Character Education Interview Assignment Instructions

You will select either a teacher or a parent to interview about his/her school experiences regarding character education. Note: you may not interview yourself. You must explain the requirements of your assignment and ask permission to take notes as you will then record the participant’s answers. Any direct quote that you include must have quotation marks around the words and be cited correctly as a personal interview response. You are responsible for locating this person. The School of Education Field Office will not assist you in locating a parent or teacher. In addition, school districts are not responsible for assisting you in locating a parent or teach to complete this assignment.

List each question and then give the response underneath the question in a double-spaced typed format. Responses must be rich and detailed. It is appropriate to use first-person language throughout all 4 parts of this assignment.

Part 1: Demographics

1) First and Last Name of person you are interviewing:

2) The person’s role:

3) Age level of children/students:

4) Date of the Interview: MM/DD/YYYY

Part 2: Questionnaire Interview for Parent of a Child(ren)

1) As a parent, what goals do you have for your child?

2) Do you, or have you, given any thought to the moral development of your child?

3) What values do you try to teach?

4) What family traditions do you try to maintain, and what is the importance of these traditions to you?

5) When do you have discussions about values?

6) What are your concerns or worries about your child’s moral development?

7) How do you feel about our society, media, and moral development?

8) How do you feel about character education programs in schools?

9) What words of advice would you give teachers for teaching character education or integrating character in the classroom/curriculum?

Part 2: Questionnaire Interview for Teacher 

1) Tell me about character education in your classroom/school/district.

2) In your opinion, is character education a new initiative of schools?

3) Do you believe character education should be left up to the family or church?

4) What has been the reaction of parents and community members to character education programs?

5) Please tell me a little bit about any resistance you have found to character education.

6) Which types of programs or activities do you believe are most successful in promoting a sustained character education program?

7) Which type of activities or programs do you feel are least successful?

8) Are there any noticeable changes in student behavior or morale since you have started integrating character education?

9) What words of wisdom, advice, or caution do you have regarding character education or integrating character into your classroom/curriculum?

Part 3: Integrating Character Education in your Classroom: Summary of Research-Based Strategies

On the basis of the information collected in the interview and the information you have obtained from your research and readings, write 2–3 solid paragraphs describing how you can integrate character and cultivate social, emotional, and moral development in your students. List key character qualities that you will seek to integrate within the classroom. Include citations from at least 1 scholarly journal article and at least 1 of your course textbooks. Cite information from your personal interview of either the teacher or the parent. Include instructional methods, teaching strategies, effective lessons, and various aspects of your classroom environment that will contribute to cultivating good character into your students.

Section three should be at least 500 words. Use your textbook and at least 1 scholarly journal article outside of your textbook to answer Part 3 and cite your references on a separate reference page using current APA format. 

Part 4: Conclusion – Reflection and Discussion

Give a well-constructed conclusion in which you clearly reflect on this assignment and present a summary that conveys the significance of the knowledge gained from this interview, as well as your summary. This reflection must clearly tie your interview and summary of instructional strategies together in a clear, concise conclusion. Your conclusion must be at least 500 words.

This assignment must follow current APA guidelines and will include a title page and reference page. However, it is appropriate to use first-person language throughout all 4 parts of this assignment.

Submit this assignment by 11:59 p.m. (ET) on Sunday of Module/Week 4.

A Special Note Regarding Citations in APA for this Assignment:

A personal interview is considered personal communication. In your APA Manual (6th ed.) you will see 6.20 Personal Communication. (p. 179). You will need to cite information regarding your interview in this way:

J. Doe (personal communication, June 19, 2017) or (J. Doe, personal communication, June 19, 2017) depending on how you construct your sentences. Note: you will be using these citations continually as you write your responses for Part 2, and you may need to use these citations if you refer to the interview during Parts 3 or 4 of your paper.

For example, if you are interviewing Jane Doe regarding the character education programs used in her classroom/school/district, and Jane Doe stated, “I use Character Counts in my classroom. I find that my students really enjoy discussing character traits in their literature stories.” 

In section 2 you could write, 

J. Doe (personal communication, June 19, 2017) stated, “I use Character Counts in my classroom. I find that my student really enjoys discussing character traits in the literature stories.”

Or 

“I use Character Counts in my classroom. I find that my students really enjoy discussing character traits in the literature stories” (J. Doe, personal communication, June 19, 2017). 

Or

In section 3 you could write in the text of your paper,

Some educators have found that when they use reading stories with character themes, that students enjoy identifying and discussing the character qualities of the characters (J. Doe, personal communication, June 19, 2017). 

Key Reminders:

· In Section 2 you will be citing information for each question using the format for personal communication listed above. 

· In Sections 3–4 you may cite information from your interview just a few or many times. It depends on how much you wish to use that information in Sections 3–4. 

· In Section 3, cite information from at least 1 of your textbooks, 1 scholarly journal article (not a website), and your interview.

In Section 4, it is up to you if you want to use citations