My thinking regarding my PhD research often changes. I will use this post to chronicle those changes, starting with my most recent thoughts. As of 26th September 2025: The following is an abstract I wrote for my student profile: Character development involves internalising virtues such as honesty, kindness, and bravery; and a virtue is internalised […]
The role of reflection in character development Read More »
The sixth module of my MA in Character Education (2022-25) was about leadership. This was my opportunity to articulate a vision for leading character education at my school. I had already critiqued my school’s approach to character education – especially its rewards policy – in several previous essays. Now, I had to think about what
Character is what we do in the toilets! Read More »
Below you’ll find the sixth essay I wrote for my MA in Character Education (2022-25). I struggled with this one. I had an idea that I wanted to explore – something I’d touched on in a previous assignment. I wanted to investigate the effect that rewards have on onlookers (i.e., non-recipients), an important issue given
Rewards, justice, and dialogue Read More »
For the fourth module of my MA in Character Education (2022-25), I returned to the idea that rewards can be used to lure otherwise unmotivated children into developing intrinsic (or more autonomous) motivation for virtuous behaviours (see Key concepts). In a previous essay, I outlined how this “lure” hypothesis might be tested in a controlled
Testing the lure hypothesis in school Read More »
Below you’ll find the fourth essay I wrote for my MA in Character Education (2022-25). This one was a bit different – it was for a History and Politics module, very much outside my comfort zone! I decided to explore the issue of equity, which is a constant area of focus at my school, serving
How much character development is enough? Read More »
Below you’ll find a draft article based on the second essay I wrote for my MA in Character Education (2022-25). My tutor was impressed with the essay and suggested I try to get it published. After expanding it into an article, I submitted it to the Journal of Character Education. This was my first experience
Can rewards lead to virtue? Read More »
Below is the first essay I wrote for my MA in Character Education (2022-25), in which I revisit some of the themes from my first essay on character education. I also introduce two new ideas: The first is what I call the “villain” test for prospective programmes of character education. Character education should aim to
The “villain” test Read More »
Below is the essay I submitted for the final assignment of my PGCE (2021-22). It didn’t receive a fantastic grade; I strayed too far from the assignment brief, apparently. But for me, personally and professionally, it remains a pivotal piece of work. It brought together my longstanding love of philosophy with a growing passion for
Character education vs extrinsic rewards Read More »
