactions between our students. The volunteers who came along and assisted with our visits left with a new perspective on learning and the role of peers in that process. It is an experience that my students still remember, as do I, whenever I reflect on highlights in my career.
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Developing a global perspective

One of my goals as a teacher has always been to instill in my students a global perspective, a view of the world as being bigger than the school, home and community in which they live their lives. I want them to know that they can, in their own small way, make a difference for other children and communities, both locally and far away. A friend, teaching in Nicaragua, provided an opportunity to bring this point home. We could use more books for the students to read, she mentioned in one of our e-mails. The comment sparked an idea and I took it to my class. Before I knew it, we were writing letters to parents, members of the community and booksellers explaining our idea and asking if they would be willing to donate books. While we waited for the books to come in (and they did), we read about Nicaragua, talked about the education system there, and came up with questions to ask our two Nicaraguan guests who heard about our project and asked if they could come and speak with the students. A local service organization agreed to help us with the logistics and costs of shipping the 20 boxes of books we collected, and everyone was excited the day we travelled to the airport to help load the boxes onto the plane that would take them to Nicaragua. There was a sense of accomplishment and a recognition that they had made a difference in the lives of other students.
Celebrating literature
My Grade 4 students spend time each week reading in French to children from the daycare housed in our Francophone school. The young ones get a chance to connect in their own language with other members of their community. My students can celebrate French literature and share their talents with an appreciative audience. We all look forward to our special time together.
Music connections
Our school boards commitment to French language programming includes providing authentic cultural experiences for our students with the local Francophone community. As such, we invited several Francophone high school bands to perform a concert for their peers in our French as a Second Language and French Immersion programs. Our students familiarity with French music was limited to traditional genres and its use as a language-learning tool. Imagine their surprise and delight to hear the music they listen to in their everyday worldska, punk, rockin French! Through music, both student communities were able to connect with the important reality that their commonalities are far more important than their differences.
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Celebrating languages
Ours is a school that offers French Immersion and English-only streams, a dual identity we strive to honour in our school culture. During assemblies, students host in our two official languages, French and English. This practice publicly validates and celebrates both program choices within the larger school community.
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Sharing across the grades

Every year the Division 2 students in our French as a Second Language program organize a schoolwide winter celebration in the spirit of a cabane sucre. Part of the preparation involves visiting the younger classes to inform them of the delights of la tire and to teach them some fitting French vocabulary; sil vous plat, merci, dlicieux and bravo! among them. Celebration days ring with voices small and large trying out their new words!
Recognizing gifts
Aboriginal people have always believed that differences in people are actually gifts from the Creator and that it is up to the community to guide each person in finding his or her gift and its value. To ensure that all our students are valued for their individual gifts as contributing members of our school community, all elementary students are placed on one of four teams. Each team consists of a mix of every grade and ability. The teams are named after a bird: the Condors, the Falcons, the Eagles, the Hawks. At noon hour, students have opportunities to play games and accumulate points for their team. This builds a sense of belonging, team camaraderie and value for each team member regardless of age, grade or ability.
Celebrating the seasons

At our school, each of the four seasons is celebrated with an Aboriginal feast. Invited Elders sit at the top of the circle, bless the food and share words of wisdom with the students. Students are encouraged to bring a feast bag, which consists of utensils and a bowl. This reinforces respect for Mother Earth as it discourages the use of nonbiodegradable products. Males sit on one side of the gym and females sit on the other side to complete the circle. Students recognize that males and females have different but equal roles, and these differences are acknowledged by having a special side on which to sit. Students also learn to wait patiently and listen to their Elders. Food is served but cannot be eaten until the blessing is complete. Students learn by watching and listening. The students learn the virtues of patience, respect, humbleness and gratefulness through feasts.
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Sharing with gratitude

At our school, morning prayers in both Cree and English are said over the intercom by different grades each week. This builds a sense of belonging to the school community, reinforces the importance of ones language, and starts the day by appropriately thanking the Creator. The virtues of respect for ones language, humbleness in the face of the Creator and sharing responsibility for schoolwide activities are learned through this simple daily ritual.
Small school with a big heart

We began the year in our small school by each class identifying a job they would do all year to make our school a more safe and caring place for all students. The Kindergarten students chose to look after the schools lost and found box. Their special job was hanging found mittens on the clothes line above the box so students could more easily find their lost mittens. The Grade 1 students combined their school job with learning about the calendar in math class. They charted the birthdays of all students in the school. In small groups they made daily visits to other classrooms to sing Happy Birthday and deliver a birthday pencil. The Grade 2 students took on the responsibility of being the door holders at recesses and lunch times. They had noticed how the heavy doors of our older building often caused difficulties for smaller children. After two weeks on the job, they added Greeter to their title of door holders and began offering Hellos and Have a good day to individual students entering the building. The Grade 3 students took on the job of keeping the boot racks tidy and organized. They made signs for each class about where to stow their boots, and they offered friendly reminders to individual students to put their boots on the rack (after using role-plays to practise this). After noticing that some of the problems in this area were caused by overcrowded shelves, they successfully lobbied for the purchase of additional shelving. The Grade 4 students adopted the library area and they took turns reshelving books, changing displays and joining the Grade 1 class for shared reading sessions. Students in grades 5 and 6 looked after the bins of play equipment at recess. These students traditionally assume a leadership role in the school and they also made it their job to support and encourage the younger students. All grades worked together to show that our school may be small but it truly has a big heart!
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Student leadership
Our school values leadership. We believe that leadership is not about us leading the students, but rather about the students leading. Three years ago, we decided to walk the walk and established a leadership program at our school. It was open to Grade 9 students who were interested in taking more of a leadership role and who wanted to make a difference in the school. We started with a small and powerful group of students and it quickly became apparent that not only did they want to make a difference in our school, but they wanted to make a difference in their community, their city and beyond. Much of our work with the leadership students, including a day-long retreat to kick off the school year, is centred around exploring the qualities of a good leader, including respect for the ideas of others, honesty, responsibility and courage to take a stand and try new things. Through the activities our students plan and carry out, from a schoolwide run to raise funds for cancer research, to serving a meal at a local inner-city soup kitchen, our leadership group models these traits for the students in the school and encourages them to reflect these traits in their daily lives as well. What started as a small group of enthusiastic students three years ago has grown to a senior leadership group and a junior leadership group. Together they form a dynamic team that is making a difference in the lives of the students and other members of our school community.
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Celebrating community
At our elementary school we use Halloween and Valentines Day as opportunities for cooperative learning activities with a character and citizenship focus. Rather than individual classroom parties, we organize cross-grade groupings of 1216 students. Within each group younger students are paired with older buddies. Staff and parent volunteers set up a series of centres and students move from activity to activity with their group. At Halloween we focus on global citizenship and use materials from UNICEF to create cooperative activities. The focus of Valentines Day is friendship and includes a variety of activities such as role-playing friendship skills, reading stories about good friends and learning new games to share with friends at recess. Working cooperatively in cross-age groups creates opportunities for students to get to know students from other grades. We believe it fosters a stronger sense of community.
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Mission-driven service
In Catholic schools our service projects are mission-driven rather than taskoriented; meaning service is rooted in personal responsibility and centres around the question What does this mean for the world? Such projects include the Terry Fox Run in the fall and collecting food donations for the local food bank at Thanksgiving. One class organized Coats for Kids; over 125 coats were collected and donated to inner city children. In the new year, our projects will include a snow shoveling blitz for the elderly and infirm in the neighbourhood and our students reading to inner city primary school children. There is a great pride at our school at how our staff and students have entered into the spirit and practice of service to others. Each project is celebrated within the context of a liturgical prayer celebration. The service encourages actions from the students that promoted social responsibility, human solidarity and common good. In other words, students not only contribute financial support and goods to those less fortunate but they also prayerfully reflect on hope, peace and justice. In loving and serving others, students live the gospel values of faith, hope and love.
Beginning and ending with prayer

In a faith-based school, prayer begins and ends the day. The language of prayer is woven throughout all the events and curriculum facets of the school day.
Cultural Consideration
Co-curricular and extracurricular activities are important venues for expressing and strengthening school culture. These activities provide rich opportunities for developing elements of culture including artifacts, ceremonies, traditions, celebrations, heroes, symbols, language and stories. The following questions may guide planning for activities that promote a culture of character and citizenship. Which values and traits are to be promoted and rewarded through extracurricular and co-curricular activities? How will their importance be communicated and modelled for common understanding among students, teachers, parents and the community? What symbols signal what is valued, promoted and rewarded in the culture (e.g., trophies, certificates, photographs, artworks)? How will these be displayed? How will their importance be communicated?
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Who are the heroes and what is significant about their achievements? How will the extracurricular and co-curricular activities teach about these heroes? How will they encourage students, staff, parents and community members to embody the qualities of the heroes, or to become heroes themselves? What traditions, ceremonies and other events are celebrated? How is their significance shared for common understanding? How do these events promote character and citizenship? What stories are told to illustrate, uphold and advance the goals of character and citizenship development? Who tells the stories? What opportunities exist for new stories to become part of the schools history? How will opportunities be created and presented that will allow students to experience both independence and interdependence? How will this activity further broaden goals of the school in relation to character and citizenship development?
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Co-curricular and extracurricular activities provide opportunities for students to demonstrate, in a real world context, what they have learned about character and citizenship. If educators are clear about what they wish to see and hear, how they will recognize and reward positive demonstrations, and how these activities will enhance the schools culture, then these activities are much more likely to have a positive impact in terms of character and citizenship growth.
Endnotes
1. Uchida with Cetron and McKenzie 1996.
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Bullying Prevention and Character and Citizenship Education

I was supervising at recess when I noticed, in the distance, one of the Grade 5 students standing with her arm raised out in front of herthe schools sign for help when someone is being bullied. As I came closer, I saw a group of three students surrounding a new Grade 3 student, taunting and making fun of him. The student who had raised her arm had noticed this and moved closer to stand next to the student in distress. Then, one by one, other students began to join her and formed a protective circle around the new student. They raised their arms and silently faced the bullying students, indicating quietly and without confrontation that the bullying behaviour was not okay. Without further incident, the group of students doing the bullying moved away and left the area. The other students invited the new student to join in their game and they all walked away together. Before I could even reach the group, the students had resolved the bullying situation themselves.
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number of jurisdictions and individual schools use a focus on bullying prevention as a starting point for school improvement plans and/or character and citizenship initiatives. A positive and nurturing environment is critical in order for students to feel cared for and safe. Many schools, communities and workplaces have identified bullying as a behaviour that is detrimental to a feeling of safety and security, and are addressing this issue in a variety of ways.
This chapter provides an overview on effectively preventing and dealing with bullying in schools.1 Bullying prevention does not signify a specific program; rather, it is an ongoing, collaborative process. The information and strategies offered here are intended as a starting point for schools and jurisdictions as they develop and implement their own plans and processes to help prevent bullying and ultimately, improve school culture. Bullying prevention requires a comprehensive approach that addresses the complex origins of an act of bullying. There are no simple solutions to bullying issues. It is essential to address root causes, and this means considering and incorporating many of the bigger-picture components of character and citizenship education. For example, the Towards a Safe and Caring Curriculum teaching resources developed by The Society for Safe and Caring Schools and Communities (formerly the Alberta Teachers Associations Safe and Caring Schools Project) were originally conceived as
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a bullying prevention program but evolved into a comprehensive five-themed character education program, of which bullying prevention is one theme. The Effective Behaviour Supports process, which is currently being used in many Alberta schools (see Appendix A-7), also supports a comprehensive and data-driven approach to bullying prevention and positive school climate.
The Nature of Bullying

Bullying is a deliberate form of aggression in which one person, or group of persons, feels entitled to exert power over another person. People often use the terms bullies, perpetrators and victims when referring to students involved in bullying. However, these labels focus on the students rather than the behaviours, and ignore the fact that many individuals may take on both roles in different situations or at different points in their lives. For these reasons, we use the terms students who bully or students who are bullied in this chapter. Students may bully others because they feel a strong need to dominate, either in general or in a certain situation. As a result, students are most likely to be bullied when they appear withdrawn, sensitive, cautious or anxious. Although students who are bullied typically withdraw from confrontations, the students who bully often perceive hostility where it does not exist and believe that aggression is the best solution to the perceived conflict.2 Bullying can be direct or indirect and can take many forms. Direct bullying includes physical aggression such as hitting, punching, poking or kicking, and verbal aggression such as taunting, name-calling or threats. Indirect bullying includes gossiping, exclusion, criticism, threatening to withdraw a friendship or spreading rumours. Generally indirect bullying is hidden behaviour, but the consequences are just as harmful to the individual who is bullied. A relatively new and growing form of bullying is cyber-bullyingthe use of information and communication technologies such as e-mail, cell phones, pagers, text messages and personal Web sites to taunt, threaten or humiliate another student. Although the specific forms of bullying can vary greatly, there are a number of key characteristics that determine whether a behaviour is bullying or not: a power imbalance an intent to harm feelings of distress by the student who is being bullied repetition over time.
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How common is bullying

The estimated frequency of bullying in schools varies considerably between studies. For example, in different studies of grades 46 students, as few as five percent and as many as 27 percent of students reported being bullied.3 The same holds true for students who reported bullying others, with the rates ranging from six to 17 percent.4 What we do know is that parents and teachers are generally unaware of the extent of bullying among children. Many students who have bullied or been bullied do talk to their teachers or parents about the problem (in one study, almost half reported that they had talked to teachers).5 Still, many students downplay or hide bullying incidents, often because they fear retaliation, feel pressured to deal with their own problems or feel that adults are unable to protect them from future bullying.6 Bullying behaviours cross all age groups, sometimes beginning as early as two or three years of age and reaching into adulthood. Among younger children, bullying often involves pushing, shoving, name-calling, social isolation and teasing. Teenagers may engage in sexual harassment, dating violence and gang attacks. Bullying behaviour in adulthood may include family violence, assaults, senior abuse and workplace bullying. Although the forms of bullying may change as people get older, the issues of power and control remain the same. Similarly, boys and girls are involved in bullying at about the same rate, but the most prevalent types of bullying differ. For boys, bullying is more likely to take direct, often physical formskicking, hitting, pushing, shoving and threatening. Among girls, bullying is more likely to be indirect, involving acts of social alienation such as spreading rumors, withdrawing friendship or ignoring.
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Effects of bullying
Bullying can have serious consequences for the individual students involved, the school community and society. Students who are bullied may experience physical symptoms such as stomachaches, headaches and nightmares. They may also experience social isolation, develop a negative view of themselves and school, and have increasing difficulty with school achievement.7 Widespread bullying creates a school environment of fear and hostility that negatively impacts the feelings and learning of all students. In the long run, bullying can be a precursor to other aggressive behaviours with serious social effects. Without intervention, bullying behaviours tend to remain constant or escalate rather than improve as the child gets older. Bullying behaviour that is ignored may progress into gang attacks, physical or sexual assault, dating violence, marital violence, workplace harassment, and child or elder abuse.8
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Misconceptions about bullying

There are a number of common misconceptions about bullying that can interfere with efforts to make schools a safer place for all students. Misconception: Bullying does not do any real damage. Reality: When we dismiss the damage of bullying by labelling it just teasing or name-calling, we ignore the serious consequences of such behaviour. Research shows that students who are repeatedly bullied tend to have negative self-concepts and have difficulty trusting others. Name-calling, taunting and other bullying behaviours can create scars that last a lifetime. Misconception: Bullying is just a part of growing up. Reality: Bullying behaviour is not just a matter of kids will be kids. Bullying is a learned behaviour. Often students are imitating aggressive behaviour they have seen on television, in movies or at home. Misconception: Students who are bullied just have to learn to stand up for themselves. Reality: This misconception can lead people to believe that handling bullying on their own will help students build character, and discourage adults from responding effectively to students who report bullying. In reality, when students report bullying, this usually means that they have tried to resolve the situation and cannot cope with it on their own. Their complaints are a cry for help. Misconception: There have always been bullies and there always will be. Reality: Even if this belief is true, it needs to be challenged. By working together, teachers, students and parents have the power to change how things have been and to create a better and safer future for all children.
Observing bullying
Bullying is very much a group phenomenon, with 85 percent of bullying taking place in the presence of others. When students observe bullying, several things commonly happen: aggressive behaviours are modelled by someone who appears to be more powerful more positive peer attention is paid to the student who bullies than the student who is bullied the presence of others makes it seem that several people are involved.
These factors combine to reduce the feelings of guilt in the student who engages in bullying and lower the inhibitions of the students who are observing. As a result, even though most students report that watching bullying makes them feel uncomfortable,9 observing these incidents may actually make students more likely to engage in bullying themselves, especially if the students feel that they lack status in their own peer group.
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On the other hand, when onlookers do intervene, they are often effective in stopping bullying.10 Furthermore, if the school community values and encourages active intervention in bullying situations, students are more likely to challenge bullying behaviours than remain inactive.11 By providing students with the skills and confidence to intervene in bullying situations, schools can take a significant step towards stopping bullying behaviour.
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Developing Bullying-prevention Initiatives

All jurisdictions and schools can benefit from bullying-prevention initiatives, even those that have had few incidents of bullying. A comprehensive schoolwide plan is an important tool in making people aware of the harmful effects of bullying behaviour. Simply taking the step to plan an initiative helps to engage community support, heightens expectations for a positive and respectful school climate, and acts as a springboard for ongoing discussions about the value of bullying-free schools. An effective bullying-prevention initiative: takes a jurisdiction- or schoolwide approach is a collaborative effort, involving students, teachers, administrators, support staff and parents links schools with communities creates a shared understanding about the nature and effects of bullying assesses the extent of the bullying behaviour prior to and after the implementation of jurisdiction- or schoolwide interventions helps teachers, students, parents and others to develop the knowledge, skills and language they need to respond to bullying focuses on prevention rather than punishment addresses jurisdiction- or schoolwide codes of conduct establishes links to curriculum (e.g., instruction in managing emotions, problem solving, conflict resolution, empathy training) includes strategies for implementing, monitoring and evaluating the initiative.
Developing successful bullying-prevention initiatives depends largely on creating awareness, encouraging a sense of shared responsibility in school communities, and gaining the support of parents and the caring majority of students in responding to the issue.12 Consider the following elements in developing a bullying-prevention initiative: gathering data involving students involving parents
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creating a jurisdiction or school anti-bullying statement developing a supervision plan developing a response plan involving community partners monitoring progress.
Gathering data
Before the school begins developing specific plans or activities, it is important to find out how much bullying is currently happening, as well as the attitudes of staff and students about bullying. Consider the following sample strategies for gathering data. Use anonymous surveys, class discussions and private meetings after school or at recess to obtain information about the extent and types of bullying taking place. Key information could include the following: students gender and grade level areas at or around school where the student feels safe, somewhat safe and unsafe type and frequency of bullying behaviour experienced or observed age and grade level of the students who bully adult responses when help is requested (e.g., helpful, somewhat helpful or not helpful). Ask students to focus on their own direct experience rather than what they might have heard about. Specify the time period that is surveyed, e.g., within the last week, last month or last term. Consider related questions in the What Students Say Surveys in Appendix B. Supply maps of the school (inside and out), and ask students to highlight places where bullying takes place or where they feel unsafe or uncomfortable. Areas highlighted by a certain percentage of the students (e.g., more than half ) can be viewed as high-risk areas. For younger students, take photographs of various locations around the school and grounds. Display the photos at students eye level. Attach two envelopes underneath each photographone marked with a green dot (to indicate places where students feel safe) and one with a red dot (to indicate places where students feel unsafe or uncomfortable). Have students place a token in the green or red envelope to indicate their feelings about each location. Locations identified as red dot places or hot spots by most students are likely to be high-risk locations.
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Use a checklist such as the following to help staff recognize their reactions to bullying situations.13
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Weekly K K K K Monthly K K K K Never K K K K Never K K K K K K K K K
Daily I hear incidents of verbal aggression in our school. I see students roughhousing in/around our school. I see confrontational behaviours. I notice students who are likely to be bullied.
Always I can recognize a bullying situation. I know how to respond when bullying occurs. I recognize the need for confidentiality. I know when and how bullying should be reported. Our school rules and procedures reflect a strong anti-bullying philosophy. Hold discussions with teachers, administrators and other school staff regarding issues such as the following: their level of concern regarding bullying behaviour in the school or jurisdiction benefits to students, staff and parents if the school or jurisdiction implemented a bullying-prevention initiative strengths and resources within the school or jurisdiction and the community that could be helpful in developing or implementing an initiative ways to involve students and parents in the initiative. K K K K K
Sometimes K K K K K
Involving parents
Bullying does not stop when students leave school grounds; it can occur in homes, playgrounds, community centres and anywhere else that students interact. Parents are the adult presence that spans all of these environments. Parents also have a primary role in teaching their children the values, skills and behaviours that counteract bullying. As a result, it is important to involve parents in bullying prevention, whether through a formal role in the development of a school or jurisdiction plan or through more informal sharing of information and strategies.
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Consider the following sample strategies for involving parents. Survey parents regarding their concerns about bullying issues and their ideas for bullying-prevention initiatives. Encourage school councils to participate in planning committees for developing bullying-prevention initiatives. Provide parents with resources to help them recognize and prevent bullying (e.g., a fact sheet or tip sheet). See Appendix G-1: Bullying Prevention Tips for Parents for a sample of a handout to share with parents. Consider setting up a display of bullying-prevention resources for parents in the school library. Communicate the schools procedure for informing parents when their children are involved in a bullying incident, as well as the procedure that parents should use to notify the school if their children report that bullying has occurred.
Involving students
Although students should never be left to solve their own problems with bullying, it is important that they be active participants in counteracting bullying in the school. This may mean giving students a role in developing and/or supporting initiatives. Whatever ways students are involved, it is crucial that they understand that the primary purpose and importance of these initiatives is to create positive school environments where all students are safe and respected. The beginning of the school year is an ideal opportunity to involve students in developing schoolwide activities to promote bullying prevention and a positive school climate. Consider the following sample strategies for involving students. Include students as part of a working group on bullying prevention. Students involvement in the working group helps to ensure that the school plan is effective and relevant for students. Develop a student committee for bullying prevention. They can coordinate with existing student groups (e.g., student council) in the organization and sponsorship of school activities that promote a positive school climate. Invite students to speak at parent meetings and school assemblies. Students could address topics such as why they think bullying prevention is important, how they can help keep the school a bullying-free environment or what they have learned through class activities. Organize schoolwide events on bullying prevention. These events can be opportunities to: invite community speakers to talk to students about the importance of respect, social action and bullying prevention
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conduct workshops for cross-grade groupings, with sessions such as What is Bullying?, Helping Yourself in Bullying Situations or Standing Up for Others participate in role-plays and cooperative games to practise bullying-prevention skills and concepts introduce new or recognize existing peer helper or peer mediation programs. Involve students in planning these events. Their contributions will help ensure that the message is communicated to other students in a meaningful way. Give older students a leadership role in presenting the school plan to younger classes and look for opportunities to incorporate ongoing cross-age activities. These opportunities for students to form positive relationships outside their classroom peer group can reduce incidents of bullying. They are also good opportunities for older students to serve as role models of helpful and respectful interactions.
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Creating a jurisdiction or school statement for bullying prevention

A jurisdiction or school statement defines common ground among staff, parents and students, and communicates a unified vision of a school free from bullying. The statement can take many forms. It can be a separate statement or motto outlining the jurisdiction or schools commitment to bullying prevention, or can be incorporated into an existing school mission statement, code of conduct, or behaviour plan. Consider the following sample guidelines for creating a bullying-prevention statement. Examine the jurisdiction or schools existing mission and determine whether or not these statements sufficiently address the shared vision for bullying prevention. Ensure the statement expresses a realistic vision that is connected to the deeper values of the school community. Use simple, positive language. Seek input from staff, students and parents during or after the drafting of the statement to ensure that all stakeholders support the vision described in the statement. Communicate the statement to all partners participating in the plan. Use the statement to guide the working group as they continue to develop the schools bullying-prevention plan.
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Developing a supervision plan

The single most effective deterrent to bullying is adult presence and supervision. Since most bullying behaviours occur during break times, well-planned supervision at these times is critical to reducing bullying incidents. Consider the following sample strategies for reducing bullying through supervision. Provide close supervision in hot spots or areas where bullying most frequently occurs (as identified using strategies from p. 78). Teach appropriate and engaging games and other physical activities that students can participate in at recess or during the lunch hour. Consider scheduling changes that will reduce the number of students in the hallway at any one time. Crowded hallways are a prime location for bullying. When incorporating cooperative learning into classroom instruction, ensure students have opportunities and the support they need to learn and practise the new skills that will make cooperative learning a good experience for all students. Form a leadership club to train volunteer playground leaders to help younger children with group games (e.g., managing equipment and refereeing).
Developing a response plan

A response plan includes guidelines, procedures and strategies for: tracking incidents of bullying behaviour supporting students who are bullied responding to students who bully responding to students who witness bullying planning restorative interventions to bring together all parties involved in a bullying incident.
An effective school response to students bullying behaviours has four goals. Encourage communicationAdults provide a model for students by engaging them in discussion about bullying, teaching assertiveness and self-protection strategies, and encouraging students to seek adult assistance when other strategies are not working. Develop empathyAdults help students to recognize and interpret cues that signal others feelings and needs, understand the impact of bullying behaviour on others, and treat others with caring and respect. Promote accountabilityAdults help students develop the ability to stop and think before they act, resist peer pressure, and take responsibility for their behaviour by making reparation for harm they have inflicted on others.
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Enhance prosocial behaviourAdults teach, model and reinforce skills for getting along with others.
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Involving community partners

Individuals and organizations in the community such as social workers, counsellors and community recreation centres can be valuable partners in helping to prevent and deal with bullying behaviour. The police can also play an important role in supporting a jurisdiction or school bullying-prevention effort. School Liaison Officers may be able to convince students who bully of the serious nature of their actions, and provide support for students who are bullied. Consider the following sample strategies for involving community partners. Survey local community centres regarding their concerns about bullying issues and their ideas for bullying-prevention initiatives. Invite community representatives to join a planning committee for developing bullying-prevention initiatives. Hold a community meeting to discuss bullying issues and the proposed prevention initiative. Invite professionals such as social workers, counsellors or police officers to be guest speakers in the classroom or at school events.
Supporting the initiative

Consider the following sample strategies to support and sustain bullying-prevention efforts. Discuss the benefits of bullying-prevention initiatives such as the following: an opportunity to clarify and reaffirm existing practices reduction in the level of bullying behaviour improvement in overall discipline within the school a coordinated effort to address interpersonal skills instruction support for students most at risk of being bullied identification of student leaders who are willing to act when they see others being bullied. Conduct a staff check-in at the beginning of each school year or term to discuss where we are with the plan. At this time, ensure that any new staff members are familiar with the jurisdiction or schools bullying-prevention policies and initiatives. Ensure students, teachers and parents all receive similar information about bullying and potential interventions. This will help ensure everyone uses a common language and reinforce common strategies.
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Ensure that the bullying-prevention plan is incorporated as part of any schoolwide or classroom-based discussions of expectations for student behaviour. Include the plan as part of a beginning-of-year school council meeting and/or school newsletter. Encourage ongoing parent dialogue on the issue. Share data about the extent of bullying in the school and provide periodic updates on the results of intervention throughout the year. Provide information on bullying in each issue of the school newsletter and/or devote a single issue of the newsletter to introducing the school plan. Include students writing, cartoons or artwork to promote bullying prevention. Provide information on the schools bullying-prevention efforts to the parents of all children entering Kindergarten and transferring in from other schools. Add bullying-prevention books and videos to the school library and create a display to encourage parents, students and staff to borrow these materials. See Appendix G-3 for a list of The Society for Safe and Caring Schools and Communities bullying-prevention resources available for purchase.
Add information about the bullying-prevention plan to the school or jurisdiction Web site. Look for opportunities to connect with other schools and jurisdictions that are implementing bullying-prevention initiatives. Display students posters on bullying prevention in entrance halls and outside classrooms, particularly at times when there are family events happening at school. Public places such as libraries and community centres may also be approached to showcase student work on this topic. Hold an open house at which students artwork related to bullying is displayed, and have students demonstrate role-plays, perform dramatic sketches or present videotapes they have created. Develop a bullying-prevention brochure with older students. They can share it with both younger students and their parents. Show student-produced slide shows at school council meetings and school assemblies.
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Monitoring the initiative

Track the number of bullying reports received in the office. Have they increased or decreased over the last month? The last six months? The last year? Remember that a surge in the number of reported bullying incidents is expected at first because of increased awareness of the issue. Do not look at an increase as a sign of failure; rather, try to look at the type of incidents being reported and then follow up to see if more students are being assisted. Conduct the bullying surveys periodically (e.g., once a year). To obtain a more accurate picture of the incidence of bullying, conduct the surveys at the same time as they were conducted in the launch year. Bring students together for small group discussions. Use cross-grade student groups to discuss bullying as an assessment of how students are coping. Report the findings back to staff and parents. Track reports and concerns from parents. This will help determine whether or not the number or type of bullying behaviours is changing. Report this back to staff and parents. Discuss bullying regularly at staff meetings. The following guiding questions might be used to start the discussion. What are the most successful parts of the plan? What might we need to alter? What factors are keeping people motivated? Has there been a noticeable difference in the relationship among the students? Have perceptions about bullying changed among staff, students and parents? Are additional training opportunities required to strengthen staff understanding or skills? Are additional opportunities required to strengthen student and parent understanding or skills? How do we reinforce and maintain our success? Have we noticed any changes in the areas where bullying takes place? How can we share what we have learned with other schools?
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Responding to bullying
Whenever bullying incidents are known or suspected, consistent, effective adult intervention is essential in order to help the individual students, to reduce the chance of further bullying and to maintain a safe and caring school culture. Teachers and other adults involved need to establish a common definition of bullying that takes into account the various types and degrees of bullying behaviour. They also need to determine guidelines for responding to bullying incidents that support the students involved and make it clear that all forms of bullying are unacceptable.
Supporting students who have been bullied

Even brief and relatively minor incidents of bullying can leave students upset, embarrassed, angry or afraid. Supporting students who are bullied may involve providing comfort and reassurance, creating a plan to ensure safety and/or helping students build skills and attitudes to counteract chronic bullying. As jurisdictions and schools develop their own guidelines or steps for responding to a student who has been bullied, they may wish to consider the following components: acknowledging the incident and the students feelings gathering information about what happened and who was involved assuring the student that there will be consequences for the student(s) who bullied helping the student create a plan for preventing future bullying contacting the students parents regarding the incident and the schools plan for responding following up with the student to determine the success of the plan, the students feelings and the risk of further bullying tracking the incident using a form or other method.
In cases of serious or chronic bullying, additional steps and strategies such as the following may be required: further intervention with the student who has bullied meeting with the parents meeting with the school counsellor or other support personnel to help the student deal with the situation, build self-confidence and practise skills such as assertiveness.
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Debriefing with students who have observed bullying

In cases where bullying was observed by other students, especially when those students watched passively or encouraged the behaviour, it is important to discuss the incident. Consider questions such as the following. How would you describe what happened? What made this a bullying incident? At what point did you make the choice to stay and watch the bullying happen? How might your presence have influenced the behaviour of the student who was bullying? What were your feelings as you watched the bullying incident? How do you feel about it now? How do you think the student who was being bullied felt? What could you have done differently, either to intervene or to prevent the incident? What action could you take now to make the student who was bullied feel happier and safer at school?
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?
Intervening with students who have bullied

Intervening with students who have bullied is an obvious step in creating safety and security for the student who was bullied, and in preventing further bullying incidents. As schools develop their own guidelines or steps for responding to a student who has bullied, they may wish to consider the following components: ensuring the safety of other students helping the student who bullied to change his or her behaviours and attitudes taking immediate action to stop the behaviour (e.g., sending the student to the office or another predetermined location) identifying and applying the appropriate level of intervention depending on the nature, degree and duration of bullying behaviours, for example: pointing out the impact on the student who was bullied and any observers reminding the student of the schools rules or behavioural expectations imposing a school sanction assigning a social learning intervention reporting or referring to police, counsellor or other professionals creating an individual safety and support plan contacting the students parents regarding the incident and the schools response tracking the incident using a form or other method.
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Social learning interventions

One way to respond to bullying behaviours is by using social learning interventions. A social learning intervention is a structured activity, guided by an adult, that causes a student to think about his or her behaviour and its impact on others. Ideally, a social learning intervention requires positive social interaction with others. It provides the student with the opportunity to: make amends for the harm he or she has done reconcile with the student she or he has bullied learn and practise prosocial behaviour make a positive contribution to the climate of the school.
When developing social learning interventions, consider the following. Choose interventions that are age-appropriate. Keep in mind the four goals of an effective school response to bullying: communication, empathy, accountability and prosocial skills. Be fair and logical, not belittling or humiliating. Convey to the student responsible for bullying that she or he belongs to the school community and has responsibility for the social well-being of everyone in that community.
Examples of social learning interventions include having the student: complete a self-reflection activity and discuss it with an adult See Appendix G-2 for a sample self-reflection on bullying behaviour. find a story about bullying, and share and discuss with their parents or with a small group of students perform and record five acts of kindness participate in a supervised, structured game or sport during break times to learn and practise cooperation skills.
Reporting bullying
Depending on the circumstances, a report or referral to any of the following might be necessary: school counsellor school jurisdiction support services including additional staff members such as family liaison workers, psychologists or behavioural consultants Alberta Childrens Services police.
In considering whether or not to inform and involve the police, it is important to think about the role the police may be able to play in supporting the jurisdiction or schools overall response to bullying. Many schools work closely with their School
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Liaison Officer or Community Policing Officers. Where this is the case, consult with the officer to determine what role the officer may be able to play in responding to serious incidents of bullying. Perhaps she or he would be available to come to the school to meet with students who have been bullied or students who have been bullying. The officer could talk with the students who have been bullied about strategies for dealing with such situations.
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Individual support plans

In cases where bullying behaviour is persistent and serious, the school may consider developing an individual safety and support plan for the student who is bullying. A safety and support plan is a set of external controls and limits designed to help a student gain control over his or her behaviour and to protect other students. An effective plan also supports the students participation in age-appropriate activities with peers. A safety and support plan is developed collaboratively with school, jurisdiction and community professionals. A team is formed to create, implement and monitor the plan. The plan may include, but is not limited to, the following: supervision of the student upon arrival at school, during recess, lunch, after school and any other less structured times identification of designated play areas specific behaviour-management strategies including a plan for reinforcing appropriate behaviour a plan for involving the student in positive activities with peers scheduled review and update of the plan.
Supporting the Initiative through Classroom Instruction

Organized events such as assemblies are important in creating schoolwide understanding, enthusiasm and commitment, but it is equally important to support the initiative through ongoing integration into classroom activities. Consider the following strategies for supporting bullying-prevention initiatives through classroom instruction. Look for teachable moments throughout the school day and across the subject areas. Teach information, skills and strategies related to bullying through relevant K9 health and life skills learning activities. This can include specific skills such as: assertiveness intervening conflict resolution knowing who to ask for help.
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Endnotes
1. Much of the information in this chapter is adapted from British Columbia Ministry of Education and Ministry of Attorney General, Focus on Bullying: A Prevention Program for Elementary School Communities (Victoria, BC: British Columbia Ministry of Education and Ministry of Attorney General, 1998). Copyright Province of British Columbia. All rights reserved. Reprinted with permission of the Province of British Columbia. www.ipp.gov.bc.ca 2. Fried and Fried 1996. 3. OConnell et al. 1997, Olweus 1999, Smith 1999. 4. Stephenson and Smith 1989, Ziegler and RosensteinManner 1991. 5. Pepler and Craig 2000. 6. Garfalo, Siegel and Laub 1987. 7. Fried and Fried 1996. 8. Pepler and Craig 1997. 9. Pepler 1997. 10. Craig and Pepler 1997. 11. Smith and Sharp 1994. 12. Garrity et al. 1994. 13. Adapted with permission from the Alberta Teachers Association, Beyond Bullying: What You Can Do to HelpA Handbook for Parents and Teachers of Junior High Students (Edmonton, AB: The Society for Safe and Caring Schools and Communities, 1999), pp. 6, 7.
The K9 Health and Life Skills Guide to Implementation offers sample learning and assessment activities, background information for teachers and student information sheets for many skills and concepts related to bullying prevention. For a free PDF version of this teaching resource, go to: www.education.gov.ab.ca/k_12/ curriculum/bySubject/healthpls/healthgi.asp. Use relevant stories, novels or movies to introduce the topic of bullying. Discuss the feelings and actions of the character who bullied and the character who was bullied, and identify ways that others helped or could have helped. Teach awareness and bullying-prevention strategies directly. It is important that students understand the difference between normal conflict and bullying. Discuss what students can do if they are bullied or witness another being bullied. Use role-playing to practise effective responses. Use cooperative learning activities to foster acceptance, strengthen group interactions and build social skills.
Linking Bullying Prevention to Character and Citizenship Education

Bullying-prevention initiatives work best when they are part of a larger plan for promoting character and citizenship in students. As discussed in Chapter 5, creating a safe, caring and respectful school culture is an essential component of character and citizenship education. Bullying-prevention initiatives can be an important element in establishing such a culture. Furthermore, many of the themes, skills and attitudes emphasized by the two types of initiatives may overlap; empathy, respect, group responsibility, problem solving, helping others are examples of common themes addressed in both types of initiatives. Lessons and events related to bullying prevention can be excellent opportunities to reinforce learning from character and citizenship educationand vice versa. Showing students that bullying is unacceptable and that they can work together to prevent it, is one more way that schools can help students know the good, desire the good and do the good. For more information on bullying prevention, visit the Government of Alberta Web site at www.bullyfreealberta.ca.
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Involving Parents in Character and Citizenship Education

When parents, teachers, students, and others view one another as partners in education, a caring community forms around students Epstein et al. 2002, p. 7
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he importance of parental involvement in creating effective learning environments or implementing successful changes in schools is not a new concept. However, current research is giving us a better understanding of the nature and degree of parent and family participation that best supports success. This research suggests that caring communities can be supported by intentionally creating a culture where parents are viewed as partners in a community of learners. In faith-based schools and programs, parents modelling of faith life is an integral part of a childs education. Children learn best through daily parental examples and modelling. A school learning community consists of educators, students, parents and community partners who work together to improve the school and enhance students learning opportunities. Research shows that an organized approach to school, family and community partnerships, with activities that support student learning, improves schools, strengthens families, invigorates community supports and increases student success.1
Lasting school improvement depends on developing leadership capacity among all members of the school community, including parents.2 Partnerships that foster adult learning as well as student learning build reciprocal rather than dependent relationships among all school community members. A move to new levels of parental involvement requires time, energy, commitment and development of new skills to support true collaboration and mutual support. This chapter explores ways to work toward a shared purpose for developing character and citizenship education. It provides a sample framework and strategies for involving parents as partners in learning, to create a caring community that supports and reinforces character and citizenship education.
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Forging Links and Strengthening HomeSchool Connections

Parents and families are busier than ever. This challenges schools to build schoolhome ties in new ways. In addition to perennial issues of time and school accessibility, increasingly multilingual families require schools to find ways to communicate with parents who may not speak or understand English. Bridges need to be built not only between home and school but across cultures in the community. Each school needs to examine its organization and find ways to work with parents that fit that particular context. To realize maximum improvement in student achievement, goals for parental involvement in character and citizenship education are tied to results of the entire system. Epstein et al. propose that the key to success in forging links between home and school is having a range of activities to involve families that focus on six types of involvement including: parenting communicating volunteering learning at home decision making collaborating with the community.3
These six types of involvement are interrelated and work together to support a comprehensive approach to developing parent partnerships. The sample Involving Families Checklist on the following page is based on the six types of involvement. This checklist can be used as a starting point for identifying areas of strength and areas of need at the classroom or school level.
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Involving Families Checklist
Read each of the statements and decide if, in your jurisdiction, school or classroom, the statement is a green light, yellow light or red light. Green Light: Established understanding and practice Yellow Light: Moderate degree of understanding and practice Red Light: Beginning level of understanding and practice Types of Involvement4 Parenting
1. 2. 3. Families are assisted to ensure home conditions are conducive to student learning at all levels. Schools are assisted in understanding the diverse needs within families. Families are assisted with transitioning students through stages of schooling (preschool, elementary, junior high, senior high). There is communication with families about student learning on a regular basis through newsletters, phone calls, conferences or other methods. Families are encouraged to communicate with the school through use of agendas, phone calls, meetings and parent conferences. Families are involved as volunteers and audiences to support student learning and school programs. K K K K K K K K K
Green Light
Yellow Light
Red Light
Evidence
Communicating
4. K K K
5.
Volunteering
6. K K K
Learning at Home
7. 8. Families are provided with information and ideas about how to help students with learning. Families are offered support through parent sessions and/or training that supports student learning. K K K K K K
Decision Making
9. Parents are included in the school decision-making process through school councils, classroom teams and committees. K K K
Collaborating with the Community

10. Resources from the community are integrated to strengthen the school program and family practices in support of student learning. K K K
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Sample Strategies for Involving Parents

Parenting
Survey parents to determine issues and topics of interest related to supporting character and citizenship education. Develop one-page fact sheets or a calendar of events and activities that suggest ways families can support and model the character and citizenship traits their children are learning. Use and adapt curriculum support resources for parents, such as the Home, School and Community Connections section in selected illustrative examples in the Kindergarten to Grade 9 Health and Life Skills Guide to Implementation and The Society for Safe and Caring Schools and Communities resources. Investigate opportunities for hosting community workshops such as those offered by The Society for Safe and Caring Schools and Communities. These workshops were developed to help parents model and reinforce knowledge, skills and attitudes that are taught through the Towards a Safe and Caring Curriculum programs and resources. Offer parents opportunities to learn strategies for supporting students during transition periods such as beginning school, moving from elementary to junior/senior high, or moving from high school to post-secondary education or work. These transitions are key times to reinforce and support core values. Create a cultural shift in involving parents and families as partners in character and citizenship education. For example, hold Meet the Family and Teacher Night and extend the traditional goals of Meet the Teacher events. Use classroom and school communications such as newsletters to promote and support activities. Explicitly state high expectations for parent participation. Create an open and welcoming invitation to share resources and skills, take part in presentations or participate in special classroom activities. When planning for parents, schedule activities at a time when the majority of parents will be able to attend. Consider providing child care so all families can participate. Make learning transparent. Hold classroom or school walkthroughs with parents that demonstrate how students are learning about character and citizenship through all aspects of regular and extracurricular activities.
Communicating

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Volunteering
Target school or community events throughout the year in which parents can be involved. Use character or citizenship initiatives as opportunities to invite parents to participate in field trips, classes or schoolwide events as guest speakers or an audience for a specific purpose. Provide different types of ways for parents to contribute such as work bees for creating published books, drop-in helpers or work from home. Consider involving older siblings or extended families in some events. Share information about the curriculum. Explain key instructional strategies used in character and citizenship education, and explain how learning is assessed and reported. Share classroom and school expectations for behaviour through clear and positive communication. Encourage parents to reinforce similar expectations at home. Encourage parents to have regular discussions at home about character and citizenship education. Develop activities that involve parents in their childrens learning, such as interviewing family members on attitudes, experiences or practices, or tracking positive behaviours. Make actions for partnerships a part of the regular school council, with a focus on parental involvement in supporting school improvement goals, including character and citizenship education. Use meetings that focus on partnerships to shift school culture. Develop a parent community that leads, participates in, advocates and assumes collective responsibility for student learning. Design interactive learning opportunities, such as forums for parents to develop a shared vision, discuss their hopes for all students and construct new ways to think about student learning. Enlist parents as leaders in character and citizenship education by having them contribute to conversations, join school research teams, influence other parents to participate, advocate for school programs, help develop resources, and provide input into planning, implementation and evaluation. See Chapter 11 for ideas on creating community partnerships.
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Learning at home
Decision making
Collaborating with the community
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Taking Action
Making this kind of involvement a reality begins with a commitment to develop an action plan that supports character and citizenship education. This planning process may be linked to the school council, and may include teachers, administrators, parents and community partners as members. Guided by goals focused on promoting student success, embedded within the schools three-year plan, the team develops annual plans for family and community involvement, implements and evaluates activities, and brings together all parent-related activities in the school or jurisdiction into a comprehensive partnership. Annual school plans could consider the six types of involvement, as outlined by Epstein et al. in the book School, Family, and Community Partnerships: Your Handbook for Action (2002). By implementing activities that connect character and citizenship education in all six types of involvement, schools help parents to become involved at school and at home in various ways that meet student needs and family schedules. Input from participants helps schools address challenges and improve plans, activities and outreach so that all families can be productive partners in their childrens school success. When parentschool partnerships focus on curriculum and instruction in schools, partnerships move from being peripheral public relations activities to being central programs that create a core of caring to support student learning and development.
Endnotes
1. Epstein and Salinas 2004. 2. Lambert 2003. 3. Epstein et al. 2002, Epstein and Jansorn 2004. 4. Epstein et al. 2002, Epstein and Jansorn 2004.
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Developing Community Partnerships

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed people can change the world. Indeed it is the only thing that ever has. Margaret Mead
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chools, families and communities are major institutions that socialize and educate children. Student success in academics and character and citizenship are of interest to each institution and are best achieved through cooperative action and support. Factors such as changing family demographics, workplace demands and growing student diversity create the need for supportive learning environments that move beyond what families and schools can do on their own. Schoolcommunity partnerships are connections between schools and community individuals, organizations or businesses to directly or indirectly promote students social, emotional, physical or intellectual development.1 These partnerships take many forms, from individuals working together to a collective of community groups forming partnerships with entire school divisions. Creating a community of caring requires a comprehensive approach to partnerships. A systematic or comprehensive approach to developing community partnerships builds on ideas for involving parents in the previous chapter. It recognizes that schools are part of larger communities, and that learning happens in and beyond the school environment. Much of what is learned is affected by influences outside classrooms. The likelihood that students adopt and maintain positive behaviours increases with consistent messages from multiple sources. A comprehensive approach also provides a framework that encourages schools, parents and communities to work toward shared goals. Communities expect schools and families to prepare students to become healthy, productive citizens. Communities also have a responsibility, and often a desire, to join schools and families in achieving this goal.
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Benefits of Community Partnerships

Successful partnerships contribute to lasting school improvement through work centred on supporting student achievement. Community partnerships connect character and citizenship education to real-life issues and community concerns, promoting commitment to positive choices and behaviours. Community partners support character and citizenship education through services that create caring environments or promote positive values, such as helping others in need. Community partnerships also enhance community and school policies, programs and structures. Community partnerships provide a context for increasing success and building leadership capacity for everyone involved. Partnerships encourage groups to align efforts to achieve mutual goals, which benefits all partners. Potential benefits could include the following. Service agencies receive support resulting in efficient delivery of services. Government agencies have a framework for planning and policy development that enables them to both consider the big picture and respond to local needs and concerns. Families, volunteers and community groups benefit from coordination of services, programs and activities that are costeffective and reap long-term rewards for youth. Students benefit from working with community service agencies and organizations on tasks or projects. These can develop a sense of community and purpose, and a real understanding of local needs and issues. Students may address specific curricular outcomes by going into the community to gather information or provide a service.
Action Planning for Community Partnerships

Creating community partnerships involves identifying stakeholders, establishing goals, and building consensus and leadership capacity. Conducting a specific needs assessment of community partnerships can help to identify areas that need strengthening. Mapping existing community resources to identify duplications and gaps in service, and then prioritizing program needs, will provide information for making decisions about new initiatives, or ways to strengthen or modify existing efforts to support the schools core values. Once decisions are made, the group begins planning for implementation, including analyzing potential barriers, developing strategies to overcome challenges and linking to the schools three-year plan. As part of this planning, the team develops a specific one-year action plan outlining steps to achieve goals, and identify roles and responsibilities, target dates and ways to monitor feedback for ongoing assessment and evaluation of results.
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Identifying Potential Community Partners

The term community is not limited to specific geographic boundaries or neighbourhoods; it refers more to the social interactions that can occur within or beyond local boundaries. Potential community partners include:2 Businesses/Corporations: Local businesses, national corporations and franchises Universities and Educational Institutions: Colleges and universities, high schools and other educational institutions Health Care Organizations: Regional health care centres, hospitals, mental health facilities, health departments, health foundations and associations Government Agencies: Fire departments, police departments, chambers of commerce, city councils and other municipal, provincial and federal government agencies and departments National Service and Volunteer Organizations: Clubs such as Rotary, Lions, Kiwanis, Shriners, Boy Scouts, Girls Scouts/Guides, 4-H, YMCA, United Way, Legion, Big Brothers/Sisters Faith-based Organizations: Churches, mosques, synagogues, other religious organizations and faith-based charities Media Organizations: local newspapers, radio and television stations Senior Citizens Organizations: Senior centres, nursing homes, and senior volunteer and service organizations Cultural and Recreational Institutions: Zoos, museums, libraries, recreational centres, art galleries, theatres Other Community Organizations: Fraternities, sororities, foundations, community leagues, sports associations, and political, alumni and local service organizations International Agencies/Organizations: UNICEF, Doctors Without Borders, Red Cross Community Individuals: Individual volunteers from the local community.
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Faith-based schools may also consider: diocese Bishops Office other religious groups.
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Student Centred
scholarships student trips tutors mentors job shadowing student awards and incentives
Establishing a Focus for Partnerships

The focus for community partnership activities may vary. The following chart identifies four areas of focus and lists sample activities for each area.3 These focus areas are interrelated and together provide a sample model for organizing partnership activities that include all stakeholders and provide mutual benefits for all involved.
Focus Areas and Examples of SchoolCommunity Partnership Activities

Family Centred
parent workshops family fun nights adult education classes parent incentives and rewards referrals and links to community services counselling
School Centred
equipment and materials donations beautification and repair teacher incentives and awards funds for school events and programs office and classroom assistance
Community Centred
community beautification student exhibits and performances charity events outreach activities
Building Consensus and Capacity

In successful schoolcommunity partnerships, partners have common goals linking character and citizenship education with improved student achievement. An effective team uses collaborative skills, inclusive decision-making structures, and time together for reflection and evaluation. As the team grows in leadership capacity, varying the contributions of all involved generates enthusiasm and commitment to action. Each stakeholder contributes energy and wisdom to a school; collectively these voices build sustainable school improvement.
Assessing Needs
Community partnerships begin with assessment of the schools current situation and context of unique concerns and priorities. Needs, issues and concerns of students and families vary depending on the ages of the student population, geographic location, community demographics and cultures, and social climate of the school and community. A rating scale such as the one on the following page helps school action teams identify current strengths and areas for growth.4
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Our school:
Never K Rarely K
Rating
Sometimes K Often K Frequently K
1. provides brochures or references specifically for parents and students that include information on community services, programs and agencies 2. supports families in locating and using community resources 3. works with local businesses, industries, libraries, parks, museums and other organizations to enhance student skills and learning (e.g., plans activities that link character and citizenship education with curricular goals) 4. provides one-stop shopping for family services through partnership of school, counselling, health, recreation, job training and other agencies 5. opens its building for community use after school hours 6. offers after-school programs for students with support from community businesses, agencies and volunteers (e.g., programs that support student achievement goals, link character and citizenship with co-/extracurricular activities).
K K
K K
K K
K K
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Sample Strategies to Strengthen SchoolCommunity Partnerships

Within communities, there are human, economic, material and social resources that can support and enhance home and school activities. Integrating community partners in various ways improves schools, strengthens families and helps students succeed in school and in life. Examples of how schools strengthen partnerships with the wider community include the following. Look for curricular support Identify community resources such as local agencies or service clubs who can provide information, training and materials for supporting curricular programs. For example, Lions Clubs may sponsor training in Lions-Quest to support teaching K9 health and life skills, and senior high career and life management programs of study. Establish a community resource network Students need to build healthy relationships with the community. Establishing a community resource network identifies people who can interact with students in a variety of ways, such as acting as a
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guest speaker or expert panel, participating in phone or e-mail interviews, meeting with groups of students researching particular issues, serving as mentors or coaches and becoming audiences for special events. Create service learning opportunities Students need opportunities such as service learning to transfer skills and ideas learned in character and citizenship education to various real-life situations. Service learning projects include activities such as spring clean-up projects, buddy reading programs with a neighbouring classroom or preschool, helping to organize and promote a blood donor clinic, or preparing and serving lunch at a seniors centre. Involve local service clubs or other partners to help identify and assess local service needs. Promote and publicize partnerships Celebrate students contributions to the community. Partner with local media to promote the value of service learning and community partnership.
Consider the following examples of stories that schools and jurisdictions shared about their community partnerships.
Cross generations
We decided to take our food sciences course out of the school and into the community. We have a special lunch for the communitys seniors once a week, and we take care of a lot of the towns catering needsespecially if someone is in need of good food at a reasonable cost. We try to instill a sense of pride and service in our students so that they dont see it as a chore, but as more of a privilege. Its particularly great to see teenagers and seniors engaged in a mutually beneficial arrangement where they get to know each other in a positive light. That doesnt always happen in a smaller town!
Seasonal greetings
Each year we demonstrate appreciation to our neighbourhood for their tolerance and support by delivering handmade Christmas cards to all nearby homes. My French as a Second Language bilingual students use this opportunity to apply what theyve learned about seasonal greetings and expressing gratitude by writing their cards in French. We are always thrilled to receive a Merci! in reply from an appreciative neighbour.
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Finding hope
In 1995, Steven Roy requested money instead of a gift for his tenth birthday to buy flowers to take on visits to lonely people. His birthday wish grew into the inception of Hope Kids after he told other youth of his experiences. This program administered by the Hope Foundation at the University of Alberta, helps 1017year-old students become more aware of their own hope and learn skills for supporting hope in themselves and others as hope companions to people living in continuing care centres. Hope Kids has expanded from three continuing care centres to five in the Edmonton region. Each of the programs is based in a school and is supported by school staff in addition to Hope Foundation volunteers. Participating in hope-focused activities as part of community service learning helps Hope Kids to recognize and access hope in themselves. Through this process they build skills and strategies that enable them to envision a future in which they see themselves participating with interest and confidence. In the process of describing inner hopes and dreams through representations and reflections, Hope Kids come to understand more about who they are and who they are becoming. Talking about journal writing as a hopeful strategy, one Hope Kid explained, I can write down ideas of things I can do. I am not limited to anything. Another Hope Kid described what happens when she plays the piano, It makes me feel calmer and I think it offers me hope. During a presentation of his hope creatures, one Hope Kid said, I am just like this hope creature because Im all eyes, I have a big heart and I can be a little prickly. By naming and owning the hopeful characteristics of that particular hope creature, this youth created a new and enriched understanding of his hoping self.
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Community circle
During National Addictions Awareness Week, the whole reserve community meets with the students and staff outside the school. All the students, teachers and community members hold hands and make a huge circle. The circle is very symbolic for many Aboriginal groups as it conveys the message that we are all one in the circle of life. It also reinforces the fact that we belong to a community and must be responsible for ourselves as a part of the circle. This means making wise decisions and not abusing drugs or alcohol. Aboriginal students, like all young people, need continual reinforcement that they are not alone in this world and that like the web of life, we are all connected and will support one another.
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Sharing a vision
A primary goal of Francophone education is to allow students to strengthen their sense of Francophone identity and sense of belonging while encouraging students to actively contribute to the flourishing Francophone cultures, families and communities. We do this not only within the walls of the school but also by consciously building links with the larger French community of the past, present and future. Our Grade 4 classes visit the local seniors home to hear first-hand how their Francophone predecessors contributed to the history of their province. Grade 2 students build models of the buildings which make up the physical community, including the university, churches, art gallery, theatres, restaurants and even a wellknown fish market run by an Acadian family who sponsor an annual sporting event at the school. When, as part of its 100th birthday celebration, the city invited schools to submit their visions of life in the next century, our Grade 8 classes focused on what our Francophone community might look like. To no ones surprise, all envisaged it as vibrant, diverse and thriving, just as it is today!
Endnotes
1. Epstein et al. 2002. 2. Reproduced with permission from Joyce L. Epstein et al., School, Family, and Community Partnerships: Your Handbook for Action (2nd edition) (Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press, Inc., 2002), p. 32. 3. Ibid., p. 32. 4. Ibid., p. 334.
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Instructional Strategies that Support Character and Citizenship Education

The art of teaching is the art of assisting discovery. Mark Van Doren
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ffective instructional strategies help students become independent, strategic learners. These strategies are effective because they provide students with: step-by-step strategy instruction a variety of instructional approaches and learning materials appropriate support that includes modelling, guided practice and independent practice opportunities to transfer skills and ideas from one situation to another meaningful connections between skills and ideas learned in the classroom and real-life situations opportunities to be independent and show what they know encouragement to plan and self-monitor tools for reflecting on, and assessing and evaluating their own learning.
Instructional strategies especially effective in teaching for character and citizenship include: cooperative learning group discussion journals and learning logs role-playing graphic organizers literature response service learning issue-based inquiry.
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Cooperative Learning
Cooperative Learning is a strategy. As we dig deeper, it becomes a method of fostering collaboration within a learning community. It is a powerful model for teaching. Its complex and interactive tapestry of values, knowledge and skills, becomes a philosophy. Carol Rolheiser and Barrie Bennett
Cooperative learning involves students working in small groups, using collaborative, prosocial behaviour to complete tasks or projects. Activities are structured so that each group member contributes to the task, and success is based on group performance rather than the individuals performance. Cooperative learning activities foster students abilities to support, respect and appreciate others. Cooperative learning encourages group members to have a vested interest in each others success, to communicate effectively with one another, to listen to and accept each others ideas, to manage conflict, and to reach a consensus or understanding when needed. Regular participation in cooperative activities creates a sense of community in the classroom. In addition, cooperative learning typically results in greater student motivation, productivity and achievement, more positive personal relationships, and better general psychological health.1
Implementing cooperative learning

Consider the following suggestions for successful cooperative learning in the classroom.2 Keep groups small. Two to five members is bestthe larger the group, the more skillful group members must be. Create diverse groups. This allows students to learn from each others differences. Vary groupings with level of thinking involved. For some higher level thinking tasks, consider grouping most able students together so they can challenge each other rather than always taking the lead. Structure activities so that success depends on each group member being responsible for some part of the task. Initially, assign students to groups and roles within the group. Clarify and post the focus and/or goal of the activity. Establish basic classroom-management routines, including getting into groups quickly and quietly, and maintaining appropriate noise levels. Explicitly teach and reinforce inviting others to join the group, treating all students with respect, and helping or encouraging peers.
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Monitor behaviour. Scan groups, use proximity and friendly reminders, sit and watch a group for a while, and revisit and reinforce expectations consistently. Ensure individual students are aware of their roles and responsibilities within the group. Post a list of roles or give students cards describing specific roles. Teach, discuss and model collaborative skills such as listening, allowing others to speak, asking for help when needed, reaching consensus and completing a task within the allotted time. Students need opportunities to practise these skills, and to receive feedback and reinforcement. Introduce new skills by having students brainstorm what the skill would look like and sound like. Record ideas in a t-chart. Allow students time to evaluate the process, individually and as a group. Provide students with frequent opportunities to work in small groups to improve their teamwork skills. Ensure groups are flexible. Group membership should change from one subject or activity to the next.
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Forming learning groups

Using many different strategies for forming cooperative learning groups ensures that students have an opportunity to work with different group members. Consider the following strategies for forming groups.3 Pairing up partners Students pair up with someone who falls into the same category. For example, students pair up with the first person they can find who is wearing the same colour socks as them. Pick a card Use old decks of cards to form groups. For example, to get groups of four, put together four kings, four queens, and so on. Distribute the cards randomly and ask students to find the others with matching cards. Chalkboard list This is a good strategy to use when students are finishing work at different times. As students complete one assignment, they write their names on the chalkboard. When three names accumulate, they form a new group and move on to the next activity. Corners4 1. Designate each corner of the room as a different choice or alternative (e.g., use symbols or questions to label the choice). 2. Pose a question or present a statement to students. 3. Give students a short think time to consider their different alternatives and write their choice on paper without talking (to prevent them from following their friends to a corner).
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4. Instruct students to move quietly to the corner that corresponds with their choice. 5. While in their corners, students interact with others in the corner and share the reasons for their choice. 6. Students listen to each others ideas and paraphrase the ideas back to their partner or group. Consider the following sample ideas for using Corners to support character and citizenship education. Present an opinion statement on an issue the class is studying, and designate the corners as Strongly Agree, Agree, Disagree or Strongly Disagree with the statement. Present a stem about a character in a novel being studied and provide four different stem endings about the character. Have students choose a corner based on which word in a poem they think is most significant, which course of action would be best in a situation, or which way of analyzing or presenting data they plan to use in a research project. Numbered Heads Together5 1. Have students form groups of three to five people and number off within their group. 2. Present students with a question or problem. 3. Students first think about their answer individually and jot it down. They then put their heads together to discuss the answer and agree jointly on the correct response. Students must make sure that all members know the answer because individual group members will be called on to answer on behalf of the group. 4. Ask each group a question by randomly calling a number from one to five (depending on the number of students in the groups). The student with that number must answer the question and briefly explain why the answer is correct. 5. If the group has not been able to agree on an answer, the team may pass until it is called upon again. 6. Repeat with additional questions as time allows. Consider the following sample types of activities for using Numbered Heads Together to support character and citizenship education: generating solutions for case-study dilemmas listing traits of various characters in a book finding the main idea in an article answering chapter discussion questions.
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Group Discussions
Group discussions are integral to character and citizenship development. Discussions build understanding of specific issues and concepts, create motivation and interest, and give students a forum for exploring new ideas and information. Discussions help students learn to articulate their views, and consider and respond to opinions that differ from their own. Participating in group discussions helps students develop effective problem-solving skills.6
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Implementing group discussions

Consider the following suggestions for successful group discussions in the classroom. Create an atmosphere of openness and acceptance. Encourage students to show respect for the ideas and opinions of others, even though they might not agree with them. Model this behaviour for students. Consider discussions that involve the whole class as well as those in small groups. Groups of two to six students work well. Establish ground rules for discussion. Rules may include: no put-downs no interrupting everyone has the right to pass. Present situations where there are no right or wrong answers and students will have a variety of opinions or emotions. Discuss the idea that sometimes the best solution is to agree to disagree. Encourage students to form their own discussion questions. Be prepared to accept silence after a question. Build in 310 second wait time to give students the opportunity to think before they respond, especially for higher level questions. Probe beyond neat and tidy answers. Encourage students to express what they really think, not simply say what they think the teacher or other students want to hear. Use What if and What else questions to encourage students to go beyond their first responses. Guard against inappropriate disclosures. Be vigilant in situations where students might reveal hurtful or embarrassing information about themselves or others, and head off such revelations.6
Talking circles
Talking circles are useful when the topic under consideration has no right or wrong answer, or when people need to share feelings. The purpose of talking circles is not to reach a decision or consensus. Rather, it is to create a safe environment for students to share their points of view with others on a specific topic. This process helps students gain trust in classmates and to believe that what they say will be heard and accepted without criticism. Students may also gain an empathetic appreciation for other points of view.7
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In a talking circle, people are free to respond in any manner falling within guidelines (a facilitator may initially be required to ensure guidelines are followed). All comments, negative or positive, are addressed directly to the question or issue, not to another persons comments. Only one person speaks at a time, while everyone else listens. Some groups find it useful to signify who is the speaker by going around the circle systematically or passing an object, such as a pencil, from speaker to speaker. Everyone feels invited to participate. For this reason, talking circles are often small groups. It is helpful to have a mechanism to prevent a few from dominating discussion. Patient and nonjudgemental listening helps shy students speak out and more verbal ones moderate participation. Going around the circle inviting each student to participate may be an effective strategy. Silence is an acceptable response. No one is pressured to contribute. There are no negative consequences, however subtle, for saying I pass. Students avoid put-downs of others or themselves, such as I dont think anyone will agree with me, but Words like good or excellent or other judgemental terms are avoided.7
Brainstorming
Brainstorming serves a variety of purposes. It can be used to introduce new units of study, assess knowledge at the beginning or end of units, review information for tests, generate a starting point for writing assignments or projects, solve problems or make group decisions. Brainstorming creates an overview of what students know and/or think about a specific topic, and allows students to organize their knowledge and ideas. It is also an effective technique for creating interest and enthusiasm for new concepts or topics.8 Consider the following suggestions for supporting effective brainstorming in the classroom. Establish ground rules before beginning, such as: all ideas are accepted without judgement everyone participates focus on quantity rather than quality. Record single words or phrases. Build routines that allow ideas to be recorded quickly. Have several students stationed at different sections of a whiteboard, recording ideas in turn. Try having small groups circulate from category to category, adding lists. Have groups record and post ideas, and then review overlap and novel ideas.
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Continue brainstorming until ideas are exhausted or the time limit is reached. Review ideas and look for ways to combine or sort them.8
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The following sample activities show ways that brainstorming could be used to support citizenship and character development. Concept poem Students brainstorm their thoughts about what a specific core value looks like, sounds like and feels like. The result is a poem like the following example. Kindness is Sharing your toys with others Listening to what others have to say Helping someone who is hurt Thinking before you say something Not leaving people out Helping someone tie his or her shoes Encouraging someone when something goes wrong Tobogganing with someone who is afraid Pulling someone elses toboggan up a hill Saying thanks when someone helps you Thats what kindness is! How did you share kindness today? This activity is especially suited to younger students. Following a discussion on kindness, students generate a class list of ways that they show kindness to others in their lives. Display student responses on large chart paper in the classroom or hallway. This activity could also be done with other core values. Peaceable person Begin with a life-size outline of a person. Have students brainstorm a list of character qualities that they believe would contribute to a harmonious and peaceful classroom. List these within the body of the outline. Then have students generate a list of qualities that they feel would not contribute to such a classroom. List these on the outside of the body. Post the Peaceable Person in the classroom and use it as a touchstone for the rest of the year. What did you do today that made a difference? Have students brainstorm in pairs or small groups ways in which they make a positive difference in their school, family and community. Encourage students to consider how behaviours such as smiling, using manners or showing kindness can influence others. When students are finished, bring the class together as a whole group to share and combine ideas.
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Journals and Learning Logs

Journals and learning logs are frequently used to process new information during class time. Teachers can give direct instruction in 10- to 15-minute segments, and then ask students to write down key ideas, questions, connections or reflections. This gives students an opportunity to think about new material, clarify confusion, discuss key ideas and process information before moving on to other new material.9 Learning logs also offer a number of more general benefits. For example, they: provide students with a format for identifying and remembering key ideas give students more time to process information can be included in portfolios or used to review for tests allow students who miss a class to borrow logs from friends to keep up with class work allow teachers to identify and clarify misunderstandings or confusion during the lesson.10
Consider the following suggestions for successfully using journals or learning logs to enhance character and citizenship development. Allow students to mark any entry private. These entries will be read only by the teacher and will not be shared with others without the students permission. Respond to journal entries by asking questions that guide students decision-making or problem-solving process. Focus on expression of ideas rather than on writing mechanics or neatness. Ask students to revisit their journal entries throughout the term and identify how their thoughts and ideas have changed.11
Examples of journal formats that work well for teaching about and reflecting on citizenship and character development include the following. Double entry journal A double entry journal allows students to record information in the left column and reactions or responses in the right. For example, in the left column students could be asked to copy quotes about a character or summarize passages of text that relate to a core value being studied. Then in the right column, students record their responses, questions or connections. Reflective journal In a reflective journal, students describe an event, identify their feelings about it, and then reflect on what they learned. The last question might be What would I have done in that persons position? or Is there a better way that problem could have been handled?
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Feelings journal A feelings journal is a place for students to acknowledge and record emotional responses to daily events. This practice teaches students about feelings and promotes self-awareness. Younger students can be asked to reflect on their feelings on a daily basis, and then share their reactions and thoughts in a feelings journal through writing or drawing. I can make a difference journal This type of journal is an opportunity for students to reflect on and write down behaviours and actions they have taken to make a positive difference for others or their community. Students may describe behaviours such as greeting someone with a smile, helping someone, picking up a piece of litter or turning in an item to lostand-found. Putting aside time on a regular basis for this type of journal writing reinforces the importance of such positive actions.
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Assessment of learning logs

Teachers can work with students to develop self-assessment tools that encourage setting higher goals in learning logs. Consider the following two examples that look at the level of thoughtfulness, depth and personalization of students responses.12 Personal response
0 undeveloped 1 partial 2 adequate 3 interesting 4 powerful
Personal response Little evidence of thoughtfulness 1 Response only Some evidence of thoughtfulness 2 Response supported by specific examples Strong evidence of thoughtfulness 3 Response supported by examples and personal reflections
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Role-playing
Role-playing is the spontaneous acting out of situations, without costumes or scripts. The context for role-play is presented and roles are selected. Students have minimal planning time to discuss the situation, choose different alternatives or reactions, and plan a basic scenario. At the conclusion, students discuss how they felt and what they learned about that particular situation. The most important part of role-play is this follow-up discussion.13 Role-playing is beneficial to character and citizenship education because it provides students with opportunities to practise communication and social skills in a safe, nonthreatening environment. Role-playing allows students to take on different perspectives and to develop empathy by seeing how their decisions might affect others. It can also be an effective strategy for social problem solving and exploring new ideas. In addition, role-playing can be a motivating learning activity.
Implementing role-playing
Ideas for using role-playing in the classroom might include: role-playing different methods of dealing with conflict role-playing imaginary interactions between story characters acting out a characters conflict and resolution, and exploring other possible solutions practising new social skills developing body language skills by acting out feelings or emotions and having others guess.
Consider the following suggestions for successfully using role-playing as part of character and citizenship education.13 Always have students role-play the positive side of a skill or situation. If it is necessary to role-play a negative situation, the teacher should take on the negative role. Provide a specific situation. Limit the time students have to develop and practise their role-plays (5 to 10 minutes is usually sufficient). Limit the use of costumes and props. Provide students with tips for participating and observing.
Tips for participating

Discuss the following tips with role-play participants.13
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Face the audience, and speak loudly and clearly. Do not rely on props or costumes. Use body language to communicate your message. Focus on your role-play partners and the message you want to communicate.
Assess your participation by asking yourself the following questions. How am I demonstrating that I understand this role? Are we showing all important aspects of the situation? Are we showing all ideas from our planning session? Am I using new skills or concepts accurately?
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Tips for observing

Discuss the following tips for being a supportive observer.13 Demonstrate good listening by being quiet and attentive. Laugh at appropriate moments. Do not laugh at role-play participants. Show support by clapping and using positive words of encouragement and feedback when the role-play is finished.
Assessment of role-playing
During the role-play, observe how students handle the situations represented and consider the following questions. Are concepts expressed accurately in language and action? Are any students confused or uncertain about the purpose of the role-play, the situation or their roles?
To extend learning from role-plays, consider the following questions. What issues were clarified through role-play? What misconceptions might have been presented? What questions did the role-play raise? What new information is needed? How does this role-play link with future tasks that extend or broaden the topic?13
Graphic Organizers
Graphic organizers (also known as key visuals or cognitive organizers) are formats for organizing information and ideas graphically or visually. Students can use graphic organizers to generate ideas, record and organize information, and see relationships. As students apply their learning, teachers gain information about student thinking. Just as cooperative learning and group discussions provide evidence of student thinking, graphic organizers make student thinking visible. They demonstrate not only what students are thinking but also how they are thinking as they work through learning tasks.14
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Implementing graphic organizers

Consider the following suggestions for successfully using graphic organizers in the classroom.14 Model effective use of graphic organizers by using them to plan and introduce new concepts. Show examples of new organizers, describing their purpose and form. Demonstrate use of new organizers on a chalkboard, overhead or chart paper, using easy or familiar material and a think-aloud format. Give students opportunities to practise using the format with easy material, and coach them at various points in the process. Share final products; discuss what worked and what did not, and give students an opportunity to revise information. Provide students with many opportunities to practise using graphic organizers with a range of topics and issues. Encourage students to evaluate which organizers work best in which learning situations.
Graphic organizer formats

Examples of graphic organizers that can be used for teaching about and reflecting on citizenship and character development include the following. Idea builders Idea builders create a context for introducing or clarifying new concepts, such as developing an understanding of a particular value. They are especially helpful for English as a Second Language students or students with special needs who require support in understanding new concepts. Idea builders encourage students to: make connections between what they know and what they will be learning gather information related to a concept by identifying essential and nonessential characteristics, or examples and nonexamples examine concepts from multiple perspectives develop inductive and divergent thinking focus their attention on relevant details.14
See Appendix H-1 for a template of this graphic organizer.15
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Idea Builder
1. Key Idea Friends 3. Facts You can have friends of all ages. Friends are people who appreciate who you are and enjoy your company. Friendships change over time and circumstances.
2. Draw it 4. Sample sentence I am happy that my friend Terri is also in my class and we often have fun together at recess.
5. Examples Betty, Gail and Terri my cousin, Aileen 6. Nonexamples strangers (people who do not know you) students in other grades who may not know my name
7. Definition Friends are those important people who are on your side. Friends know you, try to understand you and enjoy your company. They support you and appreciate you for who you are.
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T-charts
T-charts help students organize their knowledge and ideas, and see relationships between pieces of information. T-charts can have two, three or more columns. As students explore core values, t-charts can be used to create visual pictures of what that value looks, sounds and feels like. They can also be used to explore social issues, compare and contrast different situations, or investigate two or more aspects of any character and citizenship topic, as shown in the following example. Friendliness Looks like smiles standing close doing things together Sounds like laughter friendly words like Good to see you! Do you want to play? Feels like you belong someone cares about you
Venn diagrams
Venn diagrams are a way of comparing and contrasting information about two things (e.g., objects, events, concepts or ideas). For example, students could use Venn diagrams to compare and contrast behaviours of different characters from a story or novel, or differing viewpoints on an issue of inquiry. Venn diagrams can also be expanded to three or more interlocking circles in order to compare a number of issues or concepts. See Appendix H-2 for a template of this graphic organizer.
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Venn Diagram
Be ready to learn. Ask questions if I need more information. Try my best. Keep my work area organized and tidy. Responsibilities at school
Treat people kindly. Try to solve problems but ask for help when I need it. Read every day.
Keep my bedroom tidy. Feed and take the dog for a walk twice a day. Make suppers on Wednesdays. Phone Grandma on Sundays. Responsibilities at home
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PMI decision-making charts

Students can use a version of Plus, Minus and Interesting (PMI) charts to compare and contrast situations, ideas or positions. PMI charts give students a format for organizing information, and evaluating their knowledge, ideas or alternatives for making informed decisions.16
See Appendix H-3 for a template of this graphic organizer.
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What I Have, What I Need

A decision-making model such as What I Have, What I Need offers a step-by-step process that encourages students to look for more than one solution, choose the best alternative and develop an action plan for implementing their decision. By breaking down problem solving into specific steps and taking the time to generate a variety of solutions, students at any grade level can become better, more creative problem solvers. A sample of this model follows.17
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KWL + charts
KWL charts help students understand what they know (K), what they want to know (W) and what they learned (L) about a certain topic or issue. KWL charts are an effective visual tool to tap into students prior knowledge and generate questions that create a purpose for learning. KWL charts can be used to introduce new topics or concepts, or when reading, viewing videos, preparing for guest speakers or going on field trips. KWL charts can also be a guide for research projects.18 Consider adding a Plus (+) feature to a traditional KWL chart by posing an additional prompt to encourage students to reflect on how they will use this new information they will be learning. KWL + chart K (List what you already know about the topic.) W (List questions about what you want to know about the topic.) L (Using your questions as a guide, write all the information you learned.)
+ Why is this information important and how will I use the new information learned?
Mind maps
Mind mapping was developed in the early 1970s by British author and brain researcher Tony Buzan. It is an easy way to represent ideas using keywords, colours and imagery. Its nonlinear format helps students generate, organize and see connections between ideas. Mind maps integrate logical and imaginative thinking, and create an overview of what students know and think about a topic. Webs are simple mind maps. Adding pictures, colours and key words transforms them into more powerful tools for learning, remembering and generating ideas. The following example is a mind map illustrating the classs understanding of kindness.
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Continuum
A continuum can be used for scaling and illustrating extremes. For example, after discussing different feelings, a teacher might have younger students use a continuum to help them clarify the intensity of their feelings about or reactions to an idea or event. A continuum can also be used to track a characters reactions or feelings in a story.
Low
High
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Thinking grid
A thinking grid is a simple way for students to organize information around core values. Headings on the grid could be changed to suit a variety of other topics or concepts. What does a cooperative classroom look like?
Attribute Working quietly What it looks like or sounds like Talking to classmates in a low voice, putting your hand up, moving quietly through the classroom Working together on a problem, asking if someone needs help Saying please or thank you, waiting your turn When you would do this During journal writing, writing tests or silent reading time
Helping each other
If someone was sad, when working in pairs
Manners
If someone shares something with you or offers you something, lining up in class
Childrens Literature
The stories people tell have a way of taking care of them. If stories come to you, care for them. And learn to give them away where they are needed. Sometimes a person needs a story more than food to stay alive. That is why we put these stories in each others memory. This is how people care for themselves. Lopez 1991, p. 48
As well as developing reading literacy and other cognitive skills, most experts agree that literature can be an important tool in teaching children about character and citizenship. For example, the Center for the Advancement of Ethics and Character in Boston states that the human community has a reservoir of moral wisdom, much of which exists in our great stories, works of art, literature, history, and biography (n.d.).
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Exemplary literature engages all five senses simultaneouslyseeing the visual imagery of the illustrations, hearing the rhythm of language and the cadence of the readers voice, feeling the texture of the book cover and pages, experiencing images that evoke smelling and tasting sensations.19 Because of this sensory engagement, children connect with the story at an emotional level, creating a more memorable experience. Childrens literature abounds with hypothetical social and moral dilemmas, encouraging students to think critically. Childrens literature also fosters development of empathy by encouraging a view of situations from the different perspectives of story characters. Literature lets the learner access the thoughts, intentions and emotions of the characters, and see how these factors affect the characters decisions or behaviour. Finally, childrens literature provides a vehicle for teachers to model, teach, acknowledge and celebrate core values.
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Implementing childrens literature

Consider the following suggestions for successfully using childrens literature to support character and citizenship education. Choose literature that lets students see what a core value looks like, sounds like and feels like. Revisit the story as a shared experience that students can use to link their learning to their actions in their everyday lives: Remember when we read that story about being kind? Did your action at recess show kindness? Encourage students to respond to literature on a critical and emotional level, to explore their own ideas and beliefs, and to examine ways they connect with the story and the characters. Response strategies may include: reading journals writing a letter to a character drawing (for example, various options a character might have or a personal experience evoked by the story) developing a role-play based on the story writing a different ending or a sequel to the story. Use literature conversations to create a context of safety within which core values and real-life challenges can be discussed and explored more deeply.
Literature conversations
Discussing literature is an opportunity for students to explore their own thoughts, feelings and behaviours within a safe context. By dialoguing about different aspects of a story, students connect with what was read, making connections with their own lives. The characters actions provide a starting point for students to discuss appropriate and not so appropriate behaviour in a manner that is respectful of all.
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Using childrens literature to teach social skills

Consider the following model for using literature to introduce a social skill, and for reinforcing and maintaining the skill once it has been taught.20 1. Present the story Clearly define the social skill (or core value) that students will learn, and know what follow-up activities will be used. Clarify the story concepts After sharing the story, discuss what happened and ensure that all students understand the main events. Encourage students to explore the characters feelings and thought processes, and why they might have behaved the way that they did. Explore how the story made students feel and why. Clarify the skill Through the discussion, connect the story to the skill through questions such as What other choices could the characters have made? What might have happened if they had made a different choice? Encourage students to recognize what a desired behaviour might have been and what it would look like. Enact the skill Role-play parts of the story, emphasizing the desired skill and skill components that evolved from the story discussion. Practise the skill Identify real-life situations where the social skill might be used. Have students role-play these situations while you prompt, correct and reinforce the use of the skill. Be watchful for opportunities to prompt and reinforce the skill when they occur in real life. Maintain the skill Read other similar stories to practise and maintain the social skill taught and provide activities that will allow further practice.
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Using picture books with older students

Teaching with picture books is not limited to young children. Many picture books are rich with meaning and imagery on many levels, and can offer a valuable literary experience for readers of all ages. To use picture books most effectively with older students, teachers use many strategies they would use for other literature, including activities that encourage thoughtful questioning, reflective dialogue, critical exploration of issues and making connections to students own lives.
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Service Learning
Great opportunities to help others seldom come, but small ones surround us every day. Sally Koch
Service learning is a process of goal setting and action that contributes to character and citizenship development while positively affecting others. It provides students with meaningful experiences that foster academic learning, personal growth and civic responsibility. Students come to know that they are not only citizens of their community, province and country, but they are also citizens of the world. All students can participate in service learning. Service learning provides benefits for everyone involved. In faith-based schools, service projects are linked with social justice and students prayerfully reflect on hope, peace and justice. Through service learning, students live the gospel values of faith, hope and love. For students, benefits include: strengthening academic knowledge and skills by applying them to real problems building positive relationships with a variety of people discovering new interests and abilities setting goals and working through steps to achieve them working cooperatively taking on leadership roles learning the value of helping and caring for others.21
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For teachers, benefits include: having meaningful, close involvement with students reaching students who have difficulty with standard curriculum establishing home/school/community partnerships promoting school spirit and pride building collegiality with other school staff.21
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For the school and broader community, benefits include: strengthening connections between students, schools and communities creating a more positive school and community culture fostering a more positive view of young people by the community, leading to stronger support for youth and schools increasing awareness of community needs and concerns increasing community action to address key issues.21
Implementing service learning

Consider the following suggestions to make service learning projects as successful as possible. Involve community membersGuest speakers from a variety of sources are often willing to support service learning projects. Use existing resourcesFind ways to use what is in the classroom rather than raise or spend money on the project. For example, student art can decorate the walls of a drop-in centre or be laminated for place mats in a Kindergarten snack program. Determine a specific goal for the school or community and then develop a project to help achieve that goal. Deciding on the goal and project as a class will strengthen student motivation and interest.
Sample service learning projects

Consider the following examples of goals for service learning projects that support character and citizenship education.22 Goal: To make school a positive place for everyone Possible projects: Create posters with positive messages on topics such as friendship, cooperation, cross-cultural understanding and school spirit. Start a schoolwide campaign to eliminate put-downs. Make posters, organize noon-hour events and involve school staff. Organize mini-workshops and tutoring programs. Plan an appreciation day for school volunteers or school staff.
Goal: To beautify the school Possible projects:

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Organize a school clean-up campaign. Plant flowers and trees around the school. Organize a hall of fame with photos of outstanding graduates. Start a campaign to keep the school litter-free. Paint murals on hallways or walls.
Goal: To make a positive contribution to seniors in the community Possible projects: Write letters to housebound seniors who would enjoy receiving mail. Adopt grandparents in the community. Plan a holiday dinner for senior citizens at a nursing home. Invite senior citizens for a special day of sharing and discussion. Create handmade gifts for special occasions. Send handmade birthday cards to people celebrating 80+ birthdays.
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Goal: To contribute to young families in the community Possible projects: Plan a special party for children in day care. Present a puppet show in an elementary school. Teach simple craft projects to children in an after-school program. Read stories to children at an elementary school. Organize on-site babysitting services for parent and community meetings held at the school.
Goal: To improve living conditions for people in the community Possible projects: Cook and serve meals at a community centre. Collect food, clothing and toys for distribution at local shelters. Learn about the local homelessness situation and write letters of concern to community officials suggesting strategies for improving the living situations of people who are homeless.
Goal: To gain awareness of and support a global perspective Possible projects: Study an issue and prepare a display for the school showing the different perspectives involved. Research an issue and develop a petition or advocacy letter about the issue.
Turning service projects into service learning

Sometimes students completing service projects remain detached from the experience and do not perceive their efforts as worthwhile. Teachers can use the process described below to encourage their students to move beyond service projects and into service learning by providing opportunities for them to explore and understand the purpose of their efforts. See Appendix I for sample templates for supporting service learning.
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Step 1: Prepare With guidance, students determine needs to address in the school and community, list questions they have about the issues and research the answers. This helps students to clearly understand why their project is significant and how it will benefit their community. Students then define desired outcomes and goals, and choose projects that they know will respond to authentic needs in the school or community. This step is also a time for students to consider how they can collaborate with parents and community partners to address these needs. Step 2: Plan Students develop a step-by-step plan and timeline, consider possible challenges and roadblocks, and determine how they might be overcome. Each student needs to be responsible for part of the project. At this stage, encourage students to consider ways to communicate effectively with the school, parents and the community-at-large. Providing information about the project encourages others to participate. Teachers also need to check at this stage to ensure that the project provides meaningful service and real consequences. Step 3: Put the plan into action As students implement their plan, make sure that they assume as much responsibility as possible, and that the environment is safe, and allows for mistakes and successes. Encourage students to involve parents and screened community volunteers. Monitor student performance and safety on a regular basis. Step 4: Review and reflect Use methods such as role-plays, discussion and journal writing to acknowledge and celebrate the participation of everyone involved. Teachers should guide the process of reflection to ensure it is systematic and beneficial. Consider ways to encourage the following three levels of reflection.23 The Mirror (gives a clear reflection of the self ) Students reflect on who they are, what they have learned about themselves, and how their experience will impact them in the future. The Microscope (makes the small experience large) Students describe their experience and what they learned about the agency, people or community. Students reflect on whether or not they feel their actions had any impact, consider what changes they would make to the experience, and connect and compare their experiences to their learning in class. The Binoculars (makes the distant appear closer) Students take a more global perspective and attempt to identify larger issues that may be impacting the problem (e.g., political, social), what the future might hold, and what can be done.
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Step 5: Demonstrate To reinforce learning, students must demonstrate mastery of skills, insights and outcomes by reporting to their peers, families and communities. Students could write articles or letters to local newspapers regarding local issues, or extend their experience to develop future projects in the community. It is essential that at the end of service learning projects, students have opportunities to privately and publicly reflect on what they contributed and learned through the project.
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Issue-based Inquiry
An essential component of character and citizenship education is that students have opportunities to develop their ability to think critically, share their thoughts and concerns, and make decisions based on informed beliefs. One way to create these opportunities is through issue-based inquiry with real-life issues. An effective issuebased inquiry: focuses on an important theme or issue begins with an experience that all students have in commonin this way, new knowledge can be built on past experience allows for students to be involved in decision making.
In the teacher resource Controversy as a Teaching Tool, MacInnis, MacDonald and Scott outline the following six steps to help students examine issues and conduct an issue-based inquiry:24 identify the issue investigate the issue make a decision defend a position take action evaluate results.
This step-by-step approach creates opportunities for students to examine issues systematically. This model, or selected activities within the model, can be used in a variety of ways and with a variety of topics when teaching character and citizenship education. See Appendix J for sample templates to support issue-based inquiry.
Identifying issues
Issues are meaningful and valid when facing them on a daily basis. There are many current issues and events that can be used as points of discussion and catalysts for case studies, debates, role-plays, discussions, position papers or special projects. Work with students to generate a list of meaningful issues that: align with character development and citizenship are relevant to the community are of interest to the class.
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Often the most meaningful issues for inquiry are those that are most controversial and involve different positions. The degree of controversy depends upon the intensity of the emotions aroused. Examination of controversial issues is essential to the democratic process and has an important place in the classroom. Dealing with controversial issues allows students to view and weigh multiple perspectives and builds conflict-resolution skills. At the same time, choices of issues reflect sensitivity to the social and political realities of the community. Examining a particular issue could potentially affect the lives of students, families and/or the community-at-large. For example, debating certain controversial issues in some communities could escalate bitterness between family or community members. The more controversial the issue, the greater the risk of bias. Regardless of the issue selected, ensure that sufficient resources are available to address the issue in a comprehensive, bias-balanced manner. Sample issues for inquiry-based learning activities Issue-based inquiry can be used at any grade level, as long as the issue chosen is appropriate to the age and developmental level of the students. Consider the following sample issues as starting points. Division One How can the class work together to keep the classroom clean and organized? What should you do if you break your friends favourite toy by accident? In gym, should students be able to choose their own teams? If a classmate is being teased by one of your best friends, what could you do? What should you do if you have arranged to go to a friends house on Saturday afternoon but then another friend asks you to do something that you would rather do?
Endnotes
1. Johnson, Johnson and Holubec 1994. 2. Adapted from Alberta Learning, Kindergarten to Grade 9 Health and Life Skills Guide to Implementation (Edmonton, AB: Alberta Learning, 2002), p. 68. 3. Ibid., p. 69. 4. Kagan 1992, 1994. 5. Kagan 1992, 1994. 6. From Alberta Learning, Kindergarten to Grade 9 Health and Life Skills Guide to Implementation (Edmonton, AB: Alberta Learning, 2002), p. 71. (continued on next page)
Division Two Should children be paid for doing chores at home? You worked really hard to get your homework completed and now your friend wants to look at your homework to see if she did hers correctly. What should we do as a community to eliminate homelessness?
Division Three What could you do if you see a classmate being bullied by a group of peers? What should you do if your friends get together for a sleepover and rent a movie that you are not comfortable watching? Is it helpful to give money to people who are panhandling?
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Introducing the issue

An engaging and motivating introduction is key to the success of an issue-based inquiry. One strategy is to show a taped newscast of the issue with students assuming the role of reporters interpreting the issue. Related newspaper clippings could be displayed and discussed. Alternatively, the topic could be introduced by a guest speaker or a small group of students. Having someone else introduce the issue allows teachers to facilitate the process from a neutral, unbiased position. Students assume the role of responsible citizens investigating a controversial issue in which action is ultimately required. Teachers need to be aware of school and jurisdiction guidelines for speakers and controversial issues.
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7. Adapted with permission from Judie Bopp et al., The Sacred Tree Curriculum Guide (Lethbridge, AB: Four Worlds International Institute for Human and Community Development, 1988), pp. 2122. 8. Adapted from Alberta Learning, Kindergarten to Grade 9 Health and Life Skills Guide to Implementation (Edmonton, AB: Alberta Learning, 2002), pp. 7273. 9. Adapted from How to Assess Authentic Learning: The Mindful School, 3rd Edition (p. 115), by Kay Burke. 1999 by Skylight Training and Professional Development. Reprinted by permission of LessonLab, a Pearson Education Company, www.lessonlab.com. 10. Ibid., p. 116. 11. From Alberta Learning, Kindergarten to Grade 9 Health and Life Skills Guide to Implementation (Edmonton, AB: Alberta Learning, 2002), p. 83. 12. From How to Assess Authentic Learning: The Mindful School, 3rd Edition (pp. 118, 119), by Kay Burke. 1999 by Skylight Training and Professional Development. Reprinted by permission of LessonLab, a Pearson Education Company, www.lessonlab.com. 13. Adapted from Alberta Learning, Kindergarten to Grade 9 Health and Life Skills Guide to Implementation (Edmonton, AB: Alberta Learning, 2002), pp. 8485. (continued on next page)
Investigating the issue

Students need opportunities to research and discover information about the issue. Distribute printed materials, bring in guest speakers and, if possible, arrange for a relevant field trip. Help students develop frameworks for gathering, analyzing and evaluating new information from a variety of sources. It is important to recognize that bias can play a major role when discussing social issues. Whether it is a result of attitudes, emotions, values or stakeholder interests, everyone is influenced by bias to some extent. With this in mind, it is important that students develop effective strategies for identifying and classifying their own biases, and those of others.
Making a decision
Students should use a decision-making chart or another method to compile and organize information that they found throughout the inquiry. They can then use this summary to help them make an informed decision about the issue.
Defending a position
Students should present their conclusions in a position paper, oral presentation, poster or other method. This step may be done individually, in pairs or in small groups.
Taking action
The action component of a unit may be the most rewarding for both students and teachers. In this phase, students use all they have learned about an issue to develop action plans. Action categories include the following. Research/information gatheringincludes actions intended to increase knowledge of the issue itself. Public awareness/mediaincludes actions designed to receive media attention, and influence the audience and decision makers, for example, letters to the editor, press conferences, public awareness campaigns. Directincludes actions of a direct but nonpolitical nature, such as picketing, boycotting, meeting with involved parties.
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14. Ibid., pp. 85, 86, 87. 15. Form reproduced with permission from Edmonton Public Schools, Thinking Tools for Kids: Practical Organizers (Edmonton, AB: Edmonton Public Schools, 1999), p. 178. 16. Ibid., p. 199. 17. Ibid., p. 232. 18. Ogle 1986, Carr and Ogle 1987. 19. Gluth and Love 2000. 20. Adapted from Learning Social Skills Through Literature for Children and Adolescents by Gwendolyn Cartledge and Mary W. Kiarie, Teaching Exceptional Children, 34, 2, 2001, pp. 4445. Copyright 2001 by the Council for Exceptional Children. Reprinted with permission. 21. Adapted with permission from Lions Clubs International, Skills for Adolescence: Changes and Challenges (4th edition) (Oak Brook, IL: Lions Clubs International Foundation, 2003), p. 4. 22. Adapted with permission from Lions Clubs International, Skills for Adolescence: Service Learning (4th edition)(Oak Brook, IL: Lions Clubs International Foundation, 2003), pp. 6465. 23. Cooper n.d. 24. Adapted with permission from Eric MacInnis, Ross MacDonald and Lynn Scott, Controversy as a Teaching Tool (Rocky Mountain House, AB: Parks Canada, 1997), pp. 13, 14, 16, 18, 19, 48, 67, 68, 69, 73.
Legalincludes litigation and participation in public hearings. Organizationalincludes fund-raising or formation of a special interest group. Politicalincludes actions designed to influence or gain assistance of elected officials, for example, petitions and letters. Civil disobedienceexclude these actions, but discuss implications of these choices.
To minimize risks and make this as positive an experience as possible for all participants, consider the following suggestions. Encourage students to discuss projects with their parents. Ensure that the issue is secondary to the process students are learning about. Encourage students to share their positions and solutions. Classify actions into categories and discuss characteristics of each. Set reasonable expectations, and focus on actions that have a likelihood of positive outcomes. Students may become disappointed or disillusioned if their actions do not achieve desired results. Encourage specific actions within a specified time frame. As a group, decide which actions fall within the scope and time limitations of the unit. Encourage students to engage in cooperative, positively-structured actions, such as debates. Resist pressure to become personally involved in the issue. Keep your school administration informed from the beginning to ensure the necessary support for student actions. Help students become aware that choosing to do nothing is also an action. Set clear parameters in relation to actions.
Evaluating results
Students have an opportunity to review the steps in the process so they are able to apply them again when examining other issues. Reflecting on the experience lets students identify new understandings and assess their own learning.
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Getting to the Heart of the Matter

But the biggest day-to-day repository of constructive power to improve schools is in the hearts, minds, and hands of the people who work in them. Sirotnik 1987, p. 43
This resource was intended to provide a basic starting point for schools and jurisdictions as they build effective character and citizenship education. Most valuable in any character and citizenship initiative are the human resources present in that school and community. Every day, teachers and other school staff help students to develop into conscientious individuals and citizens. To maximize success of any initiative, this existing strength is enhanced by actively involving teachers, administrators and school staff from the beginning of the development and assessment process, and through the different stages of its implementation. As schools and jurisdictions develop more deliberate and structured character and citizenship education, they continue to build commitment and capacity through meaningful professional development and ongoing support.
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Effective Professional Development

Sustainable and effective professional development efforts are linked directly to school needs. Professional development includes workshops and inservices that offer opportunities to reflect on and apply what has been learned, as well as independent and online professional development. These options are considered with a specific goal in mind and thoughtfully selected. Effective professional development for character and citizenship education initiatives recognizes the involvement of the broader community, and considers participation of parents and other community members, in addition to jurisdiction and school staff. The Alberta Regional Professional Development Consortia have developed understandings and essential questions about professional development that focus on sustainability and lead to a change in practice that is directly linked to the enhancement of student learning. Effective professional development is: a shared responsibility of all stakeholders developmental and contextual systemic, systematically planned and sustained
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based on collaboration, leading to deeper understanding and shared commitment interactive, continuous and reflective meaningful, purposeful and provided through a variety of learning opportunities for all stakeholders.
The following essential questions can be used to guide and support professional development plans for character and citizenship education initiatives. What strategies lead to change in professional practice for enhanced student learning? What are measures of effective implementation? What does shared responsibility of all stakeholders look like? What does meaningful and purposeful stakeholder collaboration look like? How are developmental and contextual variables of communities addressed in achieving effective implementation?
Building Commitment
All people dont necessarily have the same perspective on character and citizenship education. Some may feel that teaching values is not the role of the school; others may feel they already promote good character and citizenship, without an organized initiative. Building commitment means developing a shared vision and plan that school staff and key stakeholders including school councils, can develop together, believe in and support. It means giving the school community opportunity to reflect on how they embody core values, so that modelling becomes authentic for educators, students and parents.
Building Staff Capacity

Even more so than in many other types of educational initiatives, building staff capacity is an important part of character and citizenship education. One of the lessons learned from a recent Alberta Initiative for School Improvement report was that one-day workshops alone are not enough: The general consensus was that for school improvement to succeed, the quality and nature of PD needs to change (Alberta Initiative for School Improvement 2003, p. 10). The following key principles assist staff in aligning professional development activities with the purpose and goals of a character and citizenship education initiative. A clear focus on learning and learnersEffective professional development emphasizes attainment of high learning standards by all students as a paramount goal. At the same time, teachers and other staff are also viewed as learners, and activities are targeted at improving teacher expertise.1
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Small changes guided by a larger visionChange begins with small, incremental steps guided by a clearly articulated statement of a preferred future that looks beyond the walls of the classroom and school.1 Professional development embeds teacher capacity and learning in the daily work.1 Individualized approachesProfessional development is timely, innovative, based in the classroom/school setting and initiated by a need established by the learning community. A long-term outlookProfessional development is ongoing and sustainable. Broad staff involvementLearning opportunities are spread around and there is distributed teacher leadership at the grass-roots level. Involvement of principals is also key to successful implementation of projects. Research alignmentActivities are based on research and incorporate classroom visits to support/collect data.
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Professional Learning Communities

As schools develop character and citizenship education initiatives, staff support each other in a professional learning community. Professional learning communities are created when teachers and administrators in a school or jurisdiction purposefully share learnings and then act on what they learn. This process of sharing, reflection and improvement helps staff enhance effectiveness as professionals, to benefit students. Professional learning communities may be established at many levelsthe school, the jurisdiction or a consortium of jurisdictions. See Appendix A-13 for more information on professional learning communities.
Action Research
Another way to implement professional development and support change is through the action research process. Action research provides a tool that encourages staff to continually assess the effectiveness of an initiative. As a form of professional development, action research allows staff to continuously reflect on and improve their own practice. See Appendix D for more information on action research.
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The Heart of the Matter

Over the years, attitudes towards character and citizenship education have changed, but most people agree with the basic notion that children become good people and good citizens by learning from the adults and the environment around them. The most effective educators have always taken into account that the school is an important place where this learning occurs. They have made conscious efforts to give students the knowledge, skills and support they need to develop personally as well as academically. As schools and jurisdictions develop more explicit character and citizenship education, this common-sense approach remains at the heart of any initiative. By continuing to focus on student learning and growth, schools and jurisdictions create character and citizenship education that builds on existing strengths to produce an even better future for students, schools and communities.
Endnotes
1. Guskey 2000.
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Sample Approaches that Support Character and Citizenship Education

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. Caring Relationships (Noddings) Center for the 4th and 5th Rs (Lickona) Circles of Courage
(Reclaiming Youth at RiskBrendtro, Brokenleg and Van Bockern)
Appendix A
141 142 144 145 147 149 150 151 153 154 155 157 159 161 163 168 170 171
Community of Caring (Kennedy Foundation) Comprehensive School Health Approach Developmental Assets (Search Institute) Effective Behaviour Supports Emotional Intelligence (Goleman) Habits of Mind (Costa)
10. Hope Research (Hope Foundation of Alberta) 11. Lions-Quest Canada/Thrive! 12. Moral Intelligence (Borba) 13. Professional Learning Communities (DuFour et al.) 14. Resiliency Research 15. Safe and Caring Schools Initiative 16. Skillstreaming: New Strategies and Perspectives for Teaching Prosocial Skills (Goldstein and McGinnis) 17. Virtues Program (Popov, Popov and Kavelin) 18. You Can Do It! (Bernard)
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Caring Relationships (Noddings)

Dr. Nel Noddings is a professor of educational psychology who believes that developing caring relationships will support classroom, curriculum and school organization. She defines a caring relation as a connection or encounter between two human beings in which both parties must contribute something to the relationship. Noddings argues that the first job of the schools is to care for our children. Our aim should be to encourage the growth of competent, caring, loving and lovable people. Moral education allows students to develop the attitudes and skills required to sustain caring relationships. Noddings believes that caring is the basis on which all moral education should take place. She believes it is important that schools create learning environments which teach students to care for all that they see around them. According to Noddings, there are four components to moral education: modelling (demonstrating caring in our relations with others) dialogue (open-ended dialogue which connects us and helps maintain caring relations) practice (finding experiences for students to care as much as possible) confirmation (the act of confirming and encouraging the best in others).
Appendix A-1
Related Web site

www.tc.columbia.edu/centers/mssc/nelnoddings.htm
Related publications
Noddings, Nel. Educating Moral People: A Caring Alternative to Character Education. New York, NY: Teachers College Press, 2002. Noddings, Nel. Happiness and Education. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press, 2003. Noddings, Nel, Michael S. Katz and Kenneth A. Strike (eds.). Justice and Caring: The Search for Common Ground in Education. New York, NY: Teachers College Press, 1999.
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Appendix A-2
Center for the 4th and 5th Rs (Lickona)

Dr. Thomas Lickona is a developmental psychologist and professor at the State University of New York at Cortland. He is a frequent consultant to schools on character education and is on the board of directors of the Character Education Partnership. He is widely quoted on the subject of character education. He currently directs the Center for the 4th and 5th Rs (respect and responsibility). The Center believes that character education is essential to the task of building a moral society and developing schools which are civil and caring communities. They provide parents and teachers with a variety of tools and strategies that promote the development of raising responsible, conscientious and compassionate children. The Center promotes a 12-point comprehensive approach to character education that uses all aspects of school life as opportunities for building character. The inner part of the wheel shows nine character building strategies for the classroom and the outer rim outlines three schoolwide strategies.
Lickona believes that there is no such thing as value-free education and that character development is as necessary as academic achievement. According to Lickona, two specific values, respect and responsibility, should be the cornerstone of a schools moral agenda.
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Lickona promotes a comprehensive approach to character education in which schools consider how everything that occurs there impacts the values and character of students. With this approach, the teacher needs to: act as a caregiver, model and mentor create a moral community in the classroom practise moral discipline create a democratic classroom environment teach values through the curriculum use cooperative learning develop the conscience of craft encourage moral reflection teach conflict resolution.
Appendix A-2
In addition to building moral classrooms, the school needs to: foster caring beyond the classroom create a positive moral culture in the school recruit parents and community as partners in character education.
Related Web site

www.cortland.edu/character/index.asp (Center for the 4th and 5th Rs)
Lickona, Thomas. Educating for Character: How Our Schools Can Teach Respect and Responsibility. New York, NY: Bantam Dell Publishing Group, 1991. Lickona, Thomas. Character Matters: How to Help Our Children Develop Good Judgment, Integrity, and Other Essential Virtues. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster, 2004.
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Appendix A-3
Circles of Courage (Reclaiming Youth at Risk Brendtro, Brokenleg and Van Bockern)
The Circle of Courage philosophy is a model of youth empowerment based on a Native American approach toward life, which has been adopted by hundreds of schools in Canada, the United States and around the world. The model is composed of four core values, including the following. Belonging (a need to feel valued and important) Mastery (developing competence) Independence (responsibility for oneself ) Generosity (genuine desire to help others)
This model is a way of explaining why people do what they do and also describes how we should treat others. All four parts of an individuals circle of courage need to be strong, otherwise an individual is at risk of emotional and behavioural difficulties. This model can be used in schools to identify causes of misbehaviours among students and then as a guide towards improving behaviour, especially for at-risk students. School communities can be reclaiming environments that provide a sense of belonging by listening to, interacting with and respecting youth. A sense of mastery is developed when teachers, counsellors and other caring adults help students identify their strengths and build on them. School staff need to create opportunities for students to demonstrate giving and contributing and promote generosity. Focusing on these four core values helps students build character and develop citizenship skills.
Contact information
Reclaiming Youth International P.O. Box 57 104 North Main Street Lennox, South Dakota, U.S.A. 57039
Related Web site

www.reclaiming.com
Related publication
Brendtro, Larry, Martin Brokenleg and Steve Van Bockern. Reclaiming Youth at Risk: Our Hope for the Future. Bloomington, IL: National Educational Service, 1992.
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Community of Caring (Kennedy Foundation)

The success of this program within our school district has spread to many areas in the province of Alberta Records of school suspensions, bullying and other violent behaviours have decreased in one year. The amount of parental involvement, student attendance in school and the number of service learning experiences has all increased. Academically, students improved in the areas of social studies and language arts. We feel that providing students with the opportunity to discuss values in the classroom, particularly how they relate to the curriculum and practising these values on a daily basis has had a profound positive impact on the school culture and its climate. Cheryl Mc Innes Consultant, Community of Caring Calgary Catholic Separate School District
The Community of Caring is a program developed by the Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr. Foundation under the direction of Eunice Kennedy Shriver. The program is a values-based approach to positive decision making. It has been adopted by almost 1,000 schools in the United States and Canada. Based on the core values of caring, respect, responsibility, trust and family, the Community of Caring school framework provides strategies for creating a caring and respectful inclusive school environment. Students learn to avoid risk-taking behaviour through responsible decision making and thoughtful planning for the future. Students observe caring and responsible behaviours modelled by parents, teachers, school staff and community leaders involved in the program. The goal of the program is to create an inclusive school culture whereby all school community memebrs feel safe and cared for. This will reduce destructive behaviours including teen pregnancy, drug and alcohol abuse, use of violence, vandalism, early school-leaving and truancy. In a Community of Caring school, academics, athletics and the fine arts are not all that is important. Equally important are the relationships that take place within the school community. The components of a Community of Caring school include a comprehensive action plan developed by a coordinating committee and lead teacher/site facilitator. Following a needs assessment of its school culture, each school develops its initiatives by: modelling and integrating the five core values in regular classroom learning activities and into the life of the school as a whole
Appendix A-4
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Appendix A-4
providing opportunities for student leadership through forums, cross-grade groups, learning circles, class meetings and opportunities to help one another building relationships through family and community involvement using service learning and community service to help students grow and strengthen their character supporting teachers through staff development and ongoing support.
A Community of Caring school clearly articulates the essence of Catholic educationWhat make the Catholic school distinctive is its attempt to generate a community climate in the school that is permeated by the Gospel spirit of freedom and love (Vatican Council II 1965). This spiritual process also enhances and supports the two fundamental objectives of humanizing education and professionalizing the teaching role.
Related Web site

www.communityofcaring.org
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Comprehensive School Health Approach

Comprehensive School Health (CSH) is an integrated approach to helping students enhance their health, develop to their fullest potential, and build productive and satisfying relationships. The goals of this approach are to: promote health and wellness prevent specific diseases, disorders and injuries intervene to assist children and youth in need or at risk help support those individuals already experiencing poor health.
Appendix A-5
The Comprehensive School Health approach is described in both the Kindergarten to Grade 9 Health and Life Skills, and Senior High School Career and Life Management programs of study and their related guides to implementation. This approach encourages people to work together so that students can make positive choices to enhance their own health and that of the communities in which they live. There are four main elements of a Comprehensive School Health framework including: instruction (health and physical education programs that promote commitment to healthy choices and behaviours) support networks (such as peer support and community agencies) preventative health services (such as counselling and public health services) healthy physical environments (which are clean, safe, and promote and support behaviours which enhance the health of students).
Schools can use the Comprehensive School Health approach to reinforce healthpromoting behaviours and to help students develop the skills they need to avoid negative health practices. Activities used in this approach could include teaching students to express feelings appropriately, to resolve conflicts nonviolently and to be involved in more physical activity. This approach can reduce absenteeism and improve student achievement. It can also assist teachers in maximizing instructional time. The overall purpose of the Comprehensive School Health approach is to provide students with a good education, improve their health and foster healthy attitudes and behaviours.
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Appendix A-5
Related Web sites

Health Canada www.hc-sc.gc.ca/dca-dea/7-18yrs-ans/comphealth_e.html Canadian Association of School Health www.schoolfile.com/cash/consensus.htm Alberta Coalition for Healthy School Communities www.achsc.org/index.html www.safehealthyschools.org/personal_family_social_development.htm
Alberta Heart Health Project. Creating Healthy School Communities through Comprehensive School Health: An Implementation Guide for Education/Health Systems and School Communities. Edmonton, AB: Alberta Health and Wellness, 2000. Marx, Eva and Susan Frelick Wooley (eds.). Health is Academic: A Guide to Coordinated School Health Programs. New York, NY: Teachers College Press, 1998. Meek, Linda, Philip Heit and Randy Page. Comprehensive School Health Education: Totally Awesome Strategies for Teaching Health. Blacklick, OH: Meeks Heit Publishing Co. Inc., 1996.
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Developmental Assets (Search Institute)

Developmental assets are critical factors which are positive building blocks for young peoples growth and development. The Search Institute identifies 40 developmental assets and groups them into two categories, each with four subcategories: external assets (positive experiences young people receive from the world around them) support empowerment boundaries and expectations constructive use of time internal assets (characteristics and behaviours that reflect positive internal growth and guide choices of young people) commitment to learning positive values social competencies positive identity.
Appendix A-6
These assets can influence the choices students make and also help them to becoming caring, competent and responsible individuals. Schools can consider the concept of developmental assets as they plan for the creation of a positive and supportive environment to support learning. Teachers can incorporate various developmental assets into learning activities across the subject areas. Research indicates that assets serve as protective factors critical to students resiliency, health and overall life success.
Related Web site

www.search-institute.org/assets/
Gemelke, Tenessa and Rita Welch. Building Assets is ElementaryGroup Activities for Helping Kids Ages 812 Succeed. Minneapolis, MN: Search Institute, 2004. Grothe, Rebecca. More Building Assets Together: 130 Group Activities for Helping Youth Succeed. Minneapolis, MN: Search Institute, 2002. Taccogna, Judy (ed.). Powerful Teaching: Developmental Assets in Curriculum and Instruction. Minneapolis, MN: Search Institute, 2003.
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Appendix A-7
Effective Behaviour Supports

Phase 2 of the Safe and Caring Schools (SACS) initiative, Effective Behaviour Supports (EBS), began in the 20012002 school year. It includes the following key components: a discipline data collection system that clearly measures the present status of the school with respect to inappropriate behaviours, outlines and identifies areas where improvement is needed, and measures progress over time a list of schoolwide expectations (e.g., responsibility, respect, safety) that are consistently reinforced in all areas of the school at all times the teaching of social skills and positive behaviours that specifically demonstrate those schoolwide expectations (10 to 15 percent of atrisk students require this more explicit support and instruction, and will, in the right environment, migrate to join the large cooperative student group rather than the most challenging group) reinforcements and rewards for individuals and groups who consistently demonstrate the expected behaviours (typically 85 percent of students consistently comply with school expectations) thorough assessments of some individuals behaviours to help plan interventions for students presenting with the most challenging behaviours (typically one to seven percent of the school population).
The strength of Effective Behaviour Supports is the systematic inclusion of all of these components consistently and simultaneously. The foundation of the system is the teaching of positive behaviours. The school team use their teaching skills to set students up for academic and social success. Currently, 249 Alberta school teams have participated in the Effective Behaviour Supports implementation workshops and 180 trained coaches are available to assist schools with implementation. Alberta Education provides workshops, consultation and materials, and collects annual data. The following results have been reported by school teams submitting both baseline and post-intervention data: a 70 percent decrease in office referrals for problem behaviours a 40 percent decrease in out-of-school suspensions a 37 percent decrease in expulsions.
For more information, contact Alberta Education, 7804275394.
Related Web site

www.education.gov.ab.ca/safeschools/supports.asp
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Emotional Intelligence (Goleman)

Emotional Intelligence, a term coined by author Daniel Goleman, is knowing what your feelings are and being able to use them to make good decisions. Emotional Intelligence (EI) combines both intrapersonal and interpersonal intelligence. The term emotional intelligence relates to the following five characteristics and abilities: self-awareness of emotions mood management self-motivation empathy managing relationships.
Appendix A-8
The term EQ is often used to represent a relative measure of a persons healthy or unhealthy development of their innate emotional intelligence. Goleman believes we must teach children how to recognize and manage their emotions. Educators can model Emotional Intelligence through caring and respectful interactions with children. Schools can help children develop the ability to manage their emotions and rationality which in turn nurtures their emotional intelligence. Within the classroom, there are many opportunities to teach emotional literacy (ability to experience and manage emotions) which can improve childrens achievement scores and overall performance. Essential life skills related to emotional intelligence include the following: knowing, accepting and managing oneself connecting, communicating and cooperating with others dealing with conflicts.
The Emotional Intelligence approach can be integrated across subject areas and can support cooperative learning. Traits of students who are emotionally competent include: confidence, curiosity, self-control, cooperation and responsibility.
Related Web sites

http://ei.haygroup.com/default.asp www.eiconsortium.org
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Appendix A-8
Brearley, Michael. Emotional Intelligence in the Classroom: Creative Learning Strategies for 1118 Year Olds. New York, NY: Crown House Publishing, 2001. Doty, Gwen. Fostering Emotional Intelligence in K8 Students: Simple Strategies and Ready to Use Activities. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press, 2001. Goleman, Daniel. Emotional Intelligence: Why it Can Matter More Than IQ. New York, NY: Bantam, 1997. Goleman, Daniel. Working with Emotional Intelligence. New York, NY: Bantam, 2000. Mapes, Katta. Stop! Think! Choose! Building Emotional Intelligence in Young People. Tucson, AZ: Zephyr Press, 2000.
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Habits of Mind (Costa)

A habit is a discipline of the mind that is practised so that it becomes a routine way of working toward a more thoughtful, intelligent action. Costa defines habits of mind as characteristics of what intelligent people do when they are confronted with problems, the resolutions to which are not immediately apparent. Costa and Kallick have identified sixteen habits of mind, including the following:
persisting listening to otherswith understanding and empathy thinking about our thinking (metacognition) questioning and posing problems thinking and communicating with clarity and precision creating, imagining, innovating taking responsible risks thinking interdependently. managing impulsivity thinking flexibly striving for accuracy and precision applying past knowledge to new situations gathering data through all senses responding with wonderment and awe finding humour learning continuously
Appendix A-9
Costa and Kallick feel that habits of mind are the foundation for building thoughtful learning communities. By routinely practising these habits, students are better equipped to think clearly, confront problems intelligently and make wise decisions. Many schools in Canada and other countries are infusing this concept of Habits of Mind into instruction by creating a variety of learning opportunities in which students can use and practise these habits.
Related Web site

www.habits-of-mind.net/home.htm
Costa, Arthur (ed.). Developing Minds: Resource Book for Teaching Thinking, 3rd edition. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, 2001. Costa, Arthur L. and Bena Kallick. Habits of Mind: A Developmental Series. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, 2000. Book I: Discovering and Exploring Habits of Mind Book II: Activating and Engaging Habits of Mind Book III: Assessing and Reporting on Habits of Mind Book IV: Integrating and Sustaining Habits of Mind
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Appendix A-10
Hope Research (Hope Foundation of Alberta)

Ongoing work at the Hope Foundation, a research institute located at the University of Alberta, demonstrates that hope is a multidimensional concept that enables individuals to envision and actively move toward a more positive future. Hope is the motivating factor behind resilience. Higher hope correlates positively with greater sense of self-worth, academic success, social competence and creativity. Students who have a high degree of hope tend to have strong problem-solving abilities and engage in wellness-enhancing activities. On the other hand, hopelessness is the greatest predictor of suicide. Hope is enhanced, sustained and learned in trusting relationships with significant others. It is about goal setting and attainment; therefore it is both a process and an outcome. Hope is a crucial therapeutic factor that encourages possibility thinking and creative problem solving. This attitude and way of thinking can help individuals take more positive actions during times of adversity. Schools can help students develop a stronger understanding and sense of hope by: integrating hope-focused strategies into learning activities, e.g., developing personal Hope Kits that represent a students ongoing hopes using hopeful words and phrases such as What is the smallest thing we can do ? or What would a hopeful person do in this situation? providing opportunities for reflection implementing assessment and evaluation strategies that encourage students and promote feelings of hopefulness increasing service learning opportunities that incorporate hopefocused activities, e.g., HOPE KIDS incorporating story and writing themes that provide opportunities for students to explore and reflect on hopeful ways of thinking and acting.
Contact information
Hope Foundation of Alberta 11032 89 Avenue Edmonton, Alberta T6G 0Z6 Telephone: 7804921222 Web site: www.ualberta.ca/hope
Jevne, R. F. and J. E. Miller. Finding Hope: Ways to See Life in a Brighter Light. Fort Wayne, IN: Willowgreen Publishing, 1999. Hope Foundation of Alberta. Hope Tool Kit: Hopeful Strategies and Practices (to be published in fall 2005).
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Lions-Quest Canada/Thrive!
Lions-Quest is a nonprofit international organization with a mission to provide leadership, knowledge, and resources to develop healthy, capable young people of strong character. Lions-Quest programs are based on the theory that children must develop healthy behaviours, communication and decision-making skills, and strong attachments in order to become capable adults. The programs are designed to teach young people life and citizenship skills within a caring and consistent environment. Lions-Quest programs promote core values such as trustworthiness, respect, responsibility and getting along with others. The aim of the program is to help students discover the positive roles they can play in society while reinforcing positive social behaviour and developing essential citizenship skills. The program offers a two-day teacher inservice and program binders for teachers plus supplementary materials. The learning activities described in the program binders can be integrated into the school day and are often taught within the context of the health and life skills, and language arts programs.
Appendix A-11
Lions-Quest Skills for Growing program

This program is available for students in Kindergarten through Grade 5. The program focuses on skills in four main areas including responsibility, good judgement, self-discipline and respect for others. The six thematic units are: Building A School Community Growing as a Group Making Positive Decisions Setting Goals for Service Growing Up Drug-Free Celebrating You and Me.
Lions-Quest Skills for Adolescence program

This program is targeted for students in grades 6 through 8. The program works toward establishing a supportive partnership between parents, the school and the community, and includes nine units including the following: Entering the Teen Years The Journey of Adolescence Building Self-confidence and Communication Skills Service Learning Managing Emotions in Positive Ways Improving Peer Relationships Strengthening Family Relationships Making Healthy Choices Setting Goals for Healthy Living Summing Up: Developing Your Potential.
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Appendix A-11
Lions-Quest Skills for Action program

This program is designed for students in grades 9 through 12 and is based on the theory that young people can take active and meaningful roles in dealing with issues that affect their lives. It builds essential life and citizenship skills by moving beyond the classroom into school-based service learning. The program has four components: Building a Learning Community Exploring Personal and Social Responsibility Project or Placement? Evaluating and Sharing Service Expectations.
Contact information
Thrive! 1C 180 Frobisher Drive Waterloo, Ontario N2V 2A2 Telephone: 18002652680 Fax: (519) 7253118
Related Web site

www.thrivecanada.ca
Skills for Action. Newark, OH: Quest International, 1995. Skills for Adolescence, Fourth Edition. Newark, OH: Quest International, 2001. Skills for Growing, Second Edition. Newark, OH: Quest International, 1998.
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Moral Intelligence (Borba)

Dr. Michele Borba is an educator who promotes practical, solution-based parenting and instructional strategies to strengthen a childs behaviour, sense of self-worth and moral development, and build strong families. Her work revolves around shaping the character and moral destinies of youth with a specific emphasis on moral intelligence. Her wish is that all children are raised with solid character, strong minds and caring hearts. According to Borba, moral intelligence is the capacity to understand right from wrong; to have strong ethical convictions and to act on them so that one behaves in an honourable way. Moral intelligence consists of seven essential virtues including: empathy, conscience, self-control, respect, kindness, tolerance and fairness. These virtues become a childs moral compass and enable a child to deal with the challenges of everyday life. The foundation of a persons moral intelligence is made up of empathy, conscience and self-control. This is known as the moral core which gives individuals the power to do whats right. Once this foundation is laid, respect (valuing all life) and kindness (sense of decency and compassion in relationships) can be added. Tolerance and fairness are the remaining virtues which are the cornerstones to integrity, justice and citizenship. Borba says that it is crucial to build childrens moral intelligence so they have a deeply developed sense of right and wrong, and can use it to stand up to outside influences. She believes that building childrens moral IQ has many benefits, including the following: nurturing good character getting children on the right course by teaching them how to think and act morally teaching critical life skills such as resolving conflict, empathizing and decision making promoting a strong sense of citizenship inspiring good behaviour and allowing children to become decent, caring and respectful.
Appendix A-12
Borba believes that all children are born with the capacity of moral intelligence and that since character traits are learned, they can be taught. She asserts that teachers have the power to teach critical character traits and there are many opportunities for them to be woven into learning through the school day and across the subject areas. Borba offers the following five steps to teaching a character trait. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Accentuate a character trait. Tell the value and meaning of the trait. Teach what the trait looks and sounds like. Provide opportunities to practise the trait. Provide effective feedback.
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Appendix A-12
Related Web site

www.moralintelligence.com
Borba, Michele. Character Builders: Respect for Self and OthersA K6 Character Education Program. Torrance, CA: Jalmar Press, 2000. Borba, Michele. Character Builders: Responsibility and TrustworthinessA K4 Character Education Program. Torrance, CA: Jalmar Press, 2000. Borba, Michele. Building Moral Intelligence: The Seven Essential Virtues That Teach Kids to Do the Right Thing. San Francisco, CA: JosseyBass, 2001. Borba, Michele. Character Builders: Positive Attitudes and Peacemaking for Primary ChildrenA Program to Enhance Positive Attitudes and Peacemaking Skills, Preschool through Third Grade. Torrance, CA: Jalmar Press, 2001. Borba, Michele. Fairness and Cooperation: A K8 Program to Develop the Skills of Fairness and Cooperation in Students. Torrance, CA: Jalmar Press, 2003. Borba, Michele. Nobody Likes Me, Everybody Hates Me: The Top 25 Friendship Problems and How to Solve Them. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, 2005.
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Professional Learning Communities (DuFour et al.)

In professional learning communities, teachers and school administrators continuously seek and share learning and then act on what they learn. The goal is high achievement and continuous improvement for all students, no matter what their individual circumstances. The objective is to enhance their effectiveness as professionals and improve their students learning. Key questions that can guide the development of a professional learning community are: 1. 2. 3. What do we expect students to learn? How will we know if students have learned it? What will we do if students have not learned it?
Appendix A-13
Key ingredients for a successful learning community include the following: supportive leadership from principals who share authority, empower, and facilitate the work of their staff a shared vision that is focused on student learning and reflects the staff s commitment to students learning collaboration among teachers in planning instruction, observing each others classrooms, sharing feedback, and applying what they have learned to new solutions to address students needs capacity to analyze data and use it to guide decisions a supportive environment including adequate resources and policies that foster collaboration, effective communication and staff development shared accountability for the achievement of students above all, timestructured time to allow teachers to work together, assess their students learning, adjust practices, and continuously improve their students results.
Research on professional learning communities suggests that there are clear benefits. The benefits for staff include: reduced isolation of teachers increased commitment to the mission and goals of the school shared responsibility for the development and success of students powerful learning that defines good teaching and classroom practice better understanding of the content teachers teach and the roles they play in helping students meet expectations significant advances in adapting teaching to the students more satisfaction and higher morale lower rates of absenteeism.
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Appendix A-13
The benefits for students include: decreased drop-outs lower rates of absenteeism enhanced learning and critical thinking greater academic gains smaller achievement gaps among students from different backgrounds.
A number of schools in the province have taken steps to become professional learning communities, often through the support of the Alberta Initiative for School Improvement. The Alberta Teachers Association has also been actively working with schools to implement the professional learning communities model within the Alberta context. A series of interactive workshops that draw heavily on the literature from authors such as Richard DuFour, Linda Lambert, Peter Senge and Michael Fullan has been designed to develop the schools capacity to function as a professional learning community. Because there is no set formula for becoming a learning community, each school must consider its culture of learning and determine those structures that will lead to the best course of action. These workshops focus on supporting teaching to enhance student learning while providing opportunities for participants to reflect on the unique needs of their school and community.
Related Web sites

www.nationaleducationalservice.com/Public/prof.asp (click on Professional Learning Communities) www.teachers.ab.ca
DuFour, Richard et al. Whatever It Takes: How Professional Learning Communities Respond When Kids Dont Learn. Bloomington, IN: National Educational Service, 2004. Eaker, Robert, Richard DuFour and Rebecca Burnette. Getting Started: Reculturing Schools to Become Professional Learning Communities. Bloomington, IN: National Educational Service, 2002. Hord, Shirley M. Professional Learning Communities: Communities of Continuous Inquiry and Improvement. Austin, TX: Southwest Educational Development Laboratory, 1997.
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Resiliency Research
Resiliency can be described as the ability to bounce back and cope effectively with lifes difficulties. Resilient individuals tend to be academically and socially successful, have effective relationships and be goal oriented. They also possess many positive qualities, including the following: ability to control their own behaviour expectations for a healthy lifestyle service orientated (give to others) optimism sense of humour morality (sense of right and wrong) strong problem-solving skills perceptiveness independence self-motivation creativity empathetic.
Appendix A-14
Protective factors are those characteristics and experiences that help individuals develop a personal resiliency and be more able to overcome difficulties. Research identifies the following protective factors: high behaviour expectations strong social skills positive bonding with at least one significant adult meaningful participation at home, in school and/or in the community.
Schools can foster resiliency by: creating a positive school climate setting high standards for learning and behaviour providing opportunities for students to develop and demonstrate responsibility and decision making encouraging students to develop and maintain friendships mentoring of students by adults and peers providing opportunities for students to participate in activities that create opportunities to contribute to others.
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Appendix A-14
Schools can help students build internal protective factors by encouraging creativity, fostering a love for learning, teaching prosocial skills and providing opportunities for students to become more independent. These factors help students overcome setbacks, and maintain strength and balance in their lives. Increasing the protective factors in childrens lives can help them become more caring, confident and competent members of society.
Related Web sites

Resiliency in Action www.resiliency.com AADAC http://teacher.aadac.com Health Canada www.hc-sc.gc.ca/hecs-sesc/cds/publications/#public_resiliency
Henderson, Nan and Mike Milstein. Resiliency in Schools: Making it Happen for Students and Educators. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press, 2002. Henderson, Nan, Bonnie Bernard and Nancy Sharp Light (eds.). Schoolwide Approaches to Fostering Resiliency. San Diego, CA: Resiliency in Action Inc., 2000. Krovetz, Martin. Fostering Resiliency: Expecting All Students to Use their Minds and Hearts Well. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press, 1998. Milstein, Mike and Doris Annie Henry. Spreading Resiliency: Making It Happen for Schools and Communities. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press, 1999. Thomsen, Kate. Building Resilient Students: Integrating Resiliency Into What You Already Know and Do. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press, 2002.
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Safe and Caring Schools Initiative

The Safe and Caring Schools (SACS) Initiative was introduced in 1996 throughout Alberta. The goal of this provincial government-funded initiative was to provide a collaborative and integrated approach to reducing violence in schools. It was launched in response to the perception that standards of student conduct were declining and violence in schools was increasing. Although the conduct of a small minority of students in our schools today is challenging to educators and parents, Alberta schools continue to be a safe place for the vast majority of students. Therefore, from its inception, the SACS Initiative concentrated on providing information and resources addressing the needs of students whose behaviour is negatively affecting the learning and teaching environments. Rather than simply identifying what is wrong with our schools or focusing on the number of violent incidents in schools, the various projects within the SACS Initiative work toward positive outcomes. Safe and Caring Schools is more a concept than a package of materials or a program; it is a comprehensive framework that assists schools in developing their capacity to provide safe and caring environments by promoting respectful and responsible behaviours. The mission of SACS is to encourage and assist members of the school community in developing the knowledge, skills and supports to ensure that all schools are safe and caring. The goals are to: identify and promote effective practices, programs and policies to prevent, respond to and correct any behaviour that is disruptive to teaching and learning ensure that all schools are safe and caring develop strategies and programs for prevention, intervention and continuous evaluation have schools play a leadership role because of their tremendous potential to positively influence the lives of young people promote the development of responsible, caring and respectful members of a democratic society combine the efforts of government, school boards, schools, students, parents, police and community members to ensure that all Alberta school staff are safe and caring as they strive toward academic excellence provide opportunities for active participation by all partners to ensure that schools and communities are safe and caring.
Appendix A-15
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Appendix A-15
Section 28(7) of the Alberta School Act placed a specific duty on school boards to ensure that all students are provided with a safe and caring environment that fosters and maintains respectful and responsible behaviours. School boards are required to report efforts and activities undertaken to ensure that their schools are safe and caring. The building and sustaining of safe and caring schools included the following projects. The Faculties of Education at the Universities of Alberta, Calgary and Lethbridge published a number of articles on the collaborative research conducted to build insight into the understanding of the social, psychological, historical and personal dimensions of serious disruptive behaviour and violence in Alberta schools. Results of this research and its implications for practice at the school level have been published in Building Foundations for Safe and Caring Schools: Research on Disruptive Behaviour and Violence (1999) by Grace Malicky, Bonnie Shapiro and Kas Mazurek. The Alberta Teachers Association (ATA) developed research-based bullying and violence prevention programs and resources for students, teachers and parents that focus on the following five topics: living respectfully/building a safe and caring classroom (developing positive classroom climate and an understanding of and commitment to respect and responsibility) developing self-esteem (exploring individual strengths and weaknesses, and our relationships with others) respecting diversity and preventing prejudice (learning about and appreciating multiple perspectives) managing anger, and dealing with bullying and harassment (addressing bullying and anger in self and others) resolving conflicts peacefully/working it out together (using skills and courteous behaviours to resolve conflicts and solve problems). In 2004, the ATAs SACS Project was incorporated as The Society for Safe and Caring Schools and Communities (SACSC). The Society is governed by a board of directors with representation from the Alberta Schools Boards Association, the College of Alberta School Superintendents, the Alberta Teachers Association, parents, police, Aboriginal communities, universities, service clubs and a number of members-at-large. The Society has charitable status.
164
The Society for Safe and Caring Schools and Communities seeks to prevent bullying and violence by educating children and youth and the adults in their lives in a way that promotes positive social interaction among all human beings. The programs of this nonprofit organization aim to prevent violence and bullying in schools and communities through character education, conflictmanagement training and building respect for diversity. They promote a problem-solving approach to discipline that encourages positive social behaviour by helping young people learn from their mistakes and understand why certain behaviour is inappropriate. SACSC uses a comprehensive approach that includes components for students, teachers, support staff, parents and other members of the community. The Society for SACSC has no religious affiliations. The values promoted through SACSC character education, such as respect, responsibility, inclusiveness, caring and compassion, are acceptable among all cultural and religious groups. SACSC curriculum resources, for early childhood to Grade 12, integrate knowledge, skills and attitudes related to the five safe and caring topics into all grades and across subject areas. The Kindergarten to Grade 6 resources, Toward a Safe and Caring Curriculum, include sample learning activities, teacher tips and learning strategies. The learning activities can be used across subject areas and the resource is an authorized teaching resource for the Kindergarten to Grade 6 health and life skills program. These resources are available for purchase from the Learning Resources Centre. Toward a Safe and Caring Curriculum at the secondary level integrates violence prevention, and safe and caring skills and attitudes across the subject areas. Unit and lesson plans, as well as instructional strategies, are available on the SACSC Web site, www.sacsc.ca. A SACSC professional development program helps teachers integrate safe and caring principles into their teaching practice by using three approaches: modelling safe and caring behaviour in teacherstudent relationships and discipline practices integrating safe and caring knowledge, skills and attitudes into prescribed curriculum by linking outcomes using instructional methods that help students develop safe and caring knowledge, skills and attitudes through active classroom participation.
Appendix A-15
165
Appendix A-15
The professional development program includes a number of workshops for teachers and other school staff. In addition, teachers can participate in Web-based micro-workshops on topics such as School Climate, Responding to Inappropriate Behaviour and Brain Research. Curriculum, school leadership and facilitator training programs are also offered. Post-secondary credit is available for completion of these programs. A student survey titled Supporting a Safe and Caring School: What Students Say helps assess school climate and identify the amount of bullying in the school. The survey instrument is available on the SACSC Web site. It is also included in Appendix B of this resource. Over 28 research-based resource booklets have been written for teachers, students and parents on topics including bullying, media violence, peer support, diversity issues, brain research and complexity theory to name a few. Scripts for student assemblies are available for school administrators to use to introduce the safe and caring topics. A complete list of these resources is available on the SACSC Web site. A series of workshops for parents and other adults in the community has been developed to help adults become better role models of safe and caring behaviour, and to help parents reinforce what the students are learning through the SACSC resources and other school programs. The series includes 25 hours of instruction based on the five safe and caring school topics. A certificate and post-secondary credit is available for completion of this workshop series. Additional post-secondary credit is available for completion of the facilitator training program that prepares instructors to deliver the workshop series in their communities. Alberta Education has developed resources to help school staff, working in collaboration with parents and community members, in planning and implementing effective policies, programs and practices that are legally, educationally and professionally sound. The resources are: Supporting Safe, Secure and Caring Schools in Alberta (1999) Supporting the Social Dimension: A Resource Guide for Teachers, Grades 712 (2002) Working Together for Safe and Caring Schools, Grades 712: Resource Manual for Students, Staff and Parents (2003).
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Contact information
The Society for Safe and Caring Schools and Communities (SACSC) Office Barnett House, 11010 142 Street Edmonton, Alberta T5N 2R1 Telephone: 18002327208 Education Manager Safe and Caring Schools Special Programs Branch Alberta Education 8th Floor, 44 Capital Boulevard 10044 108 Street Edmonton, Alberta T5J 5E6 Telephone: 7804226326 Fax: 7804222039
Appendix A-15
Related Web sites

The Society for Safe and Caring Schools and Communities www.sacsc.ca Toward a Safe and Caring Secondary Curriculum www.sacsc.ca/resources.htm
Alberta Learning. Supporting Safe, Secure and Caring Schools in Alberta. Edmonton, AB: Alberta Learning, 1999. Alberta Learning. Supporting the Social Dimension: A Resource Guide for Teachers, Grades 712. Edmonton, AB: Alberta Learning, 2002. Alberta Learning. Working Together for Safe and Caring Schools, Grades 712: Resource Manual for Students, Staff and Parents. Edmonton, AB: Alberta Learning, 2003. Alberta Teachers Association. Toward a Safe and Caring Curriculum: Resources for Integration (K6). Edmonton, AB: Alberta Teachers Associations Safe and Caring Schools Project, 1998.
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Appendix A-16
Skillstreaming: New Strategies and Perspectives for Teaching Prosocial Skills (Goldstein and McGinnis)
Developed by Dr. Arnold P. Goldstein and Dr. Ellen McGinnis, the Skillstreaming resources address the social skill needs of students who display aggression, immaturity, withdrawal and other problem behaviours. The Skillstreaming approach has four components: modelling (learning by imitation) role-playing (enacting a role helps individuals change their behaviour or attitudes) performance feedback (offering constructive suggestions, encouragement and approval) transfer of training and homework (students use a particular skill in a real-life setting).
The goal of the lessons in the resource is to help students cope with interpersonal conflicts, develop self-control and contribute to a positive classroom atmosphere.
Skillstreaming the Elementary School Child (1997)

This resource contains 60 skill lessons and is divided into the following five skill groups: Classroom survival skills Friendship-making skills Dealing with feelings. Alternatives to aggression Dealing with stress
Skillstreaming the Adolescent (1997)

This resource contains 50 skill lessons and is divided into the following six skill groups: Beginning social skills Advanced social skills Dealing with feelings Alternatives to aggression Dealing with stress Planning skills.
A teacher guide, student manual, program forms and skill cards are available for both levels. The resources present practical, real-life skills for making the classroom a safe place. The skills presented in the Skillstreaming program help students develop their ability to learn from their experiences and to better deal with lifes challenges.
Related Web site

www.skillstreaming.com
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Goldstein, Arnold P. and Ellen McGinnis with Robert P. Sprafkin, N. Jane Gershaw and Paul Klein. Skillstreaming the Adolescent: New Strategies and Perspectives for Teaching Prosocial Skills. Champaign, IL: Research Press, 1997. McGinnis, Ellen and Arnold P. Goldstein. Skillstreaming in Early Childhood: New Strategies and Perspectives for Teaching Prosocial Skills. Champaign, IL: Research Press, 1997. McGinnis, Ellen and Arnold P. Goldstein. Skillstreaming the Elementary School Child: New Strategies and Perspectives for Teaching Prosocial Skills. Champaign, IL: Research Press, 1997.
Appendix A-16
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Appendix A-17
Virtues Project (Popov, Popov and Kavelin)

The Virtues Project, founded by Linda Kavelin Popov, Dr. Dan Popov and John Kavelin, is an initiative focused on the practice of virtues in everyday life. According to the Virtues Project, virtues are the essence of human spirit and gifts of character. The approach incorporates five strategies, including the following. Speak the language of the virtues (language shapes character). Recognize teachable moments (helps build character in ourselves and others). Set clear boundaries (creates a climate of peace and safety). Honour the spirit (expressing what is meaningful in our lives). Offer spiritual companioning (listening with compassion).
Many schools in Canada, the United States and other countries have adopted the Virtues Project approach to develop a culture of caring and character. The virtues can be integrated across subject areas. Teachers and administrators are encouraged to use the language of the virtues and encourage students to do the same. The approach also encourages virtue of the month as a way of focusing schools and offers strategies for recognizing students who demonstrate target virtues.
Contact information
E-mail: WesternCanada@virtuesproject.com
Related Web site

www.virtuesproject.com/index.php
Popov, Linda Kavelin. The Virtues Project: Simple Ways to Create a Culture of CharacterEducators Guide. Torrance, CA: Jalmar Press, 2000. Popov, Linda Kavelin. A Pace of Grace: The Virtues of a Sustainable Life. New York, NY: Plume, 2004. Popov, Linda Kavelin, Don Popov and John Kavelin. The Family Virtues GuideSimple Ways to Bring Out the Best in Our Children and Ourselves. Toronto, ON: Penguin Books of Canada Ltd., 1997.
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You Can Do It! (Bernard)

You Can Do It is a program founded by Dr. Michael E. Bernard and designed to help young people develop their academic, interpersonal and emotional potential. Bernard believes that there are four foundations which all children need to possess in order to achieve social-emotional-behavioural well-being including confidence, persistence, organization and getting along with others. He also identifies eleven Positive Habits of the Mind that support and nourish these foundations, including the following: self-acceptance independence internal focus of control for learning (giving effort) time management reflective problem solving risk taking optimism high frustration tolerance goal setting tolerance of others tolerance of limits.
Appendix A-18
Bernard feels that we need to teach students the Habits of the Mind to give them strategies for coping with an increasingly complex curriculum and the pressures of growing up. Helping students develop these characteristics helps them believe that they can take responsibility for their own learning. Many schools in Canada use Bernards ideas to: support developing a culture of achievement and social-emotional health help students become successful learners develop a positive mindset for achievement help parents support their childs achievement at home.
Teachers can use these ideas to help students develop competencies, attitudes and behaviours for achieving their best and increasing their effectiveness as learners. These concepts can be integrated into various subjects and are effective for teaching many of the outcomes included in the health and life skills curriculum. Bernard encourages teachers, parents and the community to work together for the common good of the students by believing in the value of education and the importance of childrens efforts.
Related Web site

www.youcandoiteducation.com
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Appendix A-18
Bernard, Michael E. You Can Do It: How to Boost Your Childs Achievement in School. New York, NY: Warner Books, 1997. Bernard, Michael E. Program Achieve: A Curriculum of Lessons for Teaching Students How to Achieve Success and Develop SocialEmotional Well Being, 2nd edition. Athens, ON: Hindle & Associates, 2001. Bernard, Michael E. You Can Do It: A Motivational and Personal Development Curriculum to Increase Achievement and Happiness in School and Life. Laguna Beach, CA: You Can Do It! Education, 2003.
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Assessment Tools
1. 2. 3. 4. Supporting a Safe and Caring School: What Students SayKindergarten to Grade 3 Supporting a Safe and Caring School: What Students SayGrades 4 to 6 Supporting a Safe and Caring School: What Students SayGrades 7 to 12 School Cultural Audit
Appendix B
175 179 187 195
These tools are also available in PDF format at: www.education.gov.ab.ca/charactered
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174
Supporting a Safe and Caring School: What Students SayKindergarten to Grade 3

Instructions
For Kindergarten to Grade 1 students, administer the survey in small groups or oneon-one to obtain the most accurate responses. Define words and provide examples for each question. Give time in between each question for students to answer. For Grades 2 and 3, the survey can be administered together as a large group, with each student completing their own survey. Read each question out loud and ask students to follow along. Define words and provide examples for each question. Give time in between each question for students to answer. For more detailed instruction, please go to www.sacsc.ca/Resources_Student%20Survey%20Guidebook.htm
Kindergarten to Grade 3
Appendix B-1
Before beginning
1. Explain that the school is using this survey to find out how students feel at school. The adults in the school want to make the school safe and caring and comfortable for every student, and they will use this information to make the school more safe and caring. Tell students that the survey is anonymous so they should not put their names anywhere on it. Define the following terms to the students: all the time, sometimes, never. Give them examples in the context of some of the questions being asked. Explain to the students that they will put an X in one of the three boxes, under all the time, sometimes or never depending on their answer. Draw an example on the board. Tell the students that the term adults refers to all grown-ups in the schoolteachers, secretaries, custodians, librarians and parents because they are all here to help make the school a safe place for everyone.
2. 3.
4.
5.
Note to school staff

For more detailed instructions for administering this survey, go to www.sacsc.ca/resources.htm and click on SACSC Student Survey Instrument under Supporting a Safe and Caring School.
Appendix B-1 is reproduced with permission from The Society for Safe and Caring Schools and Communities, Supporting a Safe and Caring School: What Students SayKindergarten to Grade 3, February 2005, http://www.sacsc.ca/PDF%20files/Resources/Student%20Survey%20 and%20Guidebook/student%20survey%20K-3.pdf (Accessed March 2005).
175
Appendix B-1
Definitions and examples

The following can be used as examples to help define some of the more difficult concepts. Use terminology that students are used to and understand. You may find it more effective to define the difficult words as you encounter them rather than addressing them all at the start. Responsibility If I make a mistake, I will tell an adult and I will try to fix the problem. If I bump into someone and hurt them, I will say sorry and help them to feel better. If I have homework to do, I make sure it is finished before I go to school. Respect If I am nice to other students even if they are different than me, it shows respect. Using polite language and thinking about other people and their feelings also shows respect. Caring If people do nice things for you and think about your feelings, it shows they care about you. Being proud If I feel good about my school and I like what happens here, I am proud of my school. Bullying Bullying means hurting someone or making them hurt inside by saying mean things or acting in a mean way. Sometimes we hurt people by accident, but bullying is when you hurt someone on purpose. Please note: These results are intended for the use of the school community only. They may be used for planning and assessing school improvement initiatives. They are not meant to be used to compare classrooms, schools or communities. Please ensure that these results are used appropriately and that any confidential information is kept confidential.
176
A. The General Nature of My School

All the time 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. Adults in my school care about my feelings. Adults in my school are friendly. Students in my school care about me. Students in my school are kind and helpful. Other people treat me with respect. When people in my school do something important, we celebrate it. My school is a nice place to be. My school work is hanging up in the school. I am proud of my school. K K K K K K K K K K K K
Sometimes K K K K K K K K K K K K Never K K K K K K K K K K K K
Appendix B-1
10. I am treated fairly at school. 11. I feel safe in my school. 12. I feel safe on the playground.
B. Behaviour Between People in My School

All the time 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. I take things that belong to someone else without asking. Someone takes my things without asking. People bump or push me in the hallways. I bump or push people in the hallways. Other people tease me, call me names or pick on me. I tease, call others names and pick on people. I see other students being bullied at my school. Others bully me at school. K K K K K K K K Sometimes K K K K K K K K
177
Never K K K K K K K K
9. I bully others at my school. K K K K K K K K K K 10. I get help with my school work when I need it. 11. My teachers help me to understand what I am supposed to learn. K 12. If people are being mean to me, I know who to go to for help. K
Appendix B-1
C. School Citizenship
All the time 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. I share materials and supplies. I feel comfortable sharing my ideas in school. I listen carefully to others. I try to follow the rules. In school, I am learning how to get along with others. I help other people when they need it. I am friendly to people that are different than me. I see other students being teased or bullied because they are different. At school, people make fun of me because I am different. K K K K K K K K K K K K Sometimes K K K K K K K K K K K K Never K K K K K K K K K K K K
10. I help to keep my school neat and clean. 11. I take responsibility for my actions. 12. I treat others with respect.
Thanks so much for your time!
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Supporting a Safe and Caring School: What Students SayGrades 4 to 6

Purpose
This survey asks you to tell us about some of the things you do in school and some of the things that you see others doing. The results of this survey will be used to help make your school a safer and more caring place. This survey is anonymous so you should NOT write your name on it. 1. Are you a male or a female? A Male A 4 B Female B 5 C 6
Appendix B-2
Grades 4 to 6
2. What grade are you in?
Directions
Please think back over the past month and tell us how often you experienced the items described on the following pages. When answering the questions, try to think of specific things that you have done or that you have seen other people doing. Do not report anything that someone else told you about. If you dont know how to answer one of the statements, put your X in the last box, under Dont know.
Remember to focus on the past month. IMPORTANT: When the question talks about the adults in your school it means all of the adults including the teachers, principals, counsellors, secretaries, caretakers, librarians, assistants and volunteers.

These results are intended for the use of the school community only. They may be used for planning and assessing school improvement initiatives. They are not meant to be used to compare classrooms, schools or communities. Please ensure that these results are used appropriately and that any confidential information is kept confidential. For more detailed instructions for administering this survey, go to www.sacsc.ca/resources.htm and click on SACSC Student Survey Instrument under Supporting a Safe and Caring School.
Appendix B-2 is reproduced with permission from The Society for Safe and Caring Schools and Communities, Supporting a Safe and Caring School: What Students SayGrade 4 to 6, February 2005, http://www.sacsc.ca/PDF%20files/Resources/Student%20Survey%20and%20 Guidebook/student%20survey%20gr%204-6.pdf (Accessed March 2005).
179
Appendix B-2
Grades 4 to 6
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.
A: The General Nature of My School

Most of the time K K K K K K K K Quite often K K K K K K K K Once in a while K K K K K K K K Almost never K K K K K K K K Never K K K K K K K K Dont know K K K K K K K K
How often do you experience the following? The adults in my school show that they care about me. Students in my school show that they care about me. I see students being bullied by others at my school. I bully others at my school. Others bully me at my school. I feel safe in my school. Some students stay away from certain places in our school because they dont feel safe. When people in my school do something important, we celebrate it.
Please write in any other similar things that you think we should know about. ________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________
180
B: Behaviour Between People in My School

How often do you experience the following? 9. The adults in my school ask me how I am. Most of the time K K K K K K K K K K Quite often K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K Once in a while K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K Almost never K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K
Appendix B-2
Grades 4 to 6
K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K Never Dont know
10. I steal things that belong to someone else. 11. Someone steals something of mine. 12. People rudely bump or push me in the hallways. 13. I rudely bump or push people in the hallways. 14. Someone teases me, calls me a bad name or picks on me. 15. I tease other students, call them a bad name or pick on them. 16. When decisions are being made at school, I get a chance to share my ideas. 17. When I make a mistake or do something wrong, I admit it and try to fix it. 18. When adults in my school make mistakes or do something wrong, they admit it and try to fix it.
19. Adults in my school listen to me when I talk to them. K 20. Adults in my school look at me when I talk to them. 21. Adults in my school smile and are friendly. 22. I smile and am friendly when I see someone. K K K
23. Adults in my school notice things I have done well. K 24. Adults in my school notice when I make mistakes. 25. Some of my work is displayed in my school classroom. K K
Please write in any other similar things that you think we should know. ________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________
181
Appendix B-2
Grades 4 to 6
C: School Citizenship
Most of the time K K K Quite often K K K Once in a while K K K Almost never K K K Never K K K Dont know K K K
How often do you experience the following? 26. I get to use my special talents and abilities at school. 27. I get involved in physical activities at my school. 28. I get the chance to share my ideas about lots of things, even if they are different from other peoples ideas. 29. I am friendly to people that are different than me. 30. I make fun of people at school because they are different from me. 31. People make fun of me at school because I am different from them. 32. I see other students being made fun of because of their looks, culture, religion, or what they can or cant do. 33. I follow the 3 Rs in my school (Reuse, Reduce, Recycle). 34. I help other people when they need it.
K K K K
K K K K
K K K K
K K K K
K K K K
K K K K
K K
K K
K K
K K
K K
K K
Please write in any other similar things that you think we should know. ________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________
182
D: Activities and Programs

How often do you experience the following? 35. Adults in my school encourage me to get involved in school activities. 36. There are lots of different kinds of activities at my school. 37. I am asked about what activities or programs I would like to have at my school. 38. My teachers help me understand what I am supposed to learn. 39. When I ask for help with my school work, I get the help I need. 40. I hear other students saying they are proud to be going to our school. 41. I am proud to be going to my school. 42. If people are being mean to me, I know who to go to for help. 43. My parents are involved in school activities. Most of the time K K K K K K K K K Quite often K K K K K K K K K Once in a while K K K K K K K K K Almost never K K K K K K K K K
Appendix B-2
Grades 4 to 6
K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K Never Dont know
Please write in any other similar things that you think we should know. ________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________
183
Appendix B-2
Grades 4 to 6
E: Guidelines and Expectations

Most of the time K K Quite often K K Once in a while K K Almost never K K Never K K Dont know K K
How often do you experience the following? 44. When sorting out a problem, adults in my school are calm. 45. When I have a problem, the adults in my school help me think about different ways to fix the problem. 46. When I have a problem, the adults in my school listen to my side of the story. 47. In some of my classes we learn about how to get along better with one another. 48. If I have a problem with other students, the adults in my school help us to work it out together. 49. The adults in my school treat me fairly. 50. The students in my school treat me fairly. 51. When there is bullying in my school, adults step in to stop it. 52. When students misbehave at school, the adults try to find out why before they give out consequences. 53. The consequences for bad behaviour in my school help students learn to behave better.
K K K
K K K
K K K
K K K
K K K
K K K
K K K K
K K K K
K K K K
K K K K
K K K K
K K K K
K K K
K K K
K K K
K K K
K K K
54. My family and I have talked about the school rules. K 55. If I break school rules, I know that there will be consequences. K
Please write in any other similar things that you think we should know. ________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________
184
F: Resources
How often do you experience the following? 56. There are textbooks and other materials for each student in my class. 57. The textbooks, other books, videos, presentations and programs in my classes are interesting. 58. The textbooks, other books, videos, presentations and programs in my classes help me understand what I am being taught. Most of the time K K K Quite often K K K Once in a while K K K Almost never K K K
Appendix B-2
Grades 4 to 6
K K K K K K Never Dont know
Please write in any other similar things that you think we should know. ________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________
185
186
Supporting a Safe and Caring School: What Students SayGrades 7 to 12

Purpose
This survey asks you to tell us about some of the things you do in school and some of the things that you see others doing. The results of this survey will be used to help make your school a safer and more caring place. This survey is anonymous so you should NOT write your name on it. 1. Are you a male or a female? A Male A 7 B 8 B Female C 9 D 10 E 11 F 12
Appendix B-3
Grades 7 to 12
2. What grade are you in?
Directions
Please think back over the past month and tell us how often you experienced the items described on the following pages. When answering the questions, try to think of specific things that you have done or that you have seen other people doing. Do not report anything that someone else told you about. If you dont know how to answer one of the statements, put your X in the last box, under Dont know.
Go ahead now and complete the questions on the following pages. Remember to focus on the last month.

These results are intended for the use of the school community only. They may be used for planning and assessing school improvement initiatives. They are not meant to be used to compare classrooms, schools or communities. Please ensure that these results are used appropriately and that any confidential information is kept confidential. For more detailed instructions for administering this survey, go to www.sacsc.ca/resources.htm and click on SACSC Student Survey Instrument under Supporting a Safe and Caring School.
Appendix B-3 is reproduced with permission from The Society for Safe and Caring Schools and Communities, Supporting a Safe and Caring School: What Students SayGrade 7 to 12, February 2005, http://www.sacsc.ca/PDF%20files/Resources/Student%20Survey%20and%20 Guidebook/student%20survey%20gr%207-12.pdf (Accessed March 2005).
187
Appendix B-3
Grades 7 to 12
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9.
A: The General Nature of My School

Most of the time K Quite often K K K K K K K K K K Once in a while K K K K K K K K K K Almost never K K K K K K K K K K Never K K K K K K K K K K Dont know K K K K K K K K K K
How often do you experience the following? The adults in my school show that they care about me.
Students in my school show that they care about me. K I see students being bullied by others at my school. K I bully others at my school. Others bully me at my school. I feel safe in my school. Some students avoid certain places in our school because they dont feel safe. When people in my school do something important, we celebrate it. I see examples of the school and the community working together. K K K K K K K
10. The adults in my school are interested in what is going on in my life.
Please write in any other similar things that you think we should know. ________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________
188
B: Behaviour Between People in My School

How often do you experience the following? 11. The adults in my school ask me how I am. 12. Teachers are available for discussion and support when I need it. 13. I steal things that belong to others without asking. 14. Someone steals something of mine without asking. 15. People intentionally bump or push me in the hallways. 16. I intentionally bump or push people in the hallways. 17. When decisions that affect students are being made at school, I can share my ideas. 18. When I make a mistake or do something wrong, I admit it and try to fix it. 19. When adults in my school make mistakes or do something wrong, they admit it and try to fix it. Most of the time K K K K K K K K K Quite often K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K Once in a while K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K Almost never K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K
Appendix B-3
Grades 7 to 12
K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K Never Dont know
20. Adults in my school listen to me when I talk to them. K 21. When I talk to adults in my school, they look at me. K 22. When I see someone, I smile and am friendly. K
23. Adults in my school notice things I have done well. K 24. Adults in my school smile and are friendly. 25. Adults in my school notice when I make mistakes. K K
26. Some of my work is displayed in my school classroom. K 27. I ask people in the community to support activities K at my school.
Please write in any other similar things that you think we should know. ________________________________________________________________________________________
189
Appendix B-3
Grades 7 to 12
C: School Citizenship
Most of the time K K K Quite often K K K Once in a while K K K Almost never K K K Never K K K Dont know K K K
How often do you experience the following? 28. In my school work, I have the opportunity to use my special talents and abilities. 29. I take part in physical activities in my school. 30. I am encouraged to discuss various topics and express my point of view even when it is different than others. 31. I am friendly to people of different cultures, races, gender, age, sexual orientation, appearance or ability. 32. I make fun of people at school because they are different from me. 33. People make fun of me at school because I am different from them. 34. I see other students being made fun of because of culture, race, gender, age, sexual orientation, appearance or ability. 35. I follow the 3 Rs in my school (Reuse, Reduce, Recycle). 36. I help other people when they need it. 37. My school makes accommodations for students with special needs (physical, mental, etc.).
K K K
K K K
K K K
K K K
K K K
K K K
K K K
K K K
K K K
K K K
K K K
K K K
Please write in any other similar things that you think we should know. ________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________
190
D: Activities and Programs

How often do you experience the following? 38. Adults in my school encourage me to take part in school activities. Most of the time K Quite often K K K K K K K K K K Once in a while K K K K K K K K K K Almost never K K K K K K K K K K
Appendix B-3
Grades 7 to 12
K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K Never Dont know
39. There is enough variety in the school activities that K I can get involved in something that interests me. 40. I am asked about what activities or programs I would like to have at the school. 41. My teachers make course objectives clear to me. K K
42. When I ask, I get the help I need during class or K after school to help me understand my school work. 43. I hear other students saying they are proud of our school. 44. I am proud of my school. 45. Adults in my school are there for me when I need help. 46. If people are harassing me, I know who to go to for help. 47. My parents are involved in school activities. K K K K K
Please write in any other similar things that you think we should know. ________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________
191
Appendix B-3
Grades 7 to 12
E: Guidelines and Expectations

Most of the time K K K K K K K Quite often K K K K K K K K K K K Once in a while K K K K K K K K K K K Almost never K K K K K K K K K K K Never K K K K K K K K K K K Dont know K K K K K K K K K K K
How often do you experience the following? 48. When sorting out a problem in my school, adults are calm. 49. When I have a problem, the adults in my school help me explore various ways to deal with it. 50. When I am involved in a problem, I feel like my side of the story is listened to. 51. In some of my courses at school, we learn about how to handle conflicts.
52. If I have a problem with other students, the adults in my school encourage us to work it out together. 53. I am treated fairly by the adults in my school. 54. I am treated fairly by the students in my school.
55. When there is bullying in my school, adults step in K to stop it. 56. When students misbehave at school, the adults try K to find out why before they give out consequences. 57. The consequences for misbehaviour in my school help students learn a better way to behave. K
58. When students misbehave in a similar way, they tend K to get similar consequences, regardless of who the student is. 59. My family and I have discussed my schools behaviour policy/code of conduct. 60. If I break school rules, I know that there will be consequences expecting me to undo any wrong I have done. K K
K K
K K
K K
K K
K K
Please write in any other similar things that you think we should know. ________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________
192
F: Resources
How often do you experience the following? 61. There are textbooks and other required resources for each student in my class. 62. The texts, readings, videos, presentations and programs in my classes are interesting. 63. The texts, readings, videos, presentations and programs in my classes help me understand the content of my courses. Most of the time K K K Quite often K K K Once in a while K K K Almost never K K K
Appendix B-3
Grades 7 to 12
K K K K K K Never Dont know
Please write in any other similar things that you think we should know. ________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________
193
194
School Cultural Audit
Appendix B-4
Schools Educational Philosophy or Instructional Focus
Schools Mission Statement
Schools Statement of Vision Related to Character and Citizenship Education
195
Appendix B-4
Specific Beliefs About Learning and Teaching
A. Beliefs about the purposes of education _______________________________________ _______________________________________ _______________________________________ _______________________________________ B. Beliefs about organizing for learning _______________________________________ _______________________________________ _______________________________________ _______________________________________ C. Beliefs about learning and the role of the learner _______________________________________ _______________________________________ _______________________________________ _______________________________________ D. Beliefs about teaching and the role of teachers _______________________________________ _______________________________________ _______________________________________ _______________________________________ E. Beliefs about assessment _______________________________________ _______________________________________ _______________________________________ _______________________________________
Practices That Support Specific Beliefs

Practice related to purpose _______________________________________ _______________________________________ _______________________________________ _______________________________________ Organizational practices _______________________________________ _______________________________________ _______________________________________ _______________________________________ Learning and learner practices _______________________________________ _______________________________________ _______________________________________ _______________________________________ Teaching practices _______________________________________ _______________________________________ _______________________________________ _______________________________________ Assessment practices _______________________________________ _______________________________________ _______________________________________ _______________________________________
196
Appendix B-4
Specific Beliefs About Learning and Teaching
F. Beliefs about the role of parents _______________________________________ _______________________________________ _______________________________________ _______________________________________ G. Beliefs about the role of community _______________________________________ _______________________________________ _______________________________________ _______________________________________
Practices That Support Specific Beliefs

Practices related to the role of parents _______________________________________ _______________________________________ _______________________________________ _______________________________________ Practices related to the role of community _______________________________________ _______________________________________ _______________________________________ _______________________________________
1. How are philosophical perspectives and related practices about learning and teaching informed by research? _____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ 2. How is information (e.g., research, sharing of best practices) gathered? Who selects and manages the flow of information, particularly that which is related to character and citizenship education? _____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________
197
Appendix B-4
Defining a Character and Citizenship Education Initiative

1. What assumptions underlie the perceived need for this character and citizenship education initiative?
2. What are the goals of the initiative?
3. Which core values will be promoted? Why?
4. What instructional skills and strategies will be used? What research supports this approach to teaching and learning?
5. What obstacles need to be overcome?
6. What is the level of commitment to the goals of this initiative?
7. What strengths and resources can be used to reach these goals?
198
Assessing Interactions Within the Environment

What ceremonies, traditions and/or rituals in the school support the vision statement related to character and citizenship education? Who carries these out? How is that significance communicated, and how well is that significance understood by administrators, teachers, students, parents and community? _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________
Appendix B-4
How is language used to communicate and support the schools vision statement related to character and citizenship education? _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________
List examples of stories that illustrate and uphold the schools vision statement related to character and citizenship education. _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________
199
Appendix B-4
Assessing the Environment

What artifacts in the school promote character and citizenship (e.g., awards, photographs, student work, visible statements of vision and philosophy)? _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________
What symbols within the school environment promote character and citizenship (e.g., logos, slogans)? _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________
200
Appendix C
201
202

Respect
I am polite, courteous and caring. I value myself and others. I treat all people with dignity and uphold their rights. I protect property and our environment.
Appendix C
Responsibility
I am responsible for my thoughts, words and actions. I am accountable for my choices. I admit my mistakes and work to correct them. People can depend on me to honour my commitments. I demonstrate active citizenship.
Honesty
I am sincere, truthful and trustworthy.
Integrity
I behave in an ethical and honourable manner even when no one else is around. I am genuine, in that my actions consistently match my words.
Empathy
I respect the feelings of others. I seek to understand what others are thinking to appreciate their perspectives. I listen and consider their views, even though we may not agree. I act with kindness and compassion.
Fairness
I am sensitive to the needs of individuals. I include others and value their uniqueness. I celebrate diversity. I treat people with the dignity and consideration with which I would like to be treated. I gather as much information as possible in order to make a decision that is just.
Initiative
I am eager to do what needs to be done without being prompted by others. I seize opportunities and willingly take the steps necessary towards achieving a goal.
Perseverance
I finish what I start even when it is difficult. I do not give up when faced with challenges or obstacles. I complete all tasks and assignments to the best of my ability.
Courage
I face challenges directly. I speak up for myself and others even when it may be unpopular. I ask for help when necessary. I recognize risks and dangers, and do not take unwise chances to please others.
Optimism
I have a positive attitude. I see challenges as opportunities. I think, speak and act to make the world a better place. I have hope for the future.
This appendix adapted with permission from Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board, Character Makes A Difference! (Peterborough, ON: Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board, June 2003). These character attributes were developed through a process of community consultation.
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204
Appendix D
205
206

The following information on action research is adapted with permission from the Alberta Teachers Associations monograph Action Research Guide for Alberta Teachers (2000). Visit the ATA Web site at www.teachers.ab.ca/NR/rdonlyres/708CB2AF4506-4A0B-851A-03734A15961B/0/ActionResearch.pdf for more information. Action research is a form of applied research that draws on a range of designs and methodologies that can be used to examine a practical problem or issue, generate solutions or institute a change. For example, school districts across Alberta have organized school improvement projects on a range of topics. Action research can be applied to many of these initiatives. Action research has the potential to greatly enhance both teacher professional development and school improvement initiatives. It provides educators with a systematic process to reflect on issues, consider options, implement solutions and evaluate results. Action researchers focus on constructing a detailed, coherent, useful understanding of what was intended, and of what actually happened and why. They do not limit their role and responsibilities to judging program effectiveness. They are in the world much more than this, actively working on an initiative to: observe and analyze the unfolding of the character education effort continually revise their thinking about the paths to achieving program goals actively engage the various stakeholders to test the soundness of the initiative.
Appendix D
Action research is a valuable form of inquiry for educators because it is: practical: the focus is on realistic, concrete improvements participative: teachers, administrators, teacher assistants, students and parents can all be involved in meaningful ways empowering: all participants can contribute to and benefit from the process interpretive: meaning is constructed using participants multiple realities in the situation tentative: there are not always right or wrong answers; rather, there are a variety of possible solutions based on multiple viewpoints critical: participants look critically at specific problems and act as self-critical change agents.1
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Appendix D
The Action Research Process

Action research generally involves a process of planning, action, observation and reflection. Depending on the research question, the purpose of the study and the number of researchers involved, each of these phases can be expanded. A single teacher-researcher focusing on a classroom issue may work through the process in a relatively short time. In contrast, a collaborative group of researchers studying a broad school improvement initiative may engage in an in-depth study taking the entire school year or longer to complete. Although some action research projects have a clear end point, the action research process lends itself to a spiral of cycles, with researchers reflecting on the results of the current action in order to plan the next series of actions. Each reflective phase yields more information about the issue and increases understanding. Sometimes the information gained leads researchers to refine the question with a different focus. One of the first tasks in a project should be to develop an outline to guide activities and describe the various steps in the action research process. The process designed will depend on the nature of the research question and the context of the study. Engaging in an extensive literature review and seeking out expert information will help to ensure that the interventions chosen for implementation will have a positive impact.
Facilitating and Supporting Action Research

The success of action research initiatives can be significantly increased through the support and facilitation of others not directly involved in the project, for example, a school administrator, district consultant, university professor or teacher experienced in the process. These people can help to keep the project moving forward, encourage reflection and problem solving, provide feedback, and generally lend support. The following sample strategies can be used by those in leadership and facilitating roles to support and help sustain action research projects.
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Encourage risk taking. Allow sufficient time to prepare the action plan, gather data and analyze results. Demonstrate genuine professional curiosity about the project. Support the project with financial or other resources. Provide feedback on the research design. Assist with problem solving during the study. Express interest in the progress of the study. Share literature or other resources related to the project. Organize inservice workshops that support the research process and allow teachers to build new knowledge and skills. Let others know about the work that school staff are doing. Promote the publication and dissemination of the study.
The entire school staff can engage in action research such as character and citizenship education initiatives, which are focused on school improvement, student behaviour and staff development. Whole-staff collaborative action research has the potential to increase teamwork, improve staff morale and increase student achievement. In addition to these strategies, consider the following six general conditions as ways to foster effective school-based action research.2 Openness to weakness: Administrators and staff members speak honestly to each other about the parts of the school program that need improvement. Chances for creativity: Administrators provide staff members with opportunities to brainstorm and analyze inventive ideas about alternative future practices. Support for trial and error: Administrators provide staff members with support and resources to initiate and test alternative processes. Cooperative staff relations: Administrators and staff members share norms and skills that support cooperative problem solving about their own group efforts. Value data collection: Administrators and staff members believe they should go beyond casual inquiry to collect systematic data about their processes and school outcomes. Time for improvement: Administrators create ways to release staff members from regular duties so that they can engage in professional reflection, action research and problem solving.
Appendix D
For More Information

Action Research in Alberta www.uleth.ca/edu/research/arnia/ This Web site, developed by David Townsend of the University of Lethbridge, provides an overview of action research in the Alberta context. It includes references to projects undertaken by teacherresearchers in recent years. Alberta Initiative for School Improvement (AISI) www.education.gov.ab.ca/k_12/special/aisi/ This Web site contains an annotated bibliography of print materials that support action research aimed at school improvement. Alberta Teachers Association (ATA) www.teachers.ab.ca
Endnotes
1. Schmuck 1997. 2. Adapted with permission from Richard A. Schmuck, Practical Action Research for Change (Arlington Heights, IL: IRI/SkyLight Training and Publishing, Inc., 1997), p. 142.
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210
Appendix E
211
212

A safe and caring school is a place where staff, students and parents have a vision for the school based on safe and caring school principles. Members of a safe and caring school actively encourage practices that model and reinforce socially responsible and respectful behaviours so that learning and teaching take place in a safe and caring environment. The following attributes, common to all safe and caring schools, provide direction for the development, implementation and evaluation of school principles, policies, programs and practices.
Appendix E
Members of a safe and caring school

foster a climate of interest, caring, safety and concern for all support, value and celebrate learning, teaching and student achievement, and promote and support community involvement and service to others. demonstrating trust, care and concern for the emotional and physical well-being of all respecting the personal space and property of others participating in decisions that affect them modelling respectful, responsible and caring behaviour and attitudes developing self-esteem and emphasizing success, potential and hope, and seeking active support from the community for school values. students personalities, talents, and social, physical and academic abilities to the fullest respect for basic human rights and fundamental freedoms respect for the culture and laws of Canada responsible behaviour and friendship which honour ethnicity, religion, gender, age and ability respect and responsibility for the natural environment, and responsible citizenship in a spirit of understanding, peace, equality, compassion and democratic participation.
They accomplish this by

They work cooperatively to develop*
* Adapted from the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, adopted by the UN General
Assembly, 1989. This appendix is reproduced with permission from The Society for Safe and Caring Schools and Communities, Supporting a Safe and Caring School: Common Attributes (brochure) (Edmonton, AB: The Society for Safe and Caring Schools and Communities, n.d.).
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Appendix E
They provide activities and programs that

are available to and seek to involve all students meet defined needs of a variety of students are assessed regularly have clearly stated objectives nurture a sense of purpose and belonging, and promote school spirit involve a support system that intervenes on behalf of students at risk of, or already involved in, violent behaviour, and promote, welcome and encourage participation from the home and community. foster respect and maintain the dignity and self-worth of those involved consider the best interests of each student involve students in resolving difficulties encourage and empower students to acquire and practise appropriate social skills take into account each students age and unique circumstances are fair, just and meaningful, and assume that all students have a constructive and relevant role to play in school are consistently and appropriately applied are developed in consultation with all those affected, and communicated through a policy based on school values, and are monitored and evaluated regularly. are current and sufficient target specific, identifiable needs, and meet objectives that benefit all students.
They develop behavioural guidelines that

They choose and fairly distribute resources that
214
Appendix F
215
216

The following chart summarizes some sample sources related to process and outcome evaluation of character and citizenship education.
Appendix F
Program Evaluation Models and Practices: A Review of Research Literature by David Townsend and Pamela Adams, Faculty of Education, University of Lethbridge, March 2003, published by AISI University Partners A PDF version can be found at www.education.gov.ab.ca/k_12/special/aisi/ pdfs/UofLEvalModels_2003.pdf Character Education Quality Standards (2003), designed by the Character Education Partnership, Washington, DC, telephone 8009888081 or 2022967743 A PDF version can be found at www.character.org/files/QualityStandards.pdf The Character Education Partnership has an online Assessment Instrument Index, which is located on their Web site at www.character.org/resources/assessment/ Child Development Project Questionnaire, designed by the Developmental Studies Center, Oakland, CA, telephone 8006667270 or 5105330213, www.devstu.org School as a Caring Community Profile-II, developed by the Center for the 4th and 5th Rs, available free from the Center for the 4th and 5th Rs, Cortland, NY, telephone 6077532455, www.cortland.edul/character/index.asp A PDF version can be found at www.cortland.edu/character/instruments/SC CPII_Jan2003_short2.pdf.
This document discusses the broader area of program evaluation and provides examples, suggestions and adaptable ideas, including an examination of empowerment models.
These standards help evaluate the extent to which a character education initiative reflects the Eleven Principles of Effective Character Education developed by the Character Education Partnership. The standards provide a structure for careful examination of each component of a character education initiative (e.g., community involvement, curricula). This index includes summaries of dozens of character education assessment studies and associated evaluation instruments. The database is categorized by assessment measures (e.g., academic attitudes, affective/cognitive development, classroom/school climate) and provides contact information for each study. This questionnaire provides Likert-scale items for grades 36 students regarding student autonomy, classroom supportiveness, enjoyment of class and school, intrinsic/extrinsic motivation, personal feelings, interpersonal skills and more. A teacher survey is also available. This profile uses Likert-scale questions to assess perceptions of school climate. The questions are for grades l12 students and adults. Data analysis and presentation services are also available for a fee.
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Appendix F
A Survey of Behavioral Characteristics of Students, developed by the State University of West Georgia Available from Dr. Clete Bulach, Director, Professional Development and Assessment Center, Villa Rica GA, telephone 7702148318 Supporting a Safe and Caring School: What Students Say for Kindergarten to Grade 3, Grades 4 to 6 and Grades 7 to 12. Available on The Society for Safe and Caring Schools and Communities Web site at www.sacsc.ca This survey is designed to assess students attitudes and behaviours related to honesty, self-control/discipline, respect for self/others/property, responsibility/dependability/accountability, integrity/fairness and eleven other character traits. The survey is suitable for students in grades 412. There is a scoring-service cost for each school profile. Individual school and district profiles can be generated. These surveys are designed to assess students perceptions of school climate. There are three versions of the survey. Detailed directions for administering and scoring the survey are also on the SACSC Web site.
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Bullying Prevention Resources

1. 2. 3. Bullying Prevention Tips for Parents Student Self-reflection on Bullying Behaviour The Society for Safe and Caring Schools and Communities Resources for Bullying Prevention 221 223
Appendix G
These appendices are also available in PDF format at: www.education.gov.ab.ca/charactered
224
219
220
Bullying Prevention Tips for Parents

Because children learn how to get along by watching adults
Model appropriate ways of getting along with others: showing empathy for others, managing feelings, accepting differences and coping with peer pressure. Monitor your childs television watching. Discourage TV programs that model antisocial and aggressive behaviour. If your child witnesses violence on television, discuss the situation and help them understand the fictitious situation in relation to real life. When you get angry, use it as an opportunity to demonstrate and discuss appropriate ways to express anger without verbally or physically hurting others. Help your child think of and practise quick verbal responses to use when peers are teasing or being verbally abusive. Teach your child how to stick up for herself or himself through assertive, not aggressive, behaviour. Encourage and expand your childs interests and abilities so they gain confidence in themselves. Involve your child in group activities that will enhance her or his interpersonal skills. Invite your childs friends to your home and help them identify interesting things to do. Children who are not actively engaged in positive activities are more likely to engage in negative behaviours, including bullying. Discuss with your child examples of bullying that he or she notices on TV, in video games, or in the neighbourhood. Talk about the consequences of this bullying. Teach your child problem-solving skills and acknowledge when he or she uses them. Help your child accept and celebrate individual differences.
Appendix G-1
Because children learn by doing

This appendix adapted from British Columbia Ministry of Education and Ministry of Attorney General, Focus on Bullying: A Prevention Program for Elementary School Communities (Victoria, BC: British Columbia Ministry of Education and Ministry of Attorney General, 1998), pp. 2930. Copyright Province of British Columbia. All rights reserved. Reprinted with permission of the Province of British Columbia. www.ipp.gov.bc.ca
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Appendix G-1
Because children need adults

Ask your child about his or her relationships with friends and peers. Encourage your child to tell you or another trusted adult if she or he is bullied or sees another child being bullied. Keep lines of communication open. Encourage your child to always let you know where and with whom he or she will be. Get to know your childs friends. Intervene in bullying incidents. Make it clear to all the children involved that bullying is not acceptable. Ensure that those being bullied are safe. Inform school staff if your child tells you about bullying happening at school. Learn more about the topic of bullying and share your knowledge with your child. Check your local library and the Internet. There is a wealth of information for parents and children. Talk with other parents. Get involved in bullying-prevention efforts at your childs school. Foster your childs self-confidence. A strong sense of self-worth can be a good defence against being pressured or bullied by peers. Be alert to signs that your child is being bullied or may be bullying others, such as torn clothing, mysterious bruises, falling behind in school work, returning home to use the washroom, changes in behaviour (e.g., behaviour problems, lack of friends, reluctance to go to school). Talk with a school counsellor or teacher about your concerns. Talk to your child about what she or he is learning in school about bullying.
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Appendix G-2
Student Self-reflection on Bullying Behaviour
I need to reflect on how I treated __________________________________________. This is what I said and did: This kind of behaviour is bullying behaviour because _______________________________________ _______________________________________ _______________________________________ _______________________________________
This is how _____________________ probably felt:
When other people bully me, I _______________________________________ _______________________________________ _______________________________________ _______________________________________
I bullied him or her because _____________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ Heres what I need to do now: _____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ Student signature: ______________________________________ Parent signature: ______________________________________ Date: _________________________
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Appendix G-3
The Society for Safe and Caring Schools and Communities Resources for Bullying Prevention
These resources are published by The Society for Safe and Caring Schools and Communities (formerly known as the Alberta Teachers Associations Safe and Caring Schools Project). All of these resources can be purchased from the Learning Resources Centre (LRC), 12360 142 Street, Edmonton, Alberta, T5L 4X9; telephone 7804272767; fax 7804229750; Web site: http://www.lrc.education.gov.ab.ca/. Preschool Bullying: What You Can Do About It A Guide for Parents and Caregivers (2000) LRC Product Number 445347 / 24 pages This booklet advises parents on what to do if their child is being bullied or is bullying others. Bullying: What You Can Do About It A Guide for Primary Level Students (K3) (1998) LRC Product Number 445397 / 28 pages This booklet contains stories and exercises to help children deal with bullies and to stop bullying others. Bullying: What You Can Do About It A Guide for Parents and Teachers of Primary Level Students (1998) LRC Product Number 445454 / 12 pages This booklet contains tips to help teachers and parents identify and respond to children who are involved in bullying. Bullying: What You Can Do About It A Guide for UpperElementary Students and Their Parents (Grades 46) (1999) LRC Product Number 445321 / 16 pages This booklet is directed at students who are the victims, witnesses or perpetrators of bullying, and their parents. Bullying in Schools: What You Can Do About It A Teachers Guide (Grades 16) (1999) LRC Product Number 445339 / 10 pages This booklet describes strategies that teachers can follow to stop bullying in schools. Beyond Bullying: A Booklet for Junior High School Students (Grades 79) (1999) LRC Product Number 445470 / 13 pages This booklet explains what students should do if they are being bullied or if they see someone else being bullied.
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Beyond Bullying: What You Can Do To Help A Handbook for Parents and Teachers of Junior High Students (1999) LRC Product Number 445488 / 18 pages This booklet defines bullying behaviours and suggests strategies that parents and teachers can follow to deal with it. Bullying is Everybodys Problem: Do You Have the Courage to Stop It? A Resource for Senior High Students (Grades 1012) (1999) LRC Product Number 445305 / Pamplet This guide for senior high students defines bullying and provides advice on how to respond to it. It is sold in packages of 30. Bullying and Harassment: Everybodys Problem A Senior High Staff and Parent Resource (2000) LRC Product Number 445496 / 12 pages This booklet advises parents and high school teachers on how to deal with bullying. Class Meetings for Safe and Caring Schools (KGrade 12) (1999) LRC Product Number 445587 / 20 pages This booklet explains how regular class meetings can help teachers and students work out conflicts before they become major problems. Anti-Bullying Curriculum Materials: Social Studies Grades 10, 11, 12 (1999) LRC Product Number 445553 / 81 pages Developed by Project Ploughshares Calgary, this booklet contains a series of exercises that teachers can use to incorporate the topic of bullying into the high school social studies curriculum. Toward a Safe and Caring Curriculum Elementary Curriculum Resource Binders (1999, 2001) Kindergarten LRC Product Number 445446 / 370 pages Grade 1 LRC Product Number 445371 / 473 pages Grade 2 LRC Product Number 445389 / 446 pages Grade 3 LRC Product Number 445404 / 436 pages Grade 4 LRC Product Number 445412 / 463 pages Grade 5 LRC Product Number 445420 / 419 pages Grade 6 LRC Product Number 445438 / 481 pages
Appendix G-3
225
Appendix G-3
This set of resources assists teachers in integrating violenceprevention concepts into all subjects in the Kindergarten to Grade 6 curriculum. Each resource is divided into five topics: 1. Building a Safe and Caring Classroom 2. Developing Self-Esteem 3. Respecting Diversity and Preventing Prejudice 4. Managing Anger and Dealing with Bullying 5. Working It Out Together. Toward a Safe and Caring Secondary Curriculum (online resource) Web site address: http://ata.iomer.com/Introduction/ The general purpose of Toward a Safe and Caring Secondary Curriculum is to provide units, lesson plans and other resources that integrate safe and caring knowledge, skills and attitudes into all subject areas in the Alberta secondary curriculum. This resource was developed by Alberta teachers and has been field tested in classrooms throughout the province.
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Graphic Organizers
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Idea Builder Venn Diagram PMI Decision-making Chart What I Have, What I Need KWL + Chart 229 230 231 232 233
Appendix H
227
228
Appendix H-1
Idea Builder
1. Key Idea _____________________________ 3. Facts ______________________________ ______________________________ ______________________________ 2. Draw it ______________________________
4. Sample sentence ______________________________ ______________________________ ______________________________
5. Examples ____________________________ ____________________________ ____________________________ 6. Nonexamples ____________________________ ____________________________ ____________________________ 7. Definition _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________
Reproduced with permission from Edmonton Public Schools, Thinking Tools for Kids: Practical Organizers (Edmonton, AB: Edmonton Public Schools, 1999), p. 178.
229
Appendix H-2
Venn Diagram
Differences
Similarities
Differences
230
Appendix H-3
PMI Decision-making Chart
Name ____________________________ Date Question: ____________________________
Choice 1 _____________________________________________ _____________________________________________
Choice 2 _____________________________________________ _____________________________________________
Plus
Minus
Plus
Minus
Interesting
(Give reasons why)
Interesting
(Give reasons why)
My decision
________________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________
231
Appendix H-4
What I Have, What I Need
Whats my problem?
What are my choices? A. B. C.
What choice would best meet my needs?
What resources do I have? 1. 2. 3.
What resources do I need? 1. 2. 3.
Step-by step plan 1. 2. 3.
How can I check my decision?
232
Appendix H-5
KWL + Chart
Topic:
K
What I know:
W
What I want to know:
L
What I learned:
Why is this information important and how will I use the new information learned?
233
234
Service Learning
1. 2. 3. Choosing a Service Project Making it Happen Reviewing the Service Learning Project 237 238
Appendix I
239
235
236
Appendix I-1
Choosing a Service Project
Name: _____________________________________ Date: ____________________________ Identified Need: ___________________________________________________________________________ 1. List reasons this is an important need for the class to address. ______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ 2. What is one short-term project the class could do to address this need? ______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ 3. What is needed for this project? (Think about expenses, materials, adult help, transportation.) ______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ 4. What challenges or barriers might keep this project from being successful? ______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ 5. What are two long-term projects the class might carry out to address this need? ______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________
Adapted with permission from Lions Clubs International, Skills for Adolescence: Service Learning (4th edition) (Oak Brook, IL: Lions Clubs International Foundation, 2003), pp. 4849.
237
Appendix I-2
Making it Happen
Name: _____________________________________ Service Project Plan 1. The need we will address: _________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ 2. A brief description of our project: __________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ 3. Our project goals: ______________________________________________________________________ Date: ____________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ 4. Our committee: ________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ Jobs to be done ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ Who will do them? ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ Timelines ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________
Adapted with permission from Lions Clubs International, Skills for Adolescence: Service Learning (4th edition) (Oak Brook, IL: Lions Clubs International Foundation, 2003), p. 51.
238
Appendix I-3
Reviewing the Service Learning Project
Name: _____________________________________ Answer the following questions. 1. What skills did the class use to carry out this project? ______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ 2. What was accomplished through this project? ______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ 3. What can we do to improve our next project? ______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ Date: ____________________________
Adapted with permission from Lions Clubs International, Skills for Adolescence: Service Learning (4th edition) (Oak Brook, IL: Lions Clubs International Foundation, 2003), p. 52.
239
240
Issue-based Inquiry
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. What is Controversy? What Me Biased? Research Record Guest Speaker Report Making a Decision Position PaperHeres What I Think Planning to Take Action Lets Do ItDefining My Actions Did I Make a Difference?Evaluating My Actions 243 244
Appendix J
245 246 248 249 250 251 252
241
242
Appendix J-1
What is Controversy?
Name: _____________________________________ Define controversy. ______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ Date: ____________________________
Describe three causes of controversy. 1. ______________________________________________________________________________________ 2. ______________________________________________________________________________________ 3. ______________________________________________________________________________________
Describe three possible benefits which can result from controversy. 1. ______________________________________________________________________________________ 2. ______________________________________________________________________________________ 3. ______________________________________________________________________________________
Describe three dangers which can result from controversy. 1. ______________________________________________________________________________________ 2. ______________________________________________________________________________________ 3. ______________________________________________________________________________________
Adapted with permission from Eric MacInnis, Ross MacDonald and Lynn Scott, Controversy as a Teaching Tool (Rocky Mountain House, AB: Parks Canada, 1997), p. 15.
243
Appendix J-2
What Me Biased?
Name: _____________________________________ Date: ____________________________ 1. What is bias? ___________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ 2. What causes people to become biased? ________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ 3. Think about this issue and answer the questions. The community where you live has decided not to allow skateboarding and inline skating on public sidewalks. a. How do you feel about this decision?______________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________ b. Do you skateboard and/or inline skate? ____________________________________________________ c. Who do you think will agree with the communitys decision and why?____________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________ d. In what ways might these people be biased? _________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________ e. Who do you think will disagree with the decision and why?____________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________ f. In what ways might these people be biased? _________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________ g. Can you identify any of your own biases in relation to this issue? ________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________
244
Appendix J-3
Research Record
Name: _____________________________________ Date: ____________________________ Issue/topic: ______________________________________________ Source: __________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________ Important information: _____________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ Biased? K YES K NO
If yes, in which ways? _______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ My thoughts: (How does this information relate to the issue? Use the back of this sheet if you need to.) ______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________
245
Appendix J-4
Guest Speaker Report
Name: _____________________________________ Date: ____________________________ Issue: ___________________________________________________ Name of speaker: __________________________________________ Occupation/Position: _______________________________________ Source of information (check one or both): Primary K Secondary K Notes: ______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ Space for drawing/illustrations:
Adapted with permission from Eric MacInnis, Ross MacDonald and Lynn Scott, Controversy as a Teaching Tool (Rocky Mountain House, AB: Parks Canada, 1997), pp. 5354.
246
Appendix J-4
Guest Speaker Report (continued)
BIAS 1. In your opinion, is this speaker influenced by personal bias? ______________________________________________________________________________________ 2. Is the information based more on the speakers opinion about the issue, or on facts? ______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ 3. How do I know? ______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ 4. How has this information affected my opinion? ______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ 5. What is my position on this issue now and why? ______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________
247
Appendix J-5
Making a Decision
Name: _____________________________________ Date: ____________________________ Issue: ___________________________________________________ Option: _________________________________________________ PROS + Facts: CONS
Feelings:
My new ideas:
My decision on this option:
My reasons for this decision:
248
Appendix J-6
Position PaperHeres What I Think
Name: _____________________________________ Title: Date: ____________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________
After examining the different sides of this issue, I have decided that the best option at this time is: ______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ I consider my option to be the best choice because: ______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________
249
Appendix J-7
Planning to Take Action
Name: _____________________________________ Date: ____________________________
What do I hope to achieve? ___________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ What is my plan of action? ___________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ Can I stop or change the proposed action once it is started?___________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ Examples of actions attend meetings begin (and/or sign) a petition conduct a public awareness campaign create displays, posters, brochures, media-related material discussions with parents, other students, teachers, others goods or services boycotts join or form a group learn more about issues, who makes decisions and how make a presentation make phone calls write a report write letters to: editors, politicians, decision makers and other influential people Brainstorm additional examples of actions: ______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________
250
Appendix J-8
Lets Do ItDefining My Actions
Name: _____________________________________ Date: ____________________________ Issue: ___________________________________________________ My Position: ______________________________________________________________________________ Action Planning Table Action Type of action Resources to be Group or used individual Dates for action Anticipated results of action
My chosen action: __________________________________________________________________________

251
Appendix J-9
Did I Make a DifferenceEvaluating My Actions
Name: _____________________________________ Date: ____________________________ Issue: ___________________________________________________ What did I (we) do? What were the results?
What could we do now?
What are the most important things I learned from this experience?
How could I use the new information and skills from this experience in the future?
Adapted with permission from Eric MacInnis, Ross MacDonald and Lynn Scott, Controversy as a Teaching Tool (Rocky Mountain House, AB: Parks Canada, 1997), pp. 74, 75.
252
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264
Index
A Aboriginal education Aboriginal Studies 102030, 53 Circle of Courage program, 144 community circle, 103 extracurricular activities, 6768, 7071 action research about, 2627, 207209 for assessment of school initiatives, 2527 ethical practices in, 22 as professional development, 137 Adams, Pamela, 217 administrators. See school administrators aggression. See bullying prevention Alberta Alcohol and Drug Abuse Commission (AADAC), 162 Alberta Coalition for Healthy School Communities, 148 Alberta Initiative for School Improvement (AISI), 136, 160, 209 Alberta Regional Professional Development Consortia, 135136 Alberta School Act, See School Act Alberta School Boards Association, 36, 164 Alberta Teachers Association, 28, 160, 164, 207 See also Safe and Caring Schools (SACS) Albertas Commission on Learning report, See Every Child Learns. Every Child Succeeds. anti-bullying initiatives. See bullying prevention approaches, instructional. See instructional strategies art education, 54 artifacts (awards, photos, student work) in assessment of school culture, 199200 in extracurricular activities, 63, 7071 assessment of learning resources, 2021, 5759 assessment of school culture about, 3638 assessment of beliefs and practices, 196197 attributes of healthy schools, 3739, 213214 how to begin (sample framework), 914 resources for, 195200, 217218 SACS student survey (K3), 175178 SACS student survey (46), 179185 SACS student survey (712), 187193 See also school culture assessment of school initiatives, 914, 2334 about how to begin (sample framework), 914 data collection and analysis, 2934 knowledge of issues, 2829 needs assessments, 24, 28 outcome and process evaluations, 2425, 2930 research on, 23 resources for, 195200, 217218 See also action research; assessment of school culture; Safe and Caring Schools (SACS) Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD), 59 at-risk students. See Circle of Courage Attributes of a Safe and Caring School, 3738 awards for students in assessment of school culture, 200 in extracurricular activities, 63, 7071
265
Index
B behaviour supports Effective Behaviour Supports (SACS), 74, 150 Skillstreaming program, 168169 Bennett, Barrie, 106 Berkowitz, Marvin W., 9, 15, 23 Bernard, Michael E., You Can Do It!, 171172 bias, assessment of (templates), 244, 247 big ideas in curriculum (Wiggins and McTighe), 4651 Borba, Michele, 9, 10, 19, 157158 Born of Spirit, 55 Bradley, Bill, 64 brainstorming, 110111 Brendtro, Larry, Circle of Courage, 144 Brokenleg, Martin, Circle of Courage, 144 Building Foundations for Safe and Caring Schools, 164 bullying prevention, 7390 about bullying, 7477, 176 community partnerships for, 83, 8889 data collection and analysis, 7779, 85 parent involvement, 77, 7980, 224225 parent tipsheet, 221222 police involvement, 83, 87, 8889 research on bullying, 3637, 75 resources for, 90, 224226 role of ATA, 164 role of Society for SACS, 165 school statement on, 81 strategies to support, 8288 student involvement, 77, 8081 student support, 74, 8689 student support (template), 223 Web site, 90 See also Safe and Caring Schools (SACS) Buzan, Tony, mind maps and webs, 122123
C Canadian Association of School Health, 148 career and life management (CALM), 53, 147148 career and technologies studies (CTS), 53 caring caring communities approaches, 1516 caring curriculum (Noddings), 4647, 141 in school culture, 36 as a value, 22, 176 See also Safe and Caring Schools (SACS); values Carson, Terrance R., 22 Catholic education Community of Caring program, 145146 curriculum and resources, 55 parent and community involvement, 99 service projects, 7071 See also faith-based schools celebrations and rituals in assessment of school culture, 199200 in cooperative learning, 69 in extracurricular activities, 6768, 7071 Center for the 4th and 5th Rs (Lickona), 142143, 217 CEP. See Character Education Partnership ceremonies. See celebrations and rituals change agents, influence of, 1112, 4041 character and citizenship education, 122 definitions of character and citizenship, 12, 1517 approaches to (traditional, cognitivedevelopmental, caring communities), 1516 assessment of resources for, 2021, 5759 character education, 48
266
citizenship education, 58, 1617 continuum of, 78, 1617 ethical and values issues in, 1822 goals and benefits of, 3, 25 how to begin (sample framework), 914 research on, 3, 8, 17 See also bullying prevention; character and citizenship education programs; values character and citizenship education programs Caring Communities (Noddings), 4647, 141 Center for the 4th and 5th Rs (Lickona), 142143, 217 Circles of Courage (for at-risk youth), 144 Community of Caring (Kennedy Foundation), 145146 Comprehensive School Health, 147148 Developmental Assets (Search Institute), 149 Effective Behaviour Supports (SACS), 74, 150 Emotional Intelligence (Goleman), 151152 Habits of Mind (Costa), 153 Hope Foundation, 22, 103, 154 Lions-Quest programs, 9, 101, 155156 Moral Intelligence (Borba), 9, 10, 19, 157158 Professional Learning Communities, 137, 159160 resiliency research, 161162 Skillstreaming, 168169 Virtues Project, 19, 170 You Can Do It! (Bernard), 171172 See also character and citizenship education; Safe and Caring Schools (SACS) Character Education Partnership (CEP) assessment of learning resources, 5859
assessment of school initiatives, 2425, 217 Chavez, Cile, 15 Child Development Project Questionnaire, 217 childrens literature, 124126 Circle of Courage, 144 classroom meetings, 225 co-curricular activities. See extracurricular and co-curricular activities Coaching to Change Lives (Bradley), 64 cognitive approaches 11 habits of mind (Bernard), 171172 16 habits of mind (Costa), 153 cognitive organizers. See graphic organizers College of Alberta School Superintendents, 164 community partnerships, 97104 about, 97100 for bullying prevention, 83 Lions-Quest programs, 155156 needs assessments for, 100101 strategies for, 101104 See also extracurricular and cocurricular activities; parent involvement; service learning projects community service. See service learning projects Community of Caring (Kennedy Foundation), 145146 Comprehensive School Health (CSH), 147148 concept poems, 111 conflict resolution, 7, 15, 89 conscience Borba on, 157158 See also values continuum of character and citizenship education, 78, 1617 as instructional strategy, 123 controversy controversy research (template), 243 issue-based inquiry, 131134
267
Index
Index
Controversy as a Teaching Tool, 131 cooperative learning about, 106108 celebrating community, 69 EQ as support for, 151152 core values. See values Costa, Arthur L., habits of mind, 153 courage, 18, 203 See also values critical thinking. See issue-based inquiry cross-age partnerships, 65 See also seniors CSH. See Comprehensive School Health (CSH) culture, school. See school culture curriculum. See character and citizenship education programs; instruction across the subjects; Safe and Caring Schools (SACS) cyber-bullying, 74 D Davidson, Matthew, 24 decision making Community of Caring (Kennedy Foundation), 145146 Habits of Mind (Costa), 153 making a decision (template), 248 P-M-I charts (graphic organizers), 120, 231 parental involvement in, 9293, 95 Developmental Assets (Search Institute), 149 Developmental Studies Center, 31, 217 diagrams, Venn (graphic organizers), 118119, 230 Did I Make A DifferenceEvaluating My Actions (template), 252 discussions, group, 109111 displays. See school culture drama, 54 DuFour, Richard, professional learning communities, 159160 E Earl, Lorna M., 23
268
Effective Behaviour Supports (SACS), 74, 150 emotional intelligence (EI, EQ; Goleman), 151152 emotions continuum of feelings (instructional strategies), 123 feelings journal (instructional strategies), 113 empathy, 18, 157158, 203 See also values English as a Second Language idea builders (graphic organizers), 116117, 229 English language arts character education, 45 concept poems, 111 hope activities, 154 journals and learning logs, 63, 103, 112113 Lions-Quest programs, 155156 literature response, 124126 student outcomes, 52 Epstein, Joyce L., 91, 92, 96 ethical issues. See values evaluation and assessment. See assessment of learning resources; assessment of school culture; assessment of school initiatives Every Child Learns. Every Child Succeeds. (Albertas Commission on Learning) core values list, 18 recommendations, 3 extracurricular and co-curricular activities, 6171 about, 6162 cultural considerations, 7071 examples of, 6270 F fairness, 18, 63, 157158, 203 See also values faith-based schools assessment of school culture, 38 core values in, 3, 5, 10, 18, 19, 22, 55 extracurricular activities in, 7071 parent and community involvement in, 13, 91, 99
prayer, 68, 70 service learning in, 127 See also Catholic education; spiritual education family involvement. See parent involvement feelings. See emotions fine arts, 54 First Nations education. See Aboriginal education food sciences, 102 Francophone education, 54, 6667, 104 French as a second language/French immersion, 54, 6667, 102 See also English language arts friendship and friendliness extracurricular activities for, 69 idea builders for (graphic organizers), 116117, 229 reflective journal on, 63 T-charts (instructional strategies), 118 See also values Fullan, Michael, 22, 160 G global citizenship as element of citizenship, 6 service learning projects, 66, 69, 129 Goldstein, Arnold P., Skillstreaming, 168169 Goleman, Daniel, emotional intelligence, 151152 graphic organizers, 115124, 229233 about, 115116 continuum of feelings, 123 idea builders, 116117, 229 K-W-L + charts, 122, 233 mind maps and webs, 122123 P-M-I decision-making charts, 120, 231 T-charts, 118 thinking grids, 124 Venn diagram, 118119, 230 what I have, what I need, 121, 232 group discussions, 109111 groups for cooperative learning, 107108
Guest Speaker Report (template), 246247 Guide to Education, 1, 18 H habits of mind 11 habits of mind (Bernard), 171172 16 habits of mind (Costa), 153 health and life skills programs bullying prevention in, 8889 comprehensive school health approach, 147148 Lions-Quest programs, 155156 outcomes of choices areas, 53 parent involvement, 94 resources for, 90, 94 Health Canada health programs, 148 resiliency research, 162 heroes in extracurricular activities, 6263, 7071 home learning, 95 honesty, 18, 203 See also values Hood, Paxton, 57 hope community partnerships (Hope Kids), 103 as ethical practice, 22 Hope Tool Kits, 154 Hope Foundation of Alberta, 103, 154 Howard, Robert W., 9, 15 Hubbard, Elbert, 61 Hughes, Andrew S., 17 I I can make a difference journal, 113 idea builder charts (graphic organizers), 116117, 229 industrial arts and community service, 65 initiative as a value, 18, 203 See also values inquiry. See issue-based inquiry instructional strategies, 105134 about, 105
269
Index
Index
assessment of resources for, 2022, 5759 cooperative learning, 106108 direct instruction in social skills, 4344 direct instruction in values, 15, 1920, 157158 group discussion, 109111 issue-based inquiry, 131134, 243252 journals and learning logs, 63, 112113 literature response, 124126 role-playing, 114115 service learning, 127131, 237239 See also graphic organizers; values instruction across the subjects, 4555 about a framework for, 4547 about big ideas, 4651 about learning resources for, 5759 CALM, 53, 147148 CTS, 53 drama, 54 fine arts, 52, 54 food sciences, 102 French as a second language, 54, 6667, 102 industrial arts, 65 mathematics, 52 music, 54, 66 physical education, 52, 64 science and social studies (sample units), 4751 social studies, 45 See also English language arts; health and life skills programs integrity, 18, 203 See also values Involving Families (checklist), 9293 issue-based inquiry about, 5, 131134 action evaluation and planning (templates), 250252 bias assessment (template), 244 controversial topics (template), 243 decision making (template), 248 guest speaker reports (template), 246247
270
K-W-L + charts (graphic organizers), 122, 233 learning logs for, 112113 position paper (template), 249 research record (template), 245 J Jevne, R.F., hope research, 154 journals and learning logs about, 112113 double entry journal, 112 finding hope in, 103 reflective journals, 43, 63, 112 K K-W-L + charts (graphic organizers), 122, 233 Kallick, Bena, habits of mind, 153 Kennedy Foundation, Community of Caring, 145146 key visuals. See graphic organizers Kindergarten to Grade 9 Health and Life Skills Guide to Implementation, 90, 94 kindness banners for (instructional strategies), 64 Borba on, 157158 concept poem (instructional strategies), 111 as core value, 1920 literature response (instructional strategies), 125 mind maps on (instructional strategies), 122123 sharing reflections on (instructional strategies), 111 See also values King, Matthew, 38 Know/Want to Know/Learned charts (graphic organizers), 122, 233 Koch, Sally, 127 Kohlberg, Lawrence, 16 Kohn, Alfie, 20 L Lambert, Linda, 160 language arts. See English language arts;
French as a second language/French immersion language of character assessment of, 199200 in extracurricular activities, 64, 7071 Virtues Project program, 19, 170 leadership skills of change agents, 4041 for school initiatives, 1213 learning communities, professional, 137, 159160 learning logs and journals. See journals and learning logs learning strategies. See instructional strategies Lets Do ItDefining My Actions (template), 251 Lickona, Thomas Center for the 4th and 5th Rs, 142143, 217 on character, 4, 5, 10 Lions-Quest and Lions Clubs, 9, 101, 155156 literature response in bullying prevention, 90 as instructional strategy, 124126 logos, school. See symbols of character and citizenship Lopez, Barry, 124 M MacDonald, Ross, 131 MacInnis, Eric, 131 Malicky, Grace, 164 mathematics, 45, 52 Mather, Vicki, 35 Mazurek, Kas, 164 McGinnis, Ellen, Skillstreaming, 168169 McInnes, Cheryl, Calgary, 145 McTighe, Jay, 46 Mead, Margaret, 97 Mtis education, 54 See also Aboriginal education Miller, J.E., hope research, 154 mind maps and webs (graphic organizers), 122123 mission statements in assessment of school culture, 195
modelling (learning by imitation) in extracurricular activities, 63, 7071 models of excellence, 62 Skillstreaming program for, 168169 moral education Borba on, 157158 Noddings on, 4647, 141 See also character and citizenship education; values music, 54, 66 N national identity, 6 Native education. See Aboriginal education newcomers, welcoming, 6465 Noddings, Nel, caring curriculum, 4647, 141 nursing homes and community partnerships, 103 O optimism, 18, 203 See also values Osborne, Kenneth, 56 P P-M-I decision-making charts (graphic organizers), 120, 231 parent involvement, 9196 in bullying prevention, 7980, 224225 in bullying prevention (tipsheet), 221222 in establishing school initiatives, 13 involving families (checklist), 9293 Lions-Quest programs, 155156 research on, 91 SACS workshops for, 94, 166 strategies and resources for, 9496 See also community partnerships peaceable person, 111 perseverance, 18, 45, 63, 203 See also values photographs in schools. See artifacts (awards, photos, student work) physical education and sports, 52, 64 Piaget, Jean, 16
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Index
Planning to Take Action (template), 250 Plus/Minus/Interesting decisionmaking charts (graphic organizers), 120, 231 poetry writing, 111 police involvement in bullying prevention, 83, 87, 8889 Popov, Dan, Virtues Project, 19, 170 Posey, Julia, 24 Position Paper (template), 249 prayer, 68, 70 See also Catholic education; faithbased schools; spiritual education preschool programs for bullying prevention, 224 principals. See school administrators pro-social skills, 15, 168169 See also social skills instruction problem solving, 39 professional development for teachers about, 135138 assessment of beliefs and practices, 196197 in assessment of initiatives, 2829 Lions-Quest programs, 155156 professional learning communities, 137, 159160 Safe and Caring Schools programs, 165166 teachers role (Lickona), 142143 See also action research Professional Learning Communities (PLC; DuFour), 137 Program Evaluation Models and Practices: A Review of Research and Literature, 217 R Reclaiming Youth at Risk (Circle of Courage), 144 reflection process in journals, 63, 112113 in service learning projects, 130 religious education. See Catholic education; faith-based schools; spiritual education
272
research on bullying, 3637, 75 on caring communities, 91 on changes to school culture, 36 on character and citizenship education, 3, 8, 17, 23 as early step in planning, 2829 on effective behaviour supports, 150 on hope, 154 on professional development, 136 on program evaluation, 217 on resiliency, 161162 See also action research; assessment of school initiatives research by students. See issue-based inquiry resiliency research on, 161162 role of hope in, 154 resources for assessment of school initiatives, 217218 for bullying prevention, 90, 221222, 224226 for educational programs, 5759 for health and life skills, 90, 94 for lists of values, 18 for parent involvement, 96 for physical education, 64 for religious education, 55 for SACS programs, 37, 4244, 47, 166167, 224226 for social skills instruction, 44 for student involvement, 42 See also Web sites respect, 18, 157158, 176, 203 See also Center for the 4th and 5th Rs (Lickona); values responsibility as ethical practice, 2122 in extra-curricular activities, 68 as a value, 18, 22, 176, 203 Venn diagrams (graphic organizers), 119, 230 See also Center for the 4th and 5th Rs (Lickona); values rituals. See celebrations and rituals
role-playing about, 114115 Skillstreaming program for, 168169 Rolheiser, Carol, 106 Roman Catholic schools. See Catholic education Roy, Steven, 103 S SACSC. See Society for Safe and Caring Schools and Communities (SACSC) Safe and Caring Schools (SACS) about, 163167 adaptation of program, 9 assessment survey (K3), 175178 assessment survey (46), 179185 assessment survey (712), 187193 attributes of SACS schools, 3738, 213214 bullying prevention in, 7374 curriculum framework, 4546 effective behaviour supports (EBS), 74, 150 parent involvement, 94, 166 research on, 150 resources for, 37, 4244, 46, 7374, 94, 166167, 224226 role of ATA, 164 role of SACSC, 164165 teacher workshops, 166 See also Society for Safe and Caring Schools and Communities (SACSC) Saphier, Jon, 38, 39 Schaeffer, Esther F., 9, 15 School Act safe and caring environment (s. 28), 164 school administrators assessment of beliefs and practices, 196197 as change agents, 1112, 4041 professional learning communities, 137, 159160 See also action research school and community partnerships. See community partnerships
School as a Caring Community Profile, 217 school climate, 35 school culture, 3544 about, 1112, 3536 assessment of, 3538, 195200 assessment of (sample framework), 914 assessment surveys K12 (SACS), 175193 assessment tools, 195200 attributes of healthy schools, 3739, 213214 collaborative problem solving in, 39 curriculum of caring (Noddings), 4647, 141 leadership for change in, 4041 resources for assessment of, 195200, 217218 student roles in, 4144 See also bullying prevention; extracurricular and cocurricular activities; Safe and Caring Schools (SACS) science and social studies sample units (Gr. 1, 4, 9), 4751 Scott, Lynn, 131 Search Institute, Developmental Assets program, 149 Sears, Alan, 17, 20 Senge, Peter, 160 seniors community partnerships with, 99, 102, 104 service learning projects to support, 70, 129 service learning projects about, 127131 community partnerships for, 102 cross-age partnerships, 65, 70, 129 as extracurricular activities, 65, 66, 7071 hope activities, 154 Lions-Quest programs, 155156 templates for, 237239 Shapiro, Bonnie, 164 Sirotnik, Kenneth, 135
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Index
Skillstreaming (Goldstein and McGinnis), 168169 slogans, school. See symbols of character and citizenship social skills instruction in character and citizenship education, 7 direct instruction in, 4344 Effective Behaviour Supports (SACS), 74, 150 literature response for, 126 resources for, 44 role-playing for, 114 Skillstreaming program for, 168169 social learning interventions, 88 social studies bullying prevention in (Gr. 1012), 225 citizenship education in, 45 and science sample units (Gr. 1, 4, 9), 4751 Society for Safe and Caring Schools and Communities (SACSC) about, 164167 bullying prevention, 7374 instruction across the subjects, 4546 resources for bullying prevention, 224226 See also Safe and Caring Schools (SACS) Solomon, Daniel, 20 Speaker Report (template), 246247 special needs students, 65, 116 spiritual education extracurricular activities, 6768, 7071 Virtues Project, 19, 170 See also Catholic education; faithbased schools sports and physical education, 52, 64 stories and storytellers in assessment of school culture, 199200 in extracurricular activities, 7071 literature response, 124126 strategies for learning. See instructional strategies
student involvement action planning and evaluation (templates), 250252 awards for, 63, 7071, 200 in bullying prevention, 7071, 77, 8081 in extracurricular activities, 63, 69, 7071 resources for, 42 in school culture, 4143 in student leadership groups, 69 in student work displays, 199200 See also service learning projects Supporting a Safe and Caring School: What Students Say, 166 Supporting Safe, Secure and Caring Schools in Alberta, 37, 166 Supporting the Social Dimension: Resource Guide for Teachers, Grades 712, 44, 166 Survey of Behavioral Characteristics of Students, 218 symbols of character and citizenship in assessment of school culture, 200 in extracurricular activities, 7071 T T-charts (graphic organizers), 118 talking circles, 109110 teachers assessment of beliefs and practices, 196197 ethics of responsibility of, 22 role of, 135138 See also action research; professional development for teachers; service learning projects thinking grids (graphic organizers), 124 thinking habits. See habits of mind Thrive! (Lions-Quest Canada), 155156 tolerance Bernards habits of mind, 171172 Borba on, 157158 See also values Toward a Safe and Caring Curriculum, 46, 7374, 94, 165, 226
274
Townsend, David, 2627, 209, 217 traditions in assessment of school culture, 199200 in extracurricular activities, 7071 V Value of the Game (Bradley), 64 values about core values, 1, 5, 1821, 203 in continuum of character and citizenship education, 67 definitions and examples, 18, 63, 176, 203 direct instruction in, 15, 1920, 157158 ethical issues, 2122 in extracurricular activities, 7071 reflective journals on, 63 resources for lists of, 18 in school culture, 36 See also instructional strategies Van Bockern, Steve, Circle of Courage, 144 Venn diagrams (graphic organizers), 118119, 230 violence reduction programs, 15 See also bullying prevention; Safe and Caring Schools (SACS) virtues Borba on, 157158 Virtues Project, 19, 170 See also values visual organizers. See graphic organizers volunteers. See community partnerships; parent involvement W Watson, Marilyn S., 20 Web sites AADAC, 162 action research, 209 Alberta Coalition for Healthy School Communities, 148 ASCD, 59 bullying prevention, 90 Canadian Association of School Health, 148
Center for the 4th and 5th Rs, 143, 217 Character Education Partnership, 217 Community of Caring schools, 146 Developmental Assets (Search Institute), 149 Emotional Intelligence, 151 Habits of Mind (Bernard), 171 Habits of Mind (Costa), 153 Health Canada, 148 Hope Foundation, 154 Lions-Quest programs, 156 moral intelligence (Borba), 158 Professional Learning Communities, 160 Reclaiming Youth (Circles of Courage), 144 Resiliency in Action, 162 Safe and Caring Schools, 150, 167, 226 Skillstreaming program, 168 What Works Clearinghouse, 8 webs and mind maps (graphic organizers), 122123 wellness approach. See Comprehensive School Health (CSH) Westheimer, Joel, 6, 16 What . . . Me Biased? (template), 244 What I Have, What I Need (graphic organizers), 121, 232 What is Controversy? (template), 243 What Works Clearinghouse Web site, 8 Wiggins, Grant, 46 Williams, Mary M., 1, 15 Working Together for Safe and Caring Schools, Grades 712: Resource Manual, 4243, 166 Y You Can Do It! (Bernard), 171172 young adult literature, 124126
Index
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276
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The Heart of the Matter: Character and Citizenship Education in Alberta Schools (2005)
1. This resource contains practical information that school and jurisdiction staff can use for developing and supporting character and citizenship initiatives.
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Alberta Education Cataloguing in Publication Data Alberta. Alberta Education.

Character and Citizenship Education in Alberta Schools

Bibliography Index Feedback

Development and writing team

Alberta Education staff

Additional thanks to: Lorraine Stewart and Wally Diefenthaler

Character and Citizenship Education in Alberta Schools

Why We Need Character and Citizenship Education

Purpose of This Resource

Understanding Character Education

Understanding Citizenship Education

Observance of rights and duties

General intellectual skills

Personally Responsible Citizen Examples

Relationship Between Character and Citizenship Education

The Relationship Between Character and Citizenship Education

Citizenship education Communities

A Sample Framework for Character and Citizenship

2. Strengthening school culture

3. Developing and maintaining leadership

Choosing Approaches for Character and Citizenship Education

Caring communities approach

Continuum of Citizenship Education

Emphasizes honesty, integrity, selfdiscipline, hard work Nurtures compassion

Activist Conception of Citizenship Education

These practices also support development of character.

Using Core Values to Infuse Character and Citizenship Education

Identifying core values

Using core values as a reference

Providing direct instruction in core values

Organizing by grade level

Organizing schoolwide themes

Exploring related behaviours

The Ethics and Implications of Character and Citizenship Education

Assessing Character and Citizenship Education Initiatives

Planning for Assessment

Use evaluation results to improve planning and implementation

Make sense of the information

Share the information

Analyze and evaluate in a continuous way

10. Publish results and conclusions

12. Future action

See Appendix D for more information on action research.

Developing Knowledge of the Issue

Designing a Data Collection Plan

Sources of Research Data

Surveys and questionnaires

Analyzing the Data

Sharing Assessment Findings

See Appendix F for a list of sample evaluation tools and strategies.

Creating a Safe and Caring School Culture

Exploring the Culture of the School

Conducting Assessments of School Culture

Beginning with Indicators

Building a Healthy School Culture

Collaborative Problem Solving

Leading for Change

Take responsibility for student learning

Create a collaborative culture