Character Education as a Theme of Progressivist Schooling in Interwar Ontario

Overview & Synopsis

The progressivist education reforms that swept across Canada's Ontario province during the interwar periods of the late 1930s included a focus on character education, social justice, and social reconstruction. This article offers a glimpse at the evolution of school curriculum and values associated with school education, with increasing emphasis on promoting engaged and active citizenship in order to build a democratic and socially just society. It explores the emergence of democratic teaching, the teacher's role as a guide and director, increased student participation in the learning process, the importance of social science for teaching civics, and issues of social justice as a way of experiential training for citizenship. The discussion points to the relevance of character education not only as a part of Ontario's educational scenario over the years, but also as important within education frameworks worldwide. The influence of social needs on which character education (or the dimension of moral building in education) is based is understood as a universal phenomenon.