Cultivating Character Development

Abstract

This chapter explores, through the use of vignettes, the socio-ecological impact of educational therapy approaches for promoting character development, collaboration, and positive social interactions. Educational therapy's emphasis on the components of character development, which are "interpersonal, intrapersonal, and intellectual dimensions of character strengths of heart, will, and mind', provides a natural segue to revising teacher preparation courses, parenting programs, and educational policy and curriculum. Cultivating character development, the heart of the educational therapist treatment alliance, also distinguishes educational therapists from tutors. In the twenty-first century, leading psychologists, neuropsychologists, and educators such as Siegel, Tough, Duckworth, and Dweck, report how current research supports teaching character development skills as a means of fostering transformational learning and autonomy. Educational therapists understand that character is shaped beyond the experience of school, by the context or environment of each individual. Character skills are malleable into an individual's twenties when the prefrontal cortex normally reaches full maturation.