The Character Conundrum is a practical guide for developing
confidence, independence and resilience in primary and secondary
classrooms. Tackling the hotly-contested question of what role schools
can play in developing 'character', the book untangles the big debates
in this area and outlines how teachers can support their pupils to
develop the skills and mindsets that will help them to thrive
academically.
Based on a combination of ground-level investigations and academic
research, the book offers a simple, evidence-based approach that can be
implemented at every level of school life. The key to this approach is
being deliberate and consistent: knowing which mindsets, skills and
habits you're trying to develop, and planning the details of your
classroom culture, relationships, routines and instruction so that they
align and combine to address your aims. When you do this, the author
contends, seemingly minor changes to your practice can have a major
effect on pupils. The book contains a step-by-step guide to bringing
this approach to life in your classroom, including a framework of pupil
outcomes, a flowchart of teacher actions, classroom case studies and a
wealth of tried-and-tested strategies from primary and secondary schools
across the UK.
A lack of confidence, independence and resilience is a major barrier to
learning for many pupils and dilutes other efforts that schools make to
support them. The Character Conundrum argues that teachers can help
pupils develop these characteristics in any school context and
illustrates how they can do so within and through their day to day
teaching. Written with passion and clarity, it will be essential reading
for primary and secondary teachers, as well as policy makers with an
interest in 'character', grit and resilience, and any education
professionals committed to giving students greater ownership of their
learning and setting them up to succeed.
