by The Jubilee Centre for Character & Virtues and The Oxford Character Project
Character Education in Universities: A Framework for Flourishing sets out the Jubilee Centre's position on the place of character education in universities. The Framework was developed in 2020 in partnership with the Oxford Character Project. The aim of the Framework is to help universities articulate and structure their mission to further the flourishing of their students and the holistic character development that is central to it. The Framework was developed in consultation with senior university administrators and academic specialists in higher education from universities in the UK, USA, Asia and Europe.
In recent years, many universities have expressed their commitment to a holistic, socially engaged vision of higher education. Terms such as ‘fulfilling potential’, ‘flourishing’, ‘thriving’ and ‘wellbeing’, applied both to students and to university communities, feature prominently in policy documents and mission statements. Universities are increasingly talking about developing ‘graduate attributes’ and ‘21st-century skills’ - qualities necessary to navigate the fourth industrial revolution and contribute to a rapidly changing society.
Given the acknowledgment that ‘universities shape lives’ and the fact that many universities already name specific character qualities they are eager to develop in their students under the rubric of ‘graduate outcomes’, the Framework does not seek to introduce an alien concept or radically new agenda. The purpose is to provide a conceptual taxonomy that situates and contextualises the cultivation of character and the objective of student flourishing as central to higher education today.
What some universities lack, and what this Framework seeks to provide, is a philosophically rigorous and practically actionable conceptual framework. The Framework is intended to offer a perspective on character education for universities to consider, and not be treated as a blueprint for teaching character. The Framework is flexible and relevant to higher education institutions seeking to articulate their approach to character development.
