The Formation of Character in Education : From Aristotle to the 21st Century

The Formation of Character: From Aristotle to the 21^st^ Century offers an introduction to the foundations, practices, policies and issues of character formation historically. Following a chronological order, it charts the idea of character formation in the Western tradition by critically examining its precursors, origins, development, meanings and uses**.** The book is based on the premise that current conditions and debates around character formation cannot be fully understood without knowledge of the historical background. It introduces many of the debates character formation has generated in order to offer different perspectives and possibilities and uses Aristotle as a lens to gain a better understanding of some of these positions, particularly the theoretical goals of character formation. Chapters explore character education from the classical period through the medieval, early modern, enlightenment and Victorian eras to 20^th^ century influences, ending with a discussion of contemporary policies and themes relating to character education. This book will appeal to academics, researchers, and post-graduate students in the fields of character and virtue education as well as the history of education. This volume offers an introduction to the foundations, practices, policies, and issues of character formation historically. Following a chronological order, it charts the idea of character formation in the Western tradition by critically examining its precursors, origins, development, meanings, and uses. The book is based on the premise that current conditions and debates around character formation cannot be fully understood without knowledge of the historical background. It introduces many of the debates character formation has generated in order to offer different perspectives and possibilities and uses Aristotle as a lens to gain a better understanding of some of these positions, particularly the theoretical goals of character formation Cover Half Title Title Copyright Dedication Contents Acknowledgements Introduction 1 Definitions and models of character Section I Foundations 2 Classical foundations 3 Early medieval foundations 4 Early modern foundations 5 Scottish enlightenment foundations Section II Practices 6 The English public school and character formation 7 Victorian character formation 8 20th-century influences on character formation Section III Policies and issues 9 Contemporary policies and themes 10 Conclusion References Further Reading (History and Philosophy) Appendices Index