Going Beyond STEM: Schools Now Teaching Character Learning to Lead Kids Towards a More Successful Life

For many years, schools have focused heavily on educating students based on STEM -- science, technology, engineering and mathematics. New research, however, has found that teaching character, social and emotional skills has equally important benefits to children later in their lives.

The governments of Britain, California, China and Singapore are investing in scientific studies to develop children's character skills, Quartz reported. The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)'s Program for International Assessment has rolled out an extensive character assessment last year.

Character Matters Just As Much

Dave Levin, co-founder of U.S. charter school KIPP, said it's important that children develop character skills like optimism, determination and self-regulation. KIPP schools implement character growth cards, which measure seven qualities and behaviors of children.

These qualities include self-control, gratitude and grit or perseverance - characters that help kids attain their goals and ambition. The United Kingdom's Educational Endowment Foundation is spending £1 million ($1.4 million) on education schemes that develop children's motivation, resilience and perseverance.

Researchers said the importance of character skills on children shouldn't be a debate anymore. The one thing they are focusing on at the moment is how to effectively teach those skills to children.

Collaboration Leads To Long-Term Benefits & Success

OECD Education and Skills Director Andreas Schleicher said majority of employers today put a high regard on collaborative skills at the workplace. Schools, however, don't prioritize teaching effective collaboration among students. Instead, children are being taught to be individualists at an early age.

The New York Times wrote that gratitude and social intelligence teaches children to empathize with others and help them. Curiosity, enthusiasm and open-mindedness, meanwhile, develop children's individual thinking.

Scientists and educators believe that children can learn to establish goals and formulate plans to achieve academic success. Teaching social and emotional skills does not just improve children's academic success; it also teaches them to have better behavior.

Programs that Develop Character Skills

Some areas have already looked towards teaching character development to children. In Shawnee, Kansas, a program called Girls on the Run teaches girls who are in their third to fifth grades to boost confidence, self-esteem and good physical health through running.

According to Shawnee Dispatch, the girls involved in the program can now interact better with their peers and they have stronger abilities when it comes to standing up for themselves. There is also a counterpart of the program for boys. The Let Me Run program involves boys in the fourth and fifth grades.

In the U.K., a character education program based on rugby is found to have improved children's confidence, social skills, leadership and problem-solving. The report that evaluated rugby's benefits can be found on the official website of Demos, Britain's top cross-party think-tank.