Human centred: An education to know within an education for character

I want to talk with you today about character and how we might prepare humans to lead a life that is both worthwhile and well-lived with an education for character that is human-centred.

When I was a boy, my dad would often talk about doing hard things. He would say that they would “add character” to me. Whenever I heard him say this, I’d usually feel as though I had enough character already.

"There is something about the role of adversity in how we develop character."

But my dear old dad Brian, who died in 2008, was right. There is something about the role of adversity in how we develop character. People all around the world tell me stories about growing through difficulty. They identify – quite correctly – that adversity brings a unique lens through which we can become better versions of ourselves. It is, of course, drawing too long a bow to say that adversity is the only condition under which character grows. We grow character all the time in all sorts of places – even when things are going well, Dad!

I’ve been learning about character and character education for a long time now. I’ve conducted research on it, written books on it, lectured and spoken about it in schools and universities around the world.

So what have I learned?

There’s nothing new about the idea that character is the core of what we do at school. Many of our earliest sources stretching back thousands of years describe school in this way. And yet I get asked quite often, “What do you mean by character? And what is character education? Isn’t education about knowing things?”

Let me start with knowledge. Many folk today believe that an education is primarily about the transmission of knowledge. And, yes, knowing things is important. Particularly for the game of school whose custom and practice are most commonly indicated by the formal assessment, graduation and matriculation processes that show us what the traditional institution of “school” is all about. After all, if it’s not for assessment, it doesn’t count.

"Knowing more does not mean knowing best; intelligence should not trump integrity."

Knowing things to pass a test that unlocks a pathway to do the next test is a vehicle for social mobility that prioritises the success of the few — those whose natural talents make them most capable or those whose family background makes them the most desirable. Either way, the pursuit, capture and replication of knowledge in a system that privileges the accident of birth is unjust.

Likewise, the perpetuation of a system which sees knowledge as a legitimate end in and of itself is similarly fraught, no matter how much we attempt to dress it up with an assertion of the value of a lifelong learning to which our CIRCLE Global Educational research Program tells us that less than 6% of students around the world ascribe significance.

Assessment of knowledge is important; if we don’t assess, then how will we ever know if we’re making progress? But if we see assessment as the prize, then we run the risk of making success in evidence the purpose of an education, as opposed to its proper role as an indicator and motivator for learning.

Taken out of its context, the acquisition and replication of knowledge becomes at best trivial and at worst a justification for the wielding of power by those who know more (or believe that what they know is more important or valuable than what others know). There is a lot more to the preparation of person who thrives in the world besides just knowing and recalling an answer or set of answers, whatever the question is. We need to know what to do with these answers. Knowing more does not mean knowing best; intelligence should not trump integrity. The tail must not wag the dog.

Science, therefore, (which generates knowledge) must serve the society which generates it and not vice-versa. Science may and sometimes must displease those who sponsor them. It may surprise and delight. It may open up a whole new world of wonder and creation. It may shut down options that prove to be more wishful and harmful than likely and beneficial. Its role, ultimately, is to show us what might be correct. It must do so with the understanding that what it proposed today may (and most probably will) prove to be less correct tomorrow.

"Knowledge by itself is not the answer. It is an important first step towards finding answers that may, in due course, prove to be valuable and worthwhile."

Certainly something that is known to be correct has a value. But this intrinsic value can only be amplified when its extrinsic application demonstrates its power to serve for the better of people and place and planet. Knowledge, therefore, should be used to contribute to this broader social purpose of the service of people that transcends an interest in it for its own sake.

Schools that recognise this order of priorities will be led by people who (as our 2019 book The way: The character of an excellent 21C education shows) understand that learning begins in relationship, occurs everywhere, is sustained by honourable traditions, and pedagogies for which there is clear evidence of impact for the better.

The learning and validation of knowledge will be informed by scientific practice, but science is not learning and learning is not science. Conflating the two as “The science of learning” and then using this to shut down different perspectives on the epistemologies and ontologies of learning (and the craft and practices of teaching that promote effective learning) not only misses the point – it makes a much more sinister point that knowledge is power. It uses an authoritarian mode to assert its dominance which is morally unjustifiable.

So, let’s get back to the point.

So, knowledge by itself is not the answer. It is an important first step mtowards finding answers that may, in due course, prove to be valuable and (most important) worthwhile. But knowledge is not everything in a far more important game than the game of school – the game of life.

Learning is a natural and normal part of what it means to be human in this game of life. As teachers, we need to help learners to learn as well as they can.

There’s an order, a rhythm, a cycle to how we do this best. There is an array of emerging understandings from a wide range of sciences and applied sciences about how we might break these cycles into routines that are at once conducive of the ready comprehension of essential knowledges and (in time) can be foundational for a growing apprehension of how these knowledges might be applied to live well.

"The knowledges we teach must be directed within a process of learning that rehearses learners for their eventual thriving in our world."

Teaching well is one part of this process, particularly when it is framed within an intentionally designed relationship of apprenticeship in which experiences are shaped to help learners acquire the essential knowledges. It needs to be supported by a school whose ecosystem (as our 2022 publication Game Changers: Leading Today’s Learning for Tomorrow’s World explains) is human centred, technologically enriched, people and place and planet conscious, and intentionally purposeful.

It is the notion of human-centredness on which I now wish to direct my attention.

I believe that the knowledges we teach must be directed within a process of learning that rehearses learners for their eventual thriving in our world. This process itself might also help to form a wisdom about the world and how it works, a respect for community and how we might contribute to it by applying these knowledges in processes that bring about a sense of belonging, the fulfilment of potential and the doing of good and right.

As an historian, I’m always inclined to begin any process with a question. So, if knowledge is critical to our growth, progress and success as learners, I propose four initial contexts for the development of knowledge, each of which might be acquired and allied in pursuit of a different situation for this knowledge:

• To know what
• To know how
• To know why
• To know when

Context is an interesting thing. Our situation helps us make meaning of our perspectives in relation to what is around us. This situation is as fixed as we might like, however, and compels us to ask fundamental questions about our progress and accomplishment. Let’s look at knowledge in the context of each of these questions in turn.

To know what gives us an understanding of what is true and what is not. The divination of such truth can be the basis for an assuredness as to how to listen, speak and act with confidence. It grounds us in a theory of how our world works and how we might respond to this. It equips us to build a sense of what is important to us and to others in terms of both approach and impact – cause and effect.

To know what, therefore, is a quest for self-awareness grounded in the question: “Who am I?” Learning well helps you to become stronger in all of the facets of your life and apply these strengths to realising an evolving and increasingly selfless reason for doing what you do. You acquire knowledge, skills, dispositions and habits that are connected with values and beliefs, personal development, and academic development. You foster a sense of “My Purpose” through the curiosity and wisdom needed to meet the expectation to "Know yourself”.

To know how gives us the skills that will help us demonstrate an increasing mastery of those capabilities that in time will give us genuine utility to those around us. Developing such knowledge promotes a growth in adaptive expertise (how we use our skills to respond to the ebb and flow of continuity and change in our lives life) and self-efficacy (how we can organise ourselves with both efficacy and efficiency to meet these challenges). It empowers us to make good decisions about the strengths and limitations of our abilities.

"To know why confronts you with the challenge of selflessness in your leadership by asking and answering the question ‘How can I best serve others?’"

To know how is about how you live in response to the challenge of relationship posed by the question “Where do I fit in?” Living well helps you to understand and respect yourself and others, and the language, customs, honourable traditions, rituals, and values of the people and places from which you have come and to where you are going. You acquire knowledge, skills, dispositions and habits associated with family and friends, home life and finance, and relational development. You come to appreciate “My People” and “My Place” with the compassion and gratitude required to meet the expectation to "Earn your place".

To know why enables the possibility of acquiring reliable dispositions — inclinations and attitudes based on insights about why things happen in the way that they do. This knowledge enables us to analyse, interpret and tell a story of yesterday, today and tomorrow. It may also help us to predict what might be the best ways forward when we wonder about what should come next.

To know why confronts you with the challenge of selflessness in your leadership by asking and answering the question “How can I best serve others?” It begins with examining deeply who you are. It flows into who you want to become. It is demonstrated through deliberate, targeted, and intentional action. You align vision with intention and means. You inspire, influence, direct, and motivate others to willingly come together and achieve a preferred future for all. You acquire knowledge, skills, dispositions and habits of service and volunteering, formal leadership, and leadership development. You locate “My Practice” within the courage and humility needed to meet the expectation to "Go on a journey from me to you to us".

"To know when is the discovery of a vocation that arises from work framed by the question ‘Whose am I?’"

To know when engenders habits on which we might come to depend as we makes choices and go about our daily tasks. Habits free us from incompetence and allow us to move beyond the minutiae of the doing of the components parts to the contemplation of how they all fit together. It is, therefore, more than just a matter of the timing of an act. It is a deep appreciation of the design, position, order and relevance of all things and acts, both great and small, for the sake of those around us.

To know when is the discovery of a vocation that arises from work framed by the question “Whose am I?” Working well is about building around you a supportive network of people for and with whom your sense of belonging, the achievement of potential, and the propensity to that which is good and right in your life – your character – might find a meaningful home. You acquire knowledge, skills, dispositions and habits of planning, social purpose, and career development. You connect “My Purpose”, “My People”, “My Place” and “My Practice” through the conviction and commitment to meet the expectation to "Find your calling".

An appreciation of all of these four fundamental contexts for knowledge are crucial to our thriving. Their guiding questions defy precise, universal and all-encompassing answers. They give us glimpses into what it might take to know ourselves, to earn our place, to go from me to you to us, and to find our calling. They compel us to consider the value of a life of purpose as the thing that will make a difference in our lives. They help us to see that intellect is not nearly as important as integrity. That’s why the greatest power of these four knowledge – to know what, how, why and when – is in how they come together to give rise most powerful and humbling of all knowledge — to know who.

The challenge to know who helps us to see that it is character that matters most. It helps us to move from belonging to transform how we learn, live, lead and work from a state of being to a process of becoming. It helps us to see that knowledge and its application is inherently impermanent and so we too must not allow ourselves to rust in place in the what, how, why and when of what we know. We need to create as much as we need to conserve. Perhaps (for some of us at least) creation is even more urgent and more necessary than conservation in realising a vision of a school for tomorrow.

Everyone will have their own version of the purpose of schools. I have an answer that has been influenced by what I’ve learned from leading a global educational research program and talking with thousands and thousands of students, parents, families, teachers and leaders in school communities since 2012.

"Character is the way we live a life. It’s about the wrestling."

Both ethically and economically our world needs each of our learners to be blessed with a sense of belonging that fosters their voice, one that tells a story that is both authentic to themselves and honours their obligations to others.

We need them to exercise an agency that allows them to test possibility and exercise a wide range of complex capabilities.

We need them to be ready to stand up for an advocacy for the other that marks their journey from selfishness of a child to the selflessness of an adult who has found their calling and is ready to lead a life that’s both worthwhile and well-lived.

The knowledges that are taught to these ends, therefore, transcend the accumulation, recall and acknowledgement of knowledge for its own sake. It must go beyond transactional exchanges of information to transformation – from belonging and being to becoming. Transformation, therefore, need to be at the core of why we ask older people to gather young people to learn from others, learn with others, do it themselves and share with other. It form the purpose of why we do this thing called “school”.

And it is our teachers who support learners to belong, to challenge their present state of being and inspire them to think about who they might become. In and across the competencies of their disciplines, they help learners to see what character is and how we might grow in it. They model, scaffold and coach this character for learners as they take increasing responsibility for how they explore, reflect and articulate their voice, agency and advocacy.

What do I mean by this notion of character?

On the one hand, character is about the product of learning. Our research tells us that families and societies across the world need students to become young people who can function and contribute successfully with:

⁃ The integrity to lead a meaningful life as a good person – this draws on the skill of self management, which is about building your personal organisation, resilience, adaptability, self-awareness, response to feedback and personal responsibility.

⁃ The ability to manage complexity with authenticity as a future builder – this draws principally on the skill of communication, which is about building your influence, understanding of others, relationships, connection with audiences, numeracy, and capacity to listen, speak and write.

⁃ The capacity to grow and transform yourself as a continuous learner and unlearner – the skill of learning through technology is critical to your future in this respect, especially through how you engage in your own learning, develop new capabilities, support of others to learn, and the building of your digital fluency, digital citizenship and management of data

⁃ The wisdom to provide sustainable direction to the world as a solution architect with the skill of problem solving that is shown through evaluation, decision-making, creativity and innovation, reasoning, consultations with stakeholders and the generation of options.

⁃ The perspective to balance the local, the regional, and the global as a responsible citizen with the skill of planning and organising through capacity in initiative, taking action, managing risk, managing resources, implementation and review

⁃ The willingness to work well in inclusive relationship with others to bring success and fulfilment for all of us as a team creator with the skill of teamwork that comprises collaboration, cooperation, respect, ethical conduct, team wellbeing and professional culture.

I think we should be designing every single part of the schooling experience deliberately towards the achievement of graduate outcomes such as these.

Yet, try as they might, our learners can and will do none of these things in their lives completely or separately. Each of them has strengths and weaknesses that are not comprehensive. The way they cope with the vicissitudes of life is never as constant as they would wish. They will surprise themselves on occasion, just as much as they will disappoint themselves. It’s all part of the story of their voice, agency and advocacy. This story of the development of character, therefore, must be ongoing and intentional. It must have a clear understanding of what needs to be done and how to do it, how to connect this to a sense of purpose, then put this into practice.

So, knowledge is important and there are many types of knowledge. Yet, an education can’t simply be about knowing more. It must be human centred. It must be about us becoming better versions of ourselves – of attaining a set of outcomes that show how we are doing this.

And, yet, character is more than just a set of technical educational outcomes and an associated curriculum of knowledge, skills, dispositions and habits, the learning of which might be identified through tracking the quality and consistency of a set of agreed behaviours positioned on a continuum of development through the journey from childhood into adolescence and adulthood (important as this process is).

Character is the way we live a life. It’s about the wrestling. Caught in the uncertainty of becoming while apprehending the possibility of transformation, we wrestle with what is inside us and what is expected of us by others. We wrestle also with the proper object of our voice, agency and advocacy in how we learn, we live, we lead and we work by asking those four fundamental questions I raised earlier:

1. Who am I?
2. Where do I fit in?
3. How can I best serve others?
4. What is my calling?

It is in this wrestling that lies both the formation of our character. This is an ongoing, inside-out process of being, becoming and transformation that can help us to both experience and contribute through a life of purpose. To achieve success in school and beyond in this way, we don’t need to be perfect or even exceptional. We need the right character. We need to be committed to growth and to take responsibility for becoming the best versions of ourselves that we can be.  It all starts with belonging. If we feel as though we belong, we are more likely to fulfil our potential. And if we feel as though we belong and are achieving our potential, we are more likely to do that is good and right in the world.

Character, therefore, is the reason why we do school; it’s the whole work of a school. As our 2016 global study of character found, we need to design an intentional education for character in which we:

• Plan it
• Share it
• Coach it
• Measure it
• Listen for it
• Live it
• Grow it
• Defend it

Across every part of a school and its culture, belonging nurtures being and becoming, and there’s a set of relationships, traditions and pedagogies that will use these to promote the development of the character we need to thrive in the world. Thriving is about how we grow, make progress, achieve and succeed. We need to do these things with a voice, agency and advocacy that is committed to a stewardship of people and place and planet.

This stewardship can help us to tell a story with voices that are both germane to ourselves and that also honour our obligations to others. Voice emerges from our need to locate a sense of belonging and express identity through the civic character of respect, civility and courtesy that generate a sense of belonging. In school, voice begins with giving students the opportunity to communicate their ideas and opinions without fear of injustice or unfair judgment; this equips them to reveal their authentic selves by sharing the experience of their unique story and how they learn, live, lead and work in community. The co-authoring of a shared story in this way has the potential to shape and influence decisions made by learners wth adults around what, how and why they learn, and how their learning is assessed.

We can demonstrate agency that tests what’s possible and allows us to act with an increased sense of purpose. Agency arises from our need to form relationships that provide meaningful encounters that shape our ideas about self, place and the other through the performance character of purpose, persistence and reflection that allows for the fulfilment of potential. In school, agency is nurtured through learning. That is accessible, rigorous and relevant through exchanges with teachers, mentors, experts and peers; this empowers students to act with the intentionality needed to flourish. The increasing permissioning of agency can allow students to step into their experience with greater confidence and to explore what they might know, do, be and learn through the adaptive expertise and self-efficacy required to flourish.

We can exercise stewardship of our community with a selfless advocacy for a better today and tomorrow. Advocacy arises from our need to serve as the voices of human endeavour and the agents of social change, bolstered by the moral character of doing what is good and right through courage, honour and humility. In school, advocacy is nurtured through an openness to enter into democratic dialogue and an empathy to understand the stories of all; this enables students to listen, write and speak as both supporters and challengers who care about crafting just and equitable solutions for their local, regional and global communities. This approach has the potential to help all learners to go beyond themselves to enact a model of leadership that creates both values and value for all through the cultivation of trust and care for people and place and planet.

We need to be educating for the character of a life that is both well-lived and worthwhile – one that is about fellowship, fun, and faith with family and friends in which we learn and apply the what, the how, the why, the when and the who that are most important for us.  In doing this we might even come to understand the final essential knowledge – to know where and how to demonstrate it with a gratitude for the character of place that embraces how difference and similarity wrestle just as as we wrestle with what’s intrinsic and extrinsic to us in the formation of our own character.

“An education that is done to you is very different from one which is done for and with you and (in due course) done by you.”

For it’s in the wrestling that character is formed. It’s in the uncertainty and imperfection and adversity that we are transformed into people of purpose with the voice, agency and advocacy to make a difference. So we in schools need to go further than to know what, how, why, and when — we need all of the knowledges to be the object of what we do. For a great education is more than the transactional exchange of the dot points in curriculum and co-curriculum. It is about our unity of purpose and process as we to seek to know who and where.

Thus, the character of school that itself reflects the character of a life that is both worthwhile and well-lived is about honouring what our Game Changers Podcast series has identified as the new social contract for education: today’s learning for tomorrow’s world. Our own stewardship of this responsibility prepares our students because it helps them to find, practise and demonstrate their voice, agency and advocacy that will help them to thrive in their world is not only future-fit in approach and future-ready in disposition, it is one in which the students themselves play an active role in co-constructing their learning. After all, an education that is done to you is very different from one which is done for and with you and (in due course) done by you. It is the latter that is more likely to prompt a willingness to learn to be embraced by more learners, who, in turn, become more purposeful about what they do.

What each of us can do, teachers, students, leaders and those who care and support them, therefore, with our stewardship of “school” is to keep trying to do the best with what we have at our disposal – our gifts, talents, companions, and the opportunities presented to us to put them to good use in a whole life. You and I won’t be perfect in how we create a school for tomorrow that seeks to know who in this way. We might never get as far as we might want. But by understanding and doing what really matters based on all of the essential knowledges — the know what, know how, know why, know when, know who and know where — we will be making our contribution to the transformation of our students and the lives of all who love, teach, care for and lead them. And they’ll almost certainly end up with the marks they deserve along the way.

And that’s what I mean by character education that’s human-centred.

Let’s go!

Phil