Below you’ll find an abstract based on the sixth essay I wrote for my MA in Character Education (2022-25). The abstract was accepted for presentation at the European Character and Virtue Association’s (ECVA) 2024 annual conference in Rome. Alas, due to teaching commitments, I was unable to attend.
However, I later submitted it as one of three abstracts for presentation at the Society for Educational Studies 2024 annual conference in Oxford – and all three were accepted! I managed to get out of school for the day, and this was the abstract that I chose to present. You can find my presentation slides below, too. You can find the other two accepted abstracts here and here.
I should add that the same three abstracts were submitted for presentation at the Jubilee Centre’s 2025 annual conference, and none were accepted – not even shortlisted! You win some, you lose some – the nature of academic submissions. That said, I remain determined to present at the Jubilee Centre’s conference in the near future.
In short, the abstract explores a common dilemma for teachers: some children seem to require rewards to get going, but rewarding them can undermine the motivation of more autonomous children via perceptions of unfairness. “Why are they getting rewarded for showing up on time once, when I am on time every day without reward? That’s not fair.”
I suggest that the dilemma might be resolved – or at least mitigated – by engaging children in conversations about justice, which sometimes requires that people be treated differently according to need.
For more detail, see my essay on this topic.