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European Journal of Education Studies ISSN: 2501 - 1111 ISSN-L: 2501 - 1111 Available on-line at: www.oapub.org/edu doi: 10.5281/zenodo.1119107 Volume 3 │ Issue 12 │ 2017 EDUCATION REFORMS TOWARDS 21ST CENTURY SKILLS: INTEGRATING CHARACTER EDUCATION IN TEACHER EDUCATION CURRICULUM Harriet Wambui Njuii Riara University, Nairobi, Kenya Abstract: This paper reviews literature on character education with a view to making recommendations on how learning institutions in Kenya could integrate character education in the curriculum in order to equip learners with skills needed for success in life and workplace. Character education is a component of learning which forms part of the four integral dimensions of a complete and balanced education namely knowledge, skills, character, and metacognition. Integrating character education in the curriculum is crucial because the goal of education is to produce confident, compassionate and ethical citizens who are well engaged in the development of their society. Teachers are expected to adequately prepare learners to face the challenges of the 21st century by instilling them with personal development and the ability to fulfill social and community responsibilities as global citizens. Teachers’ success in this expectation is pegged on the quality of their pre-service training. Thus, if teachers are to effectively impart learners with character, teacher training institutions should make character education an integral and compulsory component of pre-service teacher training. Examples of character qualities are mindfulness, curiosity, courage, resilience, ethics, leadership, equity, equality and inclusion. It is hoped that this review will shed light on the need to integrate character education at all levels of learning to enable learners acquire holistic quality education that is capable of transforming them into empowered ethical citizens who are capable of contributing to the development of the society at both local and global arenas. The paper will be followed by an empirical research in teacher training institutions in Kenya to determine whether the institutions have incorporated character education in their curricula. Copyright © The Author(s). All Rights Reserved. © 2015 – 2017 Open Access Publishing Group 234 Harriet Wambui Njui EDUCATION REFORMS TOWARDS 21ST CENTURY SKILLS: INTEGRATING CHARACTER EDUCATION IN TEACHER EDUCATION CURRICULUM Keywords: character education, citizenship, transformative education, values, inclusive learning 1. Introduction Character education is the acquisition and strengthening of virtues, values, and the capacity to make wise choices for a well-rounded life and a thriving society (Berkowitz). Character education supports the social, emotional and ethical development of learners by instilling in them important core, ethical and performance values such as caring, honesty, diligence, fairness, fortitude, responsibility, and respect for self and others. It also provides long-term solutions to moral, ethical, and academic issues of concern in society and schools and teaches learners how to be their best selves and how to do their best work (Character Education Partnership). It is imperative that schools develop supportive environments for learners’ holistic development because children spend most of their time in school. However, it is interesting to note that most public schools in Kenya do not have an environment that supports learners’ development as most have overstretched their facilities due to huge classes with limited facilities. Character education is also referred to as moral education, values education, values in education, values education, character development or developmental education. Each term aligns with different theoretical perspectives. Berkowitz asserts that character education is aligned with more conservative, traditional, and behavioral approaches while moral education is aligned with more liberal, constructivist, and cognitive approaches. On the other hand, values education is aligned with theoretical, attitudinal, empirical approaches. Given the conflicts between the different approaches, Berkowitz suggests a dialectical approach to character education, noting that the approach could enhance collaboration and networking to establish the character qualities relevant in today’s dynamic world. Nurturing learners with relevant character qualities is crucial because it empowers with skills that enable them to cope with the complex societal challenges of the 21st century world and to also compete for jobs at international level. Andrew Churches (2015) observes that character education is an integral component of the 21st century skills and also notes that the 21st century skills such as critical thinking, problem solving, communication, and collaboration are founded on UNESCO’s four pillars of learning Learning to know, Learning to do, Learning to be and Learning to live together) which represent a holistic view of an education that addresses the whole person-the mind, the body and soul/character. Learning to know emphasizes the development of the faculties of memory, imagination, reasoning, European Journal of Education Studies - Volume 3 │ Issue 12 │ 2017 235 Harriet Wambui Njui EDUCATION REFORMS TOWARDS 21ST CENTURY SKILLS: INTEGRATING CHARACTER EDUCATION IN TEACHER EDUCATION CURRICULUM problem-solving, and the ability to think in a coherent and critical way while learning to do entails nurturing learners with skills such as ability to communicate effectively with others, team work, interpersonal relations, adaptability to change, competency in transforming knowledge into innovations and job-creation, and a readiness to take risks and resolve or manage conflicts. Developing learners with these skills enables them to effectively participate in the global economy and society. On the other hand, learning to be entails providing learners with self-analytical and social skills to enable them develop an all-round complete person physically, psychologically, socially and emotionally. This broad development of learners demands that a curriculum should cultivate qualities of imagination and creativity; acquire universally shared human values; develop aspects of a person’s potential memory, reasoning, aesthetic sense, physical capacity and communication skills); develop critical thinking and exercise independent judgment; and develop personal commitment and responsibility. These qualities prepare learners to confidently face the world of life and work and contribute to the welfare of the society. Learning to live together requires teachers to expose learners to values that enable people and societies to live in peace and harmony including human rights, democratic principles, intercultural understanding and respect, peace and human relationships. In addition, education is expected to develop learners with knowledge and understanding of self and others; appreciation of the unity and diversity of the human race and the interdependence of all humans; empathy and cooperative social behavior; respect of other people and their cultures and value systems; conflict resolution through dialogue; and competency in working towards common objectives. It is critical that learners are nurtured with these values from the early (formative) years of education to enhance their character formation as they go through the education process. This is important because employers today are not only concerned about academic certificates as they recruit people for employment; character attributes such as integrity, confidence and teamwork are key considerations. Character is also a crucial factor in maintaining one’s job in today’s world where competition for jobs is very stiff. Despite its significant role as a component of education, character education has not been given serious consideration in Kenya despite the fact that policy documents and national goals of education have stipulated the national values to guide education since independence. This situation seems to confirm Pinar’s 1975 assertion that the curriculum in theory is not the curriculum in practice. Wamahiu (2015) maintains that the high premium given to examination and certification has led to neglect of values and ethics in schools noting that the numerous challenges Kenya has continued to grapple with (including corruption with impunity; greed and theft of public money; European Journal of Education Studies - Volume 3 │ Issue 12 │ 2017 236 Harriet Wambui Njui EDUCATION REFORMS TOWARDS 21ST CENTURY SKILLS: INTEGRATING CHARACTER EDUCATION IN TEACHER EDUCATION CURRICULUM examination cheating; negative ethnicity and lack of patriotism; cultures of violence, abuse and impunity in learning institutions; criminality and terrorism in the wider society) are attributable to erosion of values. She however observes that the challenges are not limited to learning institutions as virtually all sectors of the society are suffering from corruption, negative ethnicity and nepotism which could be associated with neglect of the values in both learning institutions and the society in general. She therefore recommends that the teaching and learning of values should be reflected in the ethos of the school and taught seamlessly, employing a whole school approach. In his contribution to the discussion, Berkowitz (2013) argues that if schools are to effectively inculcate character, they must make a choice to teach it, make it a top priority and ensure that it is at the core of the school’s mission. However, success in these efforts requires that policies and laws on integration of values in the curriculum are enforced so that character education becomes an integral component of education. Contributing to the discussion, Kafu (2011) with specific reference to teacher education asserts that ethics in teaching have never been formally designed and taught to teacher-trainees since the colonial period, noting they are mentioned casually in passing as aspects of principles and practices of teaching. Consequently, teachers do not understand the teaching profession itself and its demands. They also do not understand themselves and their role in the profession, other than instructional responsibilities. This assertion may explain why teachers involve themselves in activities that are antagonistic to the expectations of the profession and the society. For instance, teachers have been caught in misbehaviour with regard to relationships with students of the opposite sex where sexual abuse reports continue to be brought to the limelight by the media. While sexual abuse has been noted to affect all levels of learning, primary schools seem to experience the worst as male teachers defile the children they are expected to protect. This has raised concerns on teacher ethics, responsibility and trust over children under their care. Further, teachers’ deliberate timing of strikes to coincide with national examinations has been interpreted by education stakeholders and the general community as irresponsible punishment to innocent children at a time they need them most. Other areas that continue to raise questions about teachers’ ethics include unbecoming behaviour in the streets including actions that depict hooliganism, use of vulgar language and interference with private school operations as they threaten teachers to stop teaching and join the strike. These and other issues have raised concern on the need for teacher education programme to incorporate ethics education in order to inculcate teacher trainees with values such as citizenship, respect and responsibility with a view to transforming them into empowered ethical citizens who are have a European Journal of Education Studies - Volume 3 │ Issue 12 │ 2017 237 Harriet Wambui Njui EDUCATION REFORMS TOWARDS 21ST CENTURY SKILLS: INTEGRATING CHARACTER EDUCATION IN TEACHER EDUCATION CURRICULUM positive impact on the development of the society. Equipping teacher trainees with the skills and pedagogy for character education through pre-service training is critical if they are to effectively prepare them to offer holistic quality education that empowers learners to contribute to holistic development of the society. Notably, in Kenya, character education has been a standalone in schools for decades. For instance, primary schools teach character education through pastoral programmes once a week (Ministry of Education Science and Technology, Primary Education Syllabus, 2002). The programme is solely managed and taught by priests or representatives of the different religious groups represented in a school (mainly Islam and Christianity) who focus on moral education from the perspective of their specific religion. However, not all students have an opportunity to attend to the programme as most schools use the time allotted to the pastoral programmes to teach learners in advanced classes (7&8) in order to cover the syllabus in readiness for national examinations. Character education is not also integrated in the secondary school curriculum although some schools display their core values on strategic positions (including noticeboards and posters) and make time to talk about them during school assemblies mainly as a warning when learners are observed to slacken in discipline matters. A few students who opt to do Religious Education (Islamic or Christian Education) as an elective in Kenya Certificate of Secondary School Education (KCSE) also manage to learn ethics and values based on a religious perspective. This implies that other issues covered by character education are not taught. In addition, little if any character development is achieved as the teaching focuses on preparing learners for national examination. It is also worth noting that a compulsory course on Social Ethics which was offered in the KCSE Syllabus was contested by the Catholic Church which argued strongly that the teaching of ethics should be integrated with religious education to ensure a holistic approach to the subject. This led to the removal of Social Ethics from the current Kenya Certificate of Secondary School syllabus (2002). However, although Life skills Education programme was introduced in the syllabus to replace Social Ethics, teachers hardly teach it, they rather use the time to teach examinable subjects to ensure that they adequately prepare students to excel in national examinations (Wamahiu, 2015). This omission of the character component in the curriculum entails that learning institutions continue to churn out graduates with academic qualifications but lacking in character. It is no wonder the debate on lack of employability skills among university graduates is still resurgent. In support of character education, P21 (2013) maintains that if graduates are to contribute responsibly at local, regional and national levels as European Journal of Education Studies - Volume 3 │ Issue 12 │ 2017 238 Harriet Wambui Njui EDUCATION REFORMS TOWARDS 21ST CENTURY SKILLS: INTEGRATING CHARACTER EDUCATION IN TEACHER EDUCATION CURRICULUM informed voters and citizen advocates, schools must nurture them with citizenship skills to enable them tackle varied global challenges including economics, socio-cultural environmental and health issues. This requires that curricula are diversified to include the range of competences needed to address the emerging global challenges, enhance interdisciplinary approach to teaching and integrate character education. Notably, although Kenya’s Basic Education curriculum reforms have integrated character education (Basic Curriculum Reforms Framework, 2017), teachers have not been trained on character education even as its implementation is on course from January, 2018. Effective implementation of the reforms demands that in-service teachers are adequately empowered with the skills and pedagogy needed through in-service training. It also requires teacher training institutions to incorporate character education in their curricula so that they can churn out teachers who will be effective in developing learners with character. For viewing / downloading the full article, please access the following link: https://oapub.org/edu/index.php/ejes/article/view/1296 European Journal of Education Studies - Volume 3 │ Issue 12 │ 2017 239