Twentieth Century Moral/Character Education

Twentieth century moral education would signify a substantial change in
approaches and attitudes with regard to moral education. The first half of the century was characterized by the familiar remnants of the nineteenth century, however, America’s changing economy would demand more specialized course offerings, thereby lessening the role of moral education (Gutek, 1991; McClellan, 1999). By the middle of the century, moral education was somewhat infused with civics education in the Post-World War II/Cold War era. The 1960s and 1970s completely changed moral education. In the midst of cultural revolution, ethical dilemma, and numerous controversies, moral education took a back seat to individual rights, “personalism,” and relativism (Lickona, 1991; McClellan, 1999). The 1980s and 1990s would witness a revival under the name of character education.

Early Twentieth Century Character Education The early twentieth century brought new challenges to moral education. Due to increasing enrollments and a more industrial society, public school curricula had to be expanded. In addition, the modern society with its emphasis on productivity and the influence of technology allowed Americans more leisure time (McClellan, 1999).

However, many felt that there was an overemphasis on leisure and society was not
passing on “appropriate” values to the youth, especially during the 1920s. Thus, schools took a primary role in children’s character formation (Field & Nickell, 2000). Character education during this time period took the form of codes of conduct. Once city/state school officials developed suitable character traits, they then implemented various programs to pass them on to students (Field & Nickell, 2000). McClellan (1999) writes, “Educators expected moral codes to prompt teachers to attend to the development of character and to provide themes for instruction” (p. 51). In addition to curriculum, moral education took the form of after school clubs and interscholastic athletics (McClellan, 1999). As the 1920s drew to a close a significant research study would alter the course of character education.
The Hartshorne and May Study This major study was aimed at determining the “effects of moral education, both secular and religious, on students’ character-related behavior” between 1924 and 1929 (Mulkey, 1997, p. 35). This study was conducted by Hugh Hartshorne and Mark May with funds from the Institute of Social and Religious Research (Leming, 1997). Leming (1997) writes, “The sample, drawn from private and public schools situated in eastern metropolitan areas of the United States, consisted of 10,850 students in grades five through eight. Hartshorne and May attempted to use representative samples combining various levels of socioeconomic status (SES), ethnic groups, types of communities, and intelligence levels” (p. 33). The study basically concluded, “character education programs, religious instruction, and moral training had no effect on the moral conduct of the students as measured in this study” (Mulkey, 1997, p. 35). However, Leming (1997)notes the following:
May and Hartshorne themselves suggested that current practice simply needed to
be improved somewhat by focusing less on direct methods of instruction such as
lecture and exhortation and more on indirect methods of instruction such as the
creation of a positive school climate and service-oriented activities for students.
They did not seem to feel that the enterprise of character education should be
abandoned. (p. 35)Though many critics used the results to slow character education efforts, character education remained strong throughout the 1930s (McClellan, 1999; Leming 1997). The direction of character education would change as American dealt with World War II and the Cold War.