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This article explores the relationships among theory, research, and practice in the early character education movement in America between 1900 and 1940. The perspective held by many educational historians, that the publication of Hartshorne and May's classic Character Education Inquiry in the late 20s initiated the decline of the movement, is reexamined. Using sources from the era, the case is made that pedagogical practice in character education remained relatively constant over time. That is, reports form the nation's schools indicate that they utilized a balanced mix of direct (teacher centered) methods and indirect (student centered) methods throughout the 40 year period. Hartshorne and May's finding in the Character Education Inquiry that character was situationally specific and their conclusion that traditional direct methods of character education were ineffective, appeared to have little impact on practice. Reasons why the CEI apparently had little impact on the practice of character education are suggested, and the implications for current day research into character education are proposed.
At the turn of the twentieth century, character education, an educational movement of con- siderable scope and complexity, was begin- ning to develop in the United States. This movement arose in response to significant changes then taking place in the American economy and society. Increasing urbanization and immigration, the excesses of the early industrial market economy, shifts in traditional moral values, municipal corruption, and the increasing influence of the media contributed to Americans' desire to reestablish traditional values in their children. In this same era, the reach of experimental science was being extended into human affairs with the rise of psychological and educational research. This article explores the relationship between psychological and educational research and the development of theory and practice in the character education movement in the half-century between 1900 and 1950.
At the heart of the nascent educational research movement in the early twentieth century is the Character Education Inquiry (CEI) of Hugh Hartshorne and Mark May (1928-1930). The CEI has been identified as one of the most frequently cited and significant research studies of the twentieth century (Borrstelman, 1974). Undoubtedly, the CEI constituted a giant step in the assessment of character. Even today, this study continues to provide useful instruments for researchers in the field. Much less clear,...