Building schools of character: a case study investigation of a character education programme's impact on school climate and pupil behaviour

Within an action research framework this investigation used a mixed method case study approach to investigate what impact character education has on school climate and pupil behaviour within a primary school situated in an educational action zone of East Anglia, England. Both quantitative and qualitative data sets suggest that the implementation of a humanistic inspired character education programme can have positive effects on school climate, pupil behaviour and staff morale. In addition, the findings indicate that there is a positive effect on parental confidence in the schools ability to meet the social, emotional and cognitive needs of pupils following the implementation of a character education programme.