Character education — emphasized as vitally important in the writings of Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin and other founders — has arguably fallen by the wayside in the modern era. However, the benefits of focusing on character education, and social and emotional learning, in public school education are profound.
Our online Character Education Development Certificate program is a golden opportunity to enhance your skills in this essential yet often overlooked discipline, giving you the opportunity to take an individual course or work toward earning a certificate with multiple courses.
Offered through the şŁ˝ÇÂŇÂ×’s Division of Professional and Continuing Education in collaboration with the university’s , the program prepares you to apply best practices to plan, deliver and assess character education in the classroom.
To earn the USD professional development certificate in character education, students are required to successfully complete four individual courses, which can be accomplished in as few as two semesters. Learn more about the şŁ˝ÇÂŇÂ×’s Professional and Continuing Education Certificate Benefits and Policies. See course titles and tuition fees in the chart below.
Instructional Strategies in Character Education is a two-unit online course which is part of the Character Education Development Certificate program or can be taken as an individual course
Once you have enrolled in your course, to access the course Welcome Letter, which includes directions on how to access the Online Orientation and your online course.
Character based Classroom Management Strategies & Practices is a two-unit online course which is part of the Character Education Development Certificate program or can be taken as an individual course
Character Education Development Certificate program consists of four online courses designed for K-12 educators and others
Online two-unit course for K-12 educators that want to promote character education development programs or initiatives, providing leadership-driven and collaborative efforts in their community, district, school and classroom.
Our online self-paced courses are similar to online fixed-date courses, but are designed to give you a six-month period from time of enrollment to complete all assignments. Your instructor will provide feedback via written responses on your assignments and exams. Grades are based on completed projects, assignments and exams.
How is the self-paced course structured? Like fixed-date courses, online self-paced courses are asynchronous meaning that you can work on your assignments anytime; the difference being there are no assigned due dates in self-paced courses. The content is divided into learning modules. Each module will cover one or more topics. Within each of the learning modules, you can expect the following components:
The describes it as follows: “Character education teaches the habits of thought and deed that help people live and work together as families, friends, neighbors, communities and nations.”
In practice, the federal agency says: “Character education is a learning process that enables students and adults in a school community to understand, care about and act on core ethical values such as respect, justice, civic virtue and citizenship, and responsibility for self and others. Upon such core values, we form the attitudes and actions that are the hallmark of safe, healthy and informed communities that serve as the foundation of our society.”
Historically, America’s public school’s used to focus on character education and civic virtue,” according to the Department of Education. “The founders of this country, including John and Abigail Adams, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison and Benjamin Franklin, wrote about the importance of character education in maintaining the new republic. Those founders would likely be horrified by the loss of this goal, as they all cite character education as the way to create an educated and virtuous citizenry.”
Character.org, a national organization founded in 1993 to foster character development in U.S. schools and communities, lists the following 11 Principles of Character Education, which it describes as guideposts for schools and educators seeking to implement character education:
The four courses that comprise the şŁ˝ÇÂŇÂ×’s Character Education Development Certificate are:
Enroll in individual courses of your choice or start the certificate program with any course to earn graduate level extension credits. Online self-paced courses are available anytime and allow for six months from enrollment date for completion. Key points about your online learning experience include the following:
Educators who complete the online Character Education Development Certificate program will greatly enhance their ability to:
The şŁ˝ÇÂŇÂ×’s online Character Education Development Certificate program is designed to engage and inspire K-12 teachers and administrators who are interested in learning how to plan and implement character development education in their classroom, school or district.
The benefits of character education in public schools and classrooms are incredibly significant, according to Jessica Lahey, a writer and English teacher who relates her experiences teaching character education and “core virtues” in an . Schools that teach character education, she says, report the following positive outcomes:
Additionally, she notes, “From a practical perspective, it’s simply easier to teach children who can exercise patience, self-control and diligence, even when they would rather be playing outside.” Such teachings, she says, make a huge difference in children’s “emotional, moral and intellectual development.”
Our instructors, most of whom hold advanced degrees, are experienced subject matter experts who engage each student in a stimulating and participative learning environment. Click on individual course listings to learn more about our primary Character Education Development Certificate program instructors.
Employment opportunities in the education field — including adult education — are expected to grow by almost 1 million new jobs by 2030 according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). With so many new and emerging opportunities, adult learning institutions and programs are going to have to compete heavily to attract and retain the most talented educators.
This makes furthering your education and diversifying your teaching skill set all the more important. By growing your expertise in a wide variety of educational concepts, you will broaden your career prospects and become a valuable asset in any learning environment.
Industry Insights
Job growth
Median salary
Career Opportunities
District Level Professional Development ProviderInstructional CoachAcademic DirectorConference SpeakerWorkplace TrainerContinuing Education Instructor Anyone interested in leading other adults through trainings, workshops, or presentations.
Requirements for completing a certificate can be found on the certificate page.
Professional and Continuing Education courses that are transferrable to a USD master degree will be stated on the course or certificate page. If you wish to transfer credit, it is your responsibility to confer with the receiving institution before enrolling, as each individual academic institution decides whether or not to accept USD Professional and Continuing Education credit.
You have five years to complete the certificate.
Click here for complete details regarding our refund, drop and transfer policies
Prospective students can request to be placed on a waitlist. Should a space open up in a course, those on the waitlist will be notified. We encourage you to register early for courses.
The Professional and Continuing Education program nurtures key partnerships on the local, national, and international level. The goal is to better serve working professionals who seek to enhance or build their careers and help achieve their highest value and potential. Contact us today to learn more.
High-quality, career-building courses to choose from
In-depth, innovative, and relevant topics
Career advancing certificates
The education industry is always changing and evolving, perhaps now more than ever. Learn how you can be prepared by downloading our eBook.
Classroom management is an essential skill for both new and experienced teachers. USD’s classroom management certificate is designed to help teachers learn how to make the classroom a place where both you and your students can focus on educational goals in a positive environment.
This fully online certificate program is for K-14 educators looking to transition to teacher leadership roles and for educators currently in leadership roles that want to enhance their leadership skills with strategies and tools to become a better leader in the educational setting.
Learn how to identify and prevent school bullying through the Bullying Prevention Certificate program, offered 100% online through the şŁ˝ÇÂŇÂ×.