Tackling Corruption through Character and Moral Education

By Victor E. Dike

A school concerned with character development will help students develop senses of responsibility for what they think, say, and do. [And] It will help develop their autonomy.

---Steven S. Tigner

Character is how you behave in response to the company you keep, seen and unseen.

---Robert Coles

Introduction

Nigeria is again passing through a difficult moment with the feasts of unending embarrassments in the National Assembly. Although corrupt practices have been a recurring decimal in the nation’s political history, its rate and dimension since the reprise of civil rule in 1999 is approaching beyond acceptable level in the country. The politicians are increasingly thinking that political office is a sure means of getting rich and they are not concerned about the impact of their unethical behaviors on the society. There have been waves of social restructuring and reforming to tame the corruption syndrome but the increasing social malaise calls for a re-examination of our anti-corruption strategy. This paper, thus, focuses on character and moral education of the youths as a new paradigm to tackle corruption in Nigeria.

Brief Overview of the Issues in Discourse

There are multitude of theories on character and moral education, and there are equally many views on the role of education on character and national development. This paper may not address them all; it could be scratching the surface, but would focus on the main issue. Some scholars have noted that schools have appropriate settings for moral education because the main “goal of school is student learning, and the purpose of learning is to promote students’ cognitive development.”¹DeRoche and Williams²echoed similar views: the “two major purposes of schooling are cognitive-academic development and character formation….Cognitive-academic development contributes to enhancing children’s and youth’s knowledge and intellectual skills.” [While] “Character formation helps shape their attitudes and behaviors reflected in such values as honesty, integrity, respect, responsibility, self-discipline, and reliability”  ‘cognitive-academic’ and ‘character development’ prepares students for work, for further education, for lifelong learning and for citizenship.²

The importance of education to the survival of democracy has been noted as democracy needs a certain level of educated citizenry to work well. Emile Durkheim³ has argued that the primary element in fostering morality is the development of a sense of discipline, followed by a willingness to behave in accordance with collective interest, and a sense of autonomy. John Dewey⁴ discusses methods of providing quality public education in a democratic society, stressing growth, experience, and activity as factors that promote a democratic character in students. He noted in Democracy and Education that democracy requires a public that is “educated to understand the social duties and responsibilities of political life”. Thus, the purpose of education is to transmit the culture of a people, to initiate the young into their way of life, and to mould their character for the well-being of their immediate community. Thomas Lickona⁵ addresses concerns for human development and moral reasoning with concrete suggestion for those who work in schools. And according to Aristotle’s concept of character formation⁶a man becomes virtuous by performing virtuous deeds; brave by doing brave deeds.

Most moral theories and standards are “deontological”⁷ or “consequentialist”⁸ or utilitarianism⁹ or hinged on religious doctrine. Religious aspect of morality is given less attention here because there are many religious hypocrites in politics. And religious doctrines are fluid-not ‘distinct and definite.’ In particular, “popular morality could not be sustained by the popular religion.” ¹⁰ But does one require an anticipation of divine punishment to act morally right?

However, “a utilitarian ethical theory is a consequentialist theory” because “the morality of an act depends solely on some relation that it has to the maximization of total or average utility”. And Deontological theories hold that a person (society) acts rightly when the person (society) acts according one’s duties and rights and sense of responsibility. Philosophers and theologians (ethicists) who study ethics understand morality and its implication in every day life.^11’12 It requires ethical behavior and higher level of political morality to inspire others to do the right thing. Thus, to learn and master the virtues and basic social values, such as honesty, good stewardship and care for others students must see good examples in all aspects of school life and be taken seriously.”¹³

Evidence shows that some schools with good character education programs have fewer disciplinary referrals for misbehavior, improved school attendance, fewer student drop-outs, and higher performance scores on standardized achievement tests;¹⁴and they learn good values, their social responsibilities, and their limitations. Carol Lewis¹⁵ has noted that values defines moral character and creates justification for a person’s beliefs, decisions, and actions, including getting involved in corrupt activities. Corruption is very difficult to define, but we know it when we confront it. However, David Nussbaum¹⁶has defined corruption as “the abuse of entrusted power for private gain.” And this has serious negative impact on national development. Corruption is morally wrong because it is incompatible with good ethical values.

Character and Moral Education

Character education, which has been a national movement in many advanced nations, involves teaching children and youth’s basic human values; including honesty, kindness, generosity, courage, freedom, equality, and respect.¹⁷It aims at creating schools that foster ethical, responsible, and caring young people. Some adults need to be exposed to character and moral education for attitudinal change; but it is difficult to change adults, especially those with entrenched bad behavior. For instance, the schools and districts in the United States make serious efforts to instill in their students important core, ethical values such as respect for self and others, integrity, and self-discipline with emphasis on the basic values the society share. In fact, character education is an integral part of every aspect of schooling and learning because it provides long-term solutions to moral, ethical, and academic issues in societies across the globe, particularly in the United States.¹⁸ There is no pretension here that the country does not have its share of social problems; but the people are aware of their civil, political and economic rights and responsibilities.

There is no single laid down rule or method for effective character education, but there are some basic principles, which include promoting ‘core ethical values as the basis of good character and defining “character” comprehensively to include thinking, feeling, and behavior and a teaching with meaningful and challenging academic curriculum that helps students to succeed. And the society must engage families and community members as partners in the character-building effort.¹⁹ For effective character education “effective schools” would reinforce ‘good character traits’ through a systematic approach that includes “adult modeling, curriculum integration, a positive school climate, and access to comprehensive guidance and counseling services.”²⁰ For on the California Department of Education advocates incorporating character education into its standards-based educational system.

Character education is a holistic approach that includes civic education and connects the moral dimension of education with students' lives. However, civic education provides opportunities for active involvement in the democratic processes of the school and community. It teaches principles and values of democracy from which they examine their civil rights and responsibilities and participate in the governance of their local community for the good of the society. Characteristics of socially responsible citizens in a democracy are emphasized both in the classroom-based lessons and community activities in knowledge-conscious and advanced democracies. This allows rule of law and other democratic procedures to work effectively. Consensus is always reached in developing a shared vision of what character traits that should be fostered.²¹

Moral education, like character education, is not a new idea - it is as old as society and education. It addresses ethical dimensions of the individual and society and examines how standards of right and wrong are developed. Thus, moral education teaches core moral values, such as honesty and responsibility, care, etc, and helps to raise morally responsible and self-disciplined citizens. Problem solving, decision making, and conflict resolution are also important parts of developing good moral character.²² Good role modeling in the classrooms and out in the communities is important in moral education because through role playing and discussions students could see how their actions and decisions affect others in the society. Thus, it has been noted that morals are “caught, not taught,” and “classroom life is saturated with moral meaning that shapes students' character and moral development.” ²³

Serious societies since the time of Plato have made moral education a deliberate aim of schooling. They educated for good character as well as intellect, decency as well as literacy, virtue as well as knowledge; and they tried to train citizens who would use their intelligence to benefit others as well as themselves.

That was the case in the early years in Nigeria. But as the society began to worship money and material wealth (with less regard for good character) support for old-fashioned character education in the society crumbled, with morality taking a dangerous nosedive. The schools in Nigeria are today strewn with cases of vandalism and cultism and cheating in school examinations, disrespect for authority and an upsurge in prostitution, drug abuse and other self-destructive behaviors. Most of the youths continue with these anti-social behaviors in their adult lives thereby causing the rampant bribery and corruption and electoral frauds in the society.

In many serious societies character and moral education is introduced into the classroom through the study of heroes and heroines and special teachers are hired for the purpose. Those identified by communities as good role models are often invited by school authorities to visit local schools to address students. And the students would use the opportunity to examine the character traits personified in the speakers and aspire to emulate their good character and life. Sadly, in Nigeria the role models the youths are exposed to are the corruption politicians who are “wealthy” without contributing to the development of the society. Providing Nigeria’s children and youths’ good role models for good character and moral development is the main purpose of this article because those who grew up under a corrupt system tend to be corrupt. People are conditioned by the content of the characters in their immediate communities.

However, historically, three social institutions share the work of moral education: the home, the church, and the school. When these institutions fail to play their role well, forces hostile to good character rush in to fill the void. Through discipline, the teacher’s good example and school curriculum, schools teach children and youths’ the virtues of patriotism, hard work, honesty, altruism, and courage. All these would help individuals to eschew anti-development behaviors, such as bribery and corruption.

Most serious societies emphasize the importance their codes of ethics. For instance, the Founders of the American democracy asserted that moral education is essential for the success of a democratic society, because the people must posses the appropriate character to build a free and just society and the moral foundations to make democracy flower in a land where it had never been cultivated. For that basic attitudes and values of the society are identified and reinforced in its schools and communities.

If the leaders of Nigeria (parents, politicians, and educators) are truly concerned about the bad behavior and low academic achievements of the students’ and the unethical behavior and poor work ethics of adults and their negative impact on national development they should take character and moral education very seriously and properly fund it. A well implemented character, moral, and civic education has the potential of addressing the rampant social discipline problems, cultism and violence and cheating in examinations, and sorting in schools. In particularly, it could tackle the rampant corruption and electoral fraud that is the bane of Nigeria’s democracy and economic development. As Theodore Roosevelt has noted, ‘to educate a person in mind and not in morals is to educate a menace in [a] society.’

Character and Moral Education: Tackling the Root of Corruption

Why are we concerned about the unethical conduct of government officials? Corruption is a serious threat to Nigeria’s economic development and democracy. To ensure effective governance the system is divided into the Legislature, the Executive and the Judiciary. But because of corruption, which is the stock in trade for the unscrupulous political contractors in Nigeria, its powerful Executive branch has often influenced the activities of the other branches through improper use of political patronage and other favors. With the power of corruption many dishonest individuals have become role models for the youths leading to continuous decline in moral standards and rampant corrupt practices in Nigeria’s public life.

Nigeria has witnessed a series of national debates and blizzard of reports of how the corrupt leaders are looting the nation and it has had waves of social reforms to tackle corruption to no avail. The efforts are not working, not because the ideas are flawed -many of them are commendable- but the environment in which the ideas are being practiced the reforms has lost the capacity to nurture good ideas. More importantly, the people implementing the reforms are very corrupt that prevent the reforms from being effective. The missing nurturing ingredient here is the leader’s (and the followers have a share of the blame) lack of “moral mission”²⁴ or “moral purpose”.²⁵ For instance, parents, school administrators, political leaders and public institutions (schools, churches, etc) have failed to understand their ethical and moral responsibilities to the youths and society at large. Many of them cannot differentiate between right and wrong, just and unjust, or what is fair and unfair, because most were not given proper character and moral education during their early schooling years.

Because of corruption everyone in Nigeria is not equal in the eyes of the law. The law treats the powerful and corrupt politicians differently than the poor; thus, the laws are not good guide to good conduct. Changing the laws has not improved the behavior of the corrupt leaders. Because of that Nigeria’s political and social systems have failed to serve the interest of the common people.  And this has forced the few good individuals in the society to discard ideal behaviors for short-cut to riches. The corrupt officials who implement the laws use their “wealth” and position to distort the rule of law and allow their corrupt cronies to escape punishment with the pretense of strengthening the rule of law. Patronage has negative impact on Nigerian politics as it leads to conflict of interest.

Corruption is a human behavior that has negatively affected the minds and hearts of the policymakers and officials implementing the laws and rendered them impotent. In other words, corruption has destroyed the morality of Nigeria’s leaders – those who implement the laws of the land. But human morality tells us that corruption is wrong. The “evils” (social problems) Nigeria is experiencing are flowing lack of character and moral education of the young. The power tussle between the present Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Michael Aondoakaa, who is apparently shielding the corrupt ex-governors from the law and the Chairman of the EFCC, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, who is fighting to prosecute them, is a good case in point.²⁶  How can Nigeria progress with the corrupt leaders wagging the ant-corruption crusade? With the moral crisis surrounding Michael Aondoakaa over the corrupt ex-governors, one would be forced to assume that the present administration has maximum, and not zero-tolerance, for corruption. It is sad that those who looted the nation are free enjoying their “corrupt wealth” while hardworking Nigerians find it difficult to make ends meet.

Therefore, because the previous methods (the efforts of the EFCC and ICPC and institutional reforms -checks and balances- appear to have been rendered ineffective by the corrupt minds this paper thinks that for Nigeria to grow and develop, as it should, the people require “a new mind set, a new skill set, a new tool set” and “a new habit”²⁷to effectively tackle corruption. And this author thinks that character and moral education of the children and youths of Nigeria will tackle the root cause of corruption in the society and not the symptom the nation has long been dealing with.  

Character and moral education should be made compulsory in Nigerian school and it should become law-based. For effective war on corruption in Nigeria the proper strategy should target the young and instill good character and moral in them (as noted earlier we lay less emphasis on religious morality, but concentrates on moral philosophy–ethics). Through good character and moral education the society would help the young develop good judgment, integrity, trustworthiness, and other essential virtues.²⁸ (Lickona 2004). If the young ones are properly educated and if their minds and hearts the youths are disabused of corruption they will grow up knowing what is right and wrong, and knowing their social responsibilities and limitations. The absence of good moral character could the causes of greed, selfishness and corruption. Character matters! Good character and moral education goes beneath the symptoms of corruption to the root causes of the nation’s social ills. Corruption is a moral problem;²⁹it is incompatible with ethical values of good citizens. Nigeria can tackle corruption through managing individual morality and integrity and mold them to be honest and trustworthy. As Fredrick Douglas has rightly noted, “The life of the nation is secure only while the nation is honest, truthful, and virtuous.”

Corruption in government and the incompetence of public officials are dragging Nigeria down and brought her dishonor in the international community. Nigeria has vast arrears of “unpunished wrongs” and is a wild public outcry for vengeance. Mahatma Gandhi listed some deadly sins that corrupt human life, including wealth without work; enjoyment without conscience; knowledge without character; business without morality; science without humanity; religion without sacrifice; and politics without principle.³⁰However, one might add democracy without social justice.

As Victor Dike has noted elsewhere³¹ corrupt leaders cannot wage an effective war against corruption. There is no light in Nigeria’s thick forest of corruption yet because many of those waging the present anti-corruption crusade are themselves corrupt. In 2001, 2002 and 2003, the Transparency International and Corruption Perception Index ranked Nigeria the second most corrupt country out of the nation’s surveyed.³² And Nigeria was ranked148 out of the 180 countries that were surveyed in the 2007. Combined with the 2.2 CPI score (out of 10) some corrupt politicians think that Nigeria has improved on its corruption index.³³Corrupt activities are not in short supply in Nigeria; it has affected all facet of the society. Recently, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu informed the world that corruption and mismanagement gulp about 40 per cent of the nation’s $20 billion annual oil income. The politicians would redirect public funds into their personal accounts and would refuse to resign even if they are indicted; and some of them would blame “the Devil” for being corrupt. But with the shameful corrupt activities flying around all over Nigeria some people say the country has improved in her corruption index. How has Nigeria improved on corruption after the ex-governors and former president had looted the treasury? Any person who thinks that corruption has waned in Nigeria must be corrupt. The latest corruption scandal is that of                                  Patricia Olubunmi who awarded N628 million contract for the renovation and furnishing of her official residence and that of her deputy, Babangida Nguroje in violation of due process³⁴ and the N400 million scandal circling around David Mark in the Senate.³⁵

The present members of the National Assembly need some character and moral education to positively change their behavior. They are not yet to pass any law for good governance and it is now embroiled in contracts and allowances scandals. But as Luther has noted, “a good tree brings forth good fruit by nature, without compulsion.” Most of the members in the national Assembly obey their Master and not the law of the land. But as Solon – the man who revised the laws of ancient city of Athens- has noted, “It is the essence of democracy to obey no master but the law.”³⁶ Is it not crazy to expect the thorns to bear apples?

The indulgence of the National Members in corrupt activities shows that they lack good moral character to effectively fight corruption. Victor Dike³⁷ (and other analysts of public opinion and social trends) has noted that pervasive corruption in Nigeria can be traced to great inequality in distribution of wealth; political office as the primary means of gaining access to wealth; weakness of social and governmental enforcement mechanisms; and absence of a strong sense of national community; obsession with materialism, compulsion for a shortcut to affluence, and approbation of ill-gotten wealth by the general public, among other factors. Thus, because of corruption, the general public has not been benefiting from the nation’s oil wealth. This is causing most of the people to be pessimistic, cynical, angry, and frustrated about the nation’s politics and governance. Again, Nigeria will not progress until her limitations are resolved.

As noted throughout this paper, the problem of corruption has been very difficult to overcome in Nigeria. The menace has ruined the nation’s democracy and retarded her economic development. To sustain true democracy in Nigeria the leaders and followers must assume their social responsibilities as required of democratic citizens and tame corruption. And for businesses to grow and proper, the labor force must possess good work ethics and character traits of honesty, dependability, and the capacity to cooperate with others for the common good. Businesses and corporations must also improve their social responsibilities as would be reflected on the impact of their business activities and practices on their immediate community. Most of these virtues are acquired through good character and civic education. As William Bennett has noted ‘a person who is morally literate will [ceteris paribus] be immeasurably better equipped than a morally illiterate person to reach a reasoned and ethically defensible position on tough [ethical] issues’³⁸and to effectively lead a nation.

Reforms in Education and Lack of Moral Purpose

This paper may not be complete without devoting section on education because educational institutions are entrusted to educate the children and youths of nations. However, like other public institutions in Nigeria Nigeria’s educational institutions that are supposed to mold the character of the society are presently dysfunctional for obvious reasons, including lack of proper funding. Nigeria has witnessed numerous educational reforms, yet the schools have not improved. Part of the problem is that the system is not complete because it is lacking principal programs and intervention personnel -counselors, psychologists, social workers, good recreational facilities, and on-campus, police, etc- that could counter negative behavior by assisting students who are in crisis. And the education reformers and school administrators have failed to realize that.

In advanced nations character and moral education and the support services make a lot of difference in student’s lives. But, as noted earlier, most of the support services are lacking in Nigeria’s school system. As Delattre and Russell³⁸ have noted “The development of good character cannot be separated from the basic purpose of education- to lead persons out of ignorance and helplessness so that they have a chance to lead positive, purposeful, productive lives for themselves.”³⁹

Many of the youths in Nigeria are not living a productive life because they were not properly educated and cared for by the society. The youths in Nigeria, like those in other societies, need good moral and character education to grow on, to be able to differentiate between right and wrong and to become responsible adults. Thus, Nigeria’s education reformers should focus on giving the students the necessary tools to learn and to become better citizens. The nation’s education reform should focus on things that matter–giving the students the necessary tools to become productive citizens.

The moral decay in the nation is widespread and it has affected the schools that are supposed to be a caring and character molding institution. For decades Nigeria’s schools have been conducting character and moral education and ‘the nation’s social morality’ has since taken a nosedive. Today students are threatened by cultism, drug abuse, cheating and lack of good role models. With Nigeria’s tough and corrupt environment providing good role models to the youths will make a lot difference in their lives. The reform efforts in the education sector have not been successful because of .lack of ‘moral mission’ or ‘moral purpose’ of the leadership. They have failed to improve the lives of the students. Because of under funding and lack of specialists in the areas, conducting effective character and moral education in Nigeria’s schools would seem an overwhelming task. It ‘is doable’ if the necessary human and financial resources are provided. No amount of school restructuring and reforming of schools will change the mind and heart of the youths (or make miracles on the society) without providing good character, moral, and civic education to the students to enable them develop good character and good ‘moral compass’(good road map). Again, the absence of moral and character education in Nigeria’s schools is the main reason for the leadership problem facing the nation today.

As William Kilpatrict⁴⁰has noted “the core problem facing our schools is a moral one; all the other problems derive from it. Even academic reform depends on putting character first”.⁴¹The society should put its resources together to ‘foster the moral and character development of their children and youth’⁴⁰instead of listening to the rhetorical reformation trumpets of the corrupt leaders. Some of the political leaders are promoting ways of life that are antithetical to moral and ethical principles; and some of them (and the educators) are lacking in their “obligations and responsibilities”⁴²The sycophants would argue that politicians all over the world are guilty of similar offense; but most of the politicians in Nigeria are corrupt and thus are without cognizant of their social responsibilities. They have lowered the nation’s moral standard “for a mess of pottage.”⁴³ If each Nigerian leader would perceive his/her ‘role of leadership’ as one with ‘moral authority’ to motivate and inspire others to develop good character and reputation of trustworthiness the society can tame corruption. For Berman, Cava, and West⁴⁴ “moral leadership strategies are more effective that regulatory or code base strategies” in tackling corruption.

Corruption will effectively be tackled with a combination of good laws and good character and moral education of the population. A well-designed and implemented character and moral education will improve the behavior of the students and create an environment for effective teaching and learning. And the law will give the program a legal backing. The school is supposed to be a caring institution. If the teachers have the competence to teach and are properly motivated and the students are consistently provided positive guidance (instead of allowing them to behave like untamed animals), they will behave properly and learn and understand their social responsibilities and limitations; this has the potential to reduce corruption and the society will progress. 

Conclusion

This paper has argued that character and moral education of children and the youths is a better strategy to tackle the root causes (psychological and philosophical dimensions) of corruption in Nigeria. Character and moral education will give the young good moral compass, set clear standards of behavior and enable them to acquire ethical values, such as honesty, integrity, respect, responsibility, self-discipline and reliability, because it appears that most of the present political leaders who grew up in the corruption-infested society founded on “a false principle and broken contracts” do not seem to understand their social responsibilities and the impact of their unethical behaviors on the society. Character, moral, and civic education will also provide the young and adults ‘other essential virtues’ to enable them become good citizens and be successful in the rapidly changing and highly competitive global economy. For the anti-corruption crusade to be successful Nigeria needs political leaders with “moral purpose” to make a positive difference in the lives of all citizens and the society should begin to hold the corrupt leaders accountable for their actions. The failure to give them adequate consequences for their unethical behavior encourages corruption in the public and private sector. However, character and moral education alone will not suffice; to effectively tackle corruption the program must be complemented by effective institutional framework.  Nigeria will develop, as it should, only when her self-imposed limitations are resolved.

Notes and References

1. Fred M. Newmann and Gary G. Wehlage; Successful School Restructuring -A Report to the Public and Educator (by the Center on Organization and Restructuring of Schools); University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1995

2. Edward F. DeRoche and Mary M. Williams; Educating Hearts and Minds: A Comprehensive Character Education Framework, Thousand Oaks, California: Corwin Press, Inc. 1998.

3. Emile Durkheim; Moral Education; New York: Free Press 1961

4. John Dewey; Democracy and Education; New York: Macmillan, 1916

5. Thomas Lickona; Educating for Character: How Our Schools can teach Respect and Responsibility. New York: Bantam Books, 1991. (ED 337 451)

6. Aristotle. Nicomachean Ethics. Translated by W.D. Ross; Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1980

7. Immanuel Kant. Critique of Practical Reason and Other Writings in Moral Philosophy (1949)-Lewis White Beck, edited; Chicago: University of Chicago Press; also see Immanuel Kant. Lectures in Ethics-Translated by Louis Infield; New York: Harper & Row

8. Jeremy Bentham and J.S. Mill (1939); The English Philosophers from Bacon to Mill (Edwin A. Burtt, editor); also see Jeremy Bentham (1789)-Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation; In The Works of Jeremy Bentham (edited by John Bowring)

9. John Stuart Mill; Utilitarianism; In Collected Works of John Stuart Mill (ed. J.M. Robson ( London:

Routledge and Toronto, Ontario University of Toronto Press, 1991

10. Lord Acton. Essays on Freedom and Power; New York: Meridian Books, 1957

11. Kant 1963; Ibid.

12.  L.E. Raths, M. Harmin & S.B. Simon: Values and Teaching, 2nd ed., (Columbus, OH: Merrill, 1979); J.P. Thiroux: Ethics, Theory, and Practice, 4th edition, (New York: Macmillan, 1990); and  J. Frankena: Ethics (New York: Prentice-Hall, 1973) 

13. Susan Black; “The Character Conundrum”, American School Board Journal 183 (Dec. 1996): 29-31. (EJ 540 773)

14. Edward Wynne and Kevin Ryan; Reclaiming Our Schools: Teaching Character, Academics, and Discipline. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1997. 

15. Carol W. Lewis; The Ethics Challenge in Public Service: A Problem Solving Guide; San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1991

16. David Nussbaum; ‘Money versus Morality: Is Corruption just a matter of misaligned incentive?’; London School of Economics, October 18, 2006

17. J. L. McBrien and R. S. Brandt; The Language of Learning: A Guide to Education Terms, Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, 1997

18. Public Schools of North Carolina (USA): http://72.14.253.104/custom?q=cache:DiTmTeAOHIUJ:www.ncpublicschools.org/charactereducation/+is+%22Character+Education%22%3F&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=7&gl=us (accessed September 29, 2007)

19. Tom Lickona, Eric Schaps and Catherine Lewis; Eleven Principles of Effective character education; Alexandria, VA: The Character Education Partnership, 1996

20. Character Education Partnership; Character Education: A National Movement Creating Schools That Foster Ethical, Responsible, and Caring Young People (Questions and Answers). Washington, DC: Character Education Partnership, 1999. 

21. Charles C. Haynes “Character Education in the Public Schools.” In Finding Common Grounds: A First Amendment Guide to Religion and Public Education, edited by Charles C. Haynes. Nashville, TN: Freedom Forum First Amendment Center, 1994 (ED 379 743). 

22. Edward B. McClellan. Schools and the Shaping of Character: Moral Education in America. Bloomington, IN: ERIC Clearinghouse for Social Studies/Social Science Education, 1992 (ED 352 310). 

23. Kevin Ryan, “Character Education in the United States;” Journal for a Just and Caring Education 2 (January 1996): 75-84 (EJ 521 443). 

24. Michael Fullan; Change Forces: Probing the Depths of Educational Reform; The Falmer Press, 1993; also see Michael Fullan; Change Forces: The Sequel; Falmer Press, 1999

25. Edward F. DeRoche and Mary M. Williams -Ibid

26. Punch, October 5, 2007, “Aondoakaa: An AGF’s burden of proof”; Punch, October 4, 2007 “Stalled prosecution of ex-governors”; Leadership, September 23, 2007, “ Nigeria: As AGF, EFCC Crisis Deepens, Can Ribadu Arrest Odili?”;  Punch, October 7, 2007: “Rule of law shield for rogues?.”

27. Stephen R. Covey. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Restoring the Character Ethic, Simon & Schuster, 1990

28. 44. Thomas Lickona; Character Matters: How to Help our Children Develop Good Judgment, Integrity, and other Essential Virtues. Touchstone, 2004

29.  R. Wraith and E. Simpkins; Corruption in Developing Countries; London: George Allen and Unwin, 1963, 17; also see Edward Banfield; The Moral Basis of a Backward Society; Chicago: Free Press, 1958

30. Mahatma Gandhi - cited in Bob Zimmerman; The American Challenge: Twenty-one winning Strategies for the21st Century. Tiburon, California: Uxor Press, 2003, p.22

31. Victor E. Dike; Corruption in Nigeria: A New Paradigm for Effective Control. Africa Economic Analysis - see http://www.africaeconomicanalysis.org/articles/gen/corruptiondikehtm.html, 2005 (accessed September 29, 2007)

32. Leadership (September 27, 2007): “ Nigeria: Country Improves Ranking on Corruption Index”

33. Vanguard, October 05, 2007, see Dapo Akinrefon and Charles Kumolu “N628M Contract Scam: Etteh battles for survival”; and Vanguard (October 7, 2007) see Leon Usigbe “I'll fight to the end, Etteh vows.”

34. The Nation (October 4, 2007)  “Mark fends off N400m renovation scandal” ; Nigerian Tribune (October 4, 2007) see Soji-Eze Fagbemi and Taiwo Adisa, “Fresh N400m house renovation scandal hits Senate; It’s a plot to distract Senate – Mark”

35. Lord Acton. Essays on Freedom and Power; New York: Meridian Books, 1957 (pp.58-59).

36. Victor E. Dike; “Corruption in Nigeria: Understanding and Managing the Challenges” In Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG) – Economic Indicators (Special Summit Edition), Vol. 9, No 3, July - September 2003; and  Dike, 2005; African Economic Analysis-Ibid.

37. Victor E. Dike. Democracy and Political Life in Nigeria; New York, Lincoln, and Shanghai: iUniverse, 2006; also see Vanguard (October 11, 2007) John Ikubaje,-“ Nigeria and the global Corruption Perception Index (2)”

38. William J. Bennette; The Book of Virtues, New York: Simon and Schuster, 1993

39. E. Delattre and W. Russell; Schooling, Moral principles, and the formation of character; Journal of Education, 175(2), 42, 1993

40. William Kilpatrict; Why Johnny Can't Tell Right from Wrong: Moral Literacy and the Case for Character Education. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1992

41. F.W. Jarvis; Beyond Ethics; Journal of Education, 175(2), 65-66.

42. Daniel Yankelovich; Three Destructive Trends; Kettering Review (pp.6-15); Dayton, OH: Charles F. Kettering Foundation

 43. Lord Acton. Essays on Freedom and Power; New York: Meridian Books, 1957

44. Evan Berman, Jonathan P. West and Anita Cava; Ethics Management in Municipal Governments and Large Firms: Exploring similarities and differences. Administration and Society; Vol. 26, August 1994: 185-203

Victor E. Dike is the author of Leadership without Moral Purpose: A Study of the Obasanjo Administration, 2003-2007 (forthcoming) and Democracy and Political Life in Nigeria (2^nd edition) New York, Lincoln, and Shanghai: iUniverse, 2006. Available online: www.amazon.com, etc; in Nigeria, please call-Lagos: 803-320-1985; Awka: 808-671-2908 or 805-853-6856

Robot  Villager

# 1 Character and moral education will give the you...Read the full article. Posted by Robot| 14.10.2007 19:56