Perceptions of Character Education in a Seventh-Day Adventist School

274 Pages·2016·0.69 MB·English

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FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations University Graduate School
11-9-2012
Perceptions of Character Education in a Seventh-
Day Adventist School
Marva E. Tyrell
Florida International University, [email protected]
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Tyrell, Marva E., "Perceptions of Character Education in a Seventh-Day Adventist School" (2012).FIU Electronic Theses and
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FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY
Miami, Florida

PERCEPTIONS OF CHARACTER EDUCATION IN A SEVENTH-DAY
ADVENTIST SCHOOL

A dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of
the requirements for the degree of
DOCTOR OF EDUCATION
in
CURRICULUM AND INSTRUCTION
by
Marva Elaine Tyrell

2012
To: Dean Delia C. Garcia
College of Education

This dissertation, written by Marva Elaine Tyrell and entitled Perceptions of Character
Education in a Seventh-day Adventist School, having been approved in respect to style
and intellectual content is referred to you for judgment.

We have read this dissertation and recommended that it be approved.

_____________________________________________
Linda Spears Bunton

_____________________________________________
Gail Gregg

_____________________________________________
Thomas Reio

______________________________________________
Erskine Dottin, Major Professor

Date of Defense: November 9, 2012

The dissertation of Marva Elaine Tyrell is approved

______________________________________________
Dean Delia C. Garcia
College of Education

______________________________________________
Dean Lakshmi N. Reddi
University Graduate School

Florida International University, 2012

ii
© Copyright 2012 by Marva Elaine Tyrell

All rights reserved.

iii
DEDICATION

I dedicate this dissertation to God, first, whose invitation to approach Him
boldly assured me of his love, mercy, and grace: then, to my husband whose
persistence, love, and sacrifice encouraged completion of this work.

iv
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I thank the members of my committee for their patience to work with me toward the
completion of this dissertation. I especially appreciate Drs. Spears-Bunton’s and
Gregg’s keen eyes of approval: their agreement to varying stages of the process gave
confirmation of my progress. Dr. Reio’s courage to complement the committee with his
scholarly contribution at a critical point brought relief and certainty when most needed.
Dr. Dottin’s bold, but patient inquiry that motivated further research through the reading
and writing processes ensured that the most recent elements of qualitative research were
applied. Dr. Bliss’s continued availability during the final stages was supportive and
assuring. I extend special appreciation to Dennis A. McDermott and family who
sacrificed time to assist with formatting. The committee’s guidance through the
phenomenological approach to the study sustained my focus and enabled cohesion of
thought. The course work sustained my interest in the research, as well as, in the
possibility of human ability to experience change.

v
ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION
PERCEPTIONS OF CHARACTER EDUCATION IN
A SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTIST SCHOOL
by
Marva Elaine Tyrell
Florida International University, 2012
Miami, Florida
Professor Erskine Dottin, Major Professor
Character education has been viewed by many educators as having significant
historical, academic, and social value. Many stakeholders in education argue for
character development as a curricular experience. While understanding the degree to
which character education is of worth to stakeholders of institutions is important,
understanding students, teachers, and administrators perspectives from their lived
experiences is likewise significant.
The purpose of this phenomenological study was to gain a deeper understanding
of character education within a Biblical framework environment by examining the lived
experiences of students, administrators, and teachers of a Seventh-day Adventist
School. Phenomenology describes individuals’ daily experiences of phenomena, the
manner in which these experiences are structured, and focuses analysis on the
perspectives of the persons having the experience (Moustakas, 1994). ). This inquiry
was undertaken to answer the question: What are the perceptions of students, teachers,
and an administrator toward character education in a Seventh-day Adventist school
setting?
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Ten participants (seven students and three adults) formed the homogeneous
purposive sample, and the major data collection tool was semi-structured interviews
(Patton, 1990; Seidman, 2006). Three 90-minute open-ended interviews were
conducted with each of the participants. Data analysis included a three-phase process of
description, reduction and interpretation.
The findings from this study revealed that participants perceived that their
involvement in the school’s character education program decreased the tendency to
violence, improved their conduct and ethical sensibility, enhanced their ability to
engage in decision-making concerning social relationships and their impact on others,
brought to their attention the emerging global awareness of moral deficiency, and
fostered incremental progress from practice and recognition of vices to their acquisition
of virtues. The findings, therefore, provide a model for teaching character education
from a Seventh-day Adventist perspective. The model is also relevant for non-Seventh
day Adventists who aspire to teach character education as a means to improving social
and moral conditions in schools.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER PAGE
I. INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................... 1
Background to the Problem ....................................................................... 2
Problem Statement ..................................................................................... 5
Purpose of the Study .................................................................................. 6
Research Questions .................................................................................... 6
Theoretical and Conceptual Framework .................................................... 6
Significance of the Study ........................................................................... 7
Definition of Terms.................................................................................... 7
Limitations ............................................................................................... 10
Summary .................................................................................................. 10
Organization of the Dissertation .............................................................. 11

II. REVIEW OF LITERATURE .................................................................. 12
Contexts for Studying Character Education in Public Schooling ............ 12
Research and Theory on Models of Character Education Programs ....... 20
Community of caring. ....................................................................... 20
Learning for life. ............................................................................... 21
Heartwood Multicultural Literature-based Character Education
Curriculum. ....................................................................................... 22
Facing History and Ourselves Theory and Research. ....................... 24
Character Counts. ............................................................................. 25
Approach of Psychology ................................................................... 27
Moral Theory and Philosophy ................................................................. 36
The Seventh-day Adventist Lens of a Biblical Framework of Faith ....... 49
The Learner ....................................................................................... 50
The Teacher ...................................................................................... 52
The Administrator. ............................................................................ 56
Ethical Positions. .............................................................................. 58
Tools of Character Development ............................................................. 60
Instructional Strategies ..................................................................... 60
Theory and Research. ....................................................................... 61
Implications for Character. ............................................................... 62
Memorization. ................................................................................... 63
Personalized System of Instruction. ................................................. 64
Good Conduct Influences Character Building. ................................. 66
Fashion Influences Educating for Character ..................................... 69
Sabbath Celebration Influences Character. ....................................... 73
Faith and Prayer are Allies in Character Development .................... 79
Service Influences Character ............................................................ 84
Summary .................................................................................................. 88

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III. METHODOLOGY .................................................................................. 90
Researcher’s Autobiography and Assumptions ....................................... 92
Data Collection ........................................................................................ 97
Population and Sample ............................................................................ 97
Selection of Participants ................................................................... 98
Number of Participants. .................................................................... 99
Interview Protocol .......................................................................... 101
Interview Administration. ............................................................... 101
Interview Administration of Perceptions of Character Education. . 102
Data Collection Method .................................................................. 103
Research Journal ............................................................................. 105
Confidentiality of Data .......................................................................... 106
Data Interpretation ................................................................................. 106
Thematic Reflection ........................................................................ 107
Coding ............................................................................................. 108
Textural/Structural Descriptions of Experience ............................. 108
Quality Measures ................................................................................... 109
Reliability and Validity ................................................................... 109
Member Checking .......................................................................... 109
Peer Review ........................................................................................... 110
Audit Trail. ..................................................................................... 110
Summary ................................................................................................ 111

IV. DATA ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS .................................................. 112
Data Analysis ......................................................................................... 112
Evidence From Lived-Experiences ........................................................ 113
Students’ Perceptions of Past Experiences of Character Education ...... 113
Present Experiences ........................................................................ 115
Meaning of Lived Experiences ....................................................... 122
Evidence from Lived-Experience ................................................... 127
Teachers’ Perceptions and Lived Experiences of Character Education 128
Past Experiences ............................................................................. 128
Present Experiences ........................................................................ 141
Meaning of Lived-experiences of Character Education ................. 150
An Administrators’ Perceptions of Character Education ....................... 153
Past Experiences ............................................................................. 153
Present Experiences ........................................................................ 158
Meaning of Lived Experiences of Character Education ................. 165
Thematic Findings ................................................................................. 174
Theme 1 - Discipline ...................................................................... 174
Theme 2 - Freedom of Will ............................................................ 178
Theme 3 - Problem-solving Skills .................................................. 183
Theme 4 - Respect of God, Humans, and Nature ........................... 188
Theme 5 - Courage ......................................................................... 195
Theme 6 - Faith and Prayer ............................................................ 201
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