How We Teach Character in College: A Retrospective on Some Recent Higher Education Initiatives That Promote Moral and Civic Learning

Jon Dalton, Florida State University
Pamela C. Crosby, Florida State University

Abstract

In the past two decades, colleges and institutions have devoted energies and resources to a wide range of educational programs and initiatives. Although often not labeled as “character” development programs, these initiatives are designed to guide the personal moral values and behaviors of college students relating to pressing contemporary ethical issues and problems. The authors examine some of these ethical development efforts, reasons for their importance to colleges and universities, and ways they have helped to shape the moral atmosphere of college life and the character of their students today.