Human flourishing has long served as a primary objective of education, prompting a contemporary renaissance in the academic debate¹.
Within a flourishing framework, character education performs as a pedagogical renewal of virtue ethics, going beyond the limits of cognitive-developmental theories by positioning moral worth in actions that promote happiness, wellbeing and belongingness². Cultivating these virtues is vital, yet the pathway is not straightforward in terms of student experience³. This matters for character education because students only develop practical wisdom and self-regulation when they are in relationships where they feel known, valued, and safe enough to participate.
From the earliest time in life, we are biologically conditioned for durable psychological connectedness with care givers, initially our parents or carer, then our teachers.
This biological condition promotes an increased sensitivity to social belonging alongside evolving coping mechanisms. We need people who listen and care for us, that ‘just get’ who we are⁴. Throughout our lives we experience both positive and tolerable stresses, which, if not overprotected, help us strengthen our capacity to withstand setbacks. However, sustained intolerable stresses can lead to severe and chronic distress, potentially stunting a young person’s developing neurobiology and character formation.
In a school setting, psychological connectedness translates to belongingness, heightening students’ acute sense of being accepted.
When the need for belonging is not met adequately, it may lead to isolation, rejection, and a lack of reciprocal care. It is vital that students establish caring relationships not only with their peers but also and equally importantly, with their teachers. Throughout young people’s formal education, this developmental trajectory is promoted through sustained relational trust with teachers.
Extensive research evidence (cited below) indicates that teacher-student relationships, positive expectations, and the cultivation of classroom belonging correlate more strongly with academic and character formation than any other structural school factors. In other words, education is transformative in a positive way when belonging, an indispensable prerequisite for all learning, is satisfied.
From a school cultural perspective, fostering caring relationships with teachers is among the most critical factors in driving school engagement and preventing student withdrawal, mitigating not only the personal and social consequences associated with a student leaving their school prematurely, but also the wider impact on school climate and culture⁵.
- Watts, P., & Kristjánsson, K. (2022). Character education. In Handbook of philosophy of education (pp. 172–184). Routledge; Kristjánsson, K. (2019). Flourishing as the aim of education: A neo-Aristotelian view. Routledge.
- Arthur, J., Kristjánsson, K., Harrison, T., Sanderse, W., & Wright, D. (2017). Teaching character and virtue in schools. Routledge.
- Guttesen, K., & Kristjánsson, K. (2024). Character education, poetry, and wonderment: retrospective reflections on implementing a poetry programme in a secondary-school setting in Iceland. Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research, 68(4), 803–823.
- Jones, J. D., Cassidy, J., & Shaver, P. R. (2015). Parents’ Self-Reported Attachment Styles: A Review of Links with Parenting Behaviours, Emotions, and Cognitions. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 19(1), 44–76.
- Dunne, M. L. (2020). The Influence of Mindfulness on Teacher-Student Relationships, Classroom Climate, and School Culture: Secondary Educators’ Perspectives.
