False Dichotomy: Peace Education And Character Education- Transcending The Duality Of The Moral Education Wars

Abstract

This thesis examines recent calls for moral education programs in the United States to address societal violence. Character education and peace education are two approaches that have been employed towards this end, and mandated in some districts and states, including the state of Hawai'i. The paper provides an analysis of the historical evolution of content and pedagogy of Character and Peace Education programs. Specifically, it looks at six programs and analyzes them using Frankena's (1965) schema to determine normative educational philosophies through the examination of the dispositions advocated, and suggested methodologies. It is the hoped that this thesis will assist educators and administrators who are seeking to determine which types and elements of character and/or peace education curriculum would best serve their needs, as well as to discern what the objectives, implications and indicators of such a program would be. Although many proponents of character or peace education programs have been critical towards the other, this treatise compares and contrasts a variety of character and peace education programs finding similarities and differences among them.