Parents ponder academics vs. character

While most of us claim our children to be of good character, when push comes to shove, more emphasis is placed on academics than character development for the very young, suggests a nationwide survey by the market research firm Synovate for Pausitive Programs.

In response to the question, "With all the focus on academic testing at an early age, do you think society places enough emphasis on character development in our kids, including preschoolers?," 37% of respondents endorsed the need for more emphasis on intellectual pursuits, while 31% contend that there already is too much importance placed on academics at the expense of character development. Twenty-two percent said the balance between the two is satisfactory.

The Pausitive Programs/TOT survey affirms other recent research on parenting issues. According to the Parents Survey on Discipline, 93% of schools say kindergartners today have more emotional and behavioral problems than were seen just five years ago. Moreover, "incidents of rage and anger" in young children have increased over the last three years. A separate Fairfield Research study, commissioned by Child Magazine, revealed that 21% of parents reported having offspring with a discipline problem.

"No one would dispute that both cognitive development and social development are vital to the growth of young children, but, as our survey suggests, we need to find a better balance," indicates Ann R. Brazil of Pausitive Programs. "We don't want to turn out 'braniacs' who lack social skills. Society places enormous academic pressure on children, often at the expense of character development. Sadly, if parents don't have their child on a wait list while the mom is pregnant, they find themselves pressured to prep their young children with interview rehearsals and practice tests for the preschool entrance exam.

"Based on the survey, I'm hopeful that we're seeing the beginning of a backlash against a strictly academic focus in child-rearing," Brazil adds. "A substantial portion of the population does care about developing character in our children, even from the earliest stages. Emotional intelligence has been an undervalued predictor of success in life, when compared to intellectual ability. The values we need our kids to embrace all combine to create a future society of individuals who will be involved in their communities and will value each other. Academic achievement must be layered on a healthy foundation of 'character' fundamentals."

The Social Skills Dilemma

Where you stand on the issue of academics vs. character depends largely on where you sit--and whether children are sitting beside you. Respondents without a child in the household were substantially more likely to favor an emphasis on academics (40% to 29%). Significantly, those with kids were more likely to place character development front-and-center (36% to 31%). Similarly, married respondents narrowly favored character development (35% to 33%). By contrast, unmarried individuals embraced intellectual pursuits ahead of character issues by a wide margin (41% to 27%).

On a gender basis, the Mars/Venus split surfaced with clarity, with men giving a big thumbs up to academics over character development (40% to 28%), while women were divided evenly between the two at 34%.

With a touch of irony, those with postgraduate degrees are the most enthusiastic proponents of character development over academics (45% to 33%). Perhaps not surprisingly, those with a high school education or less took the opposite view, favoring cognitive development decisively (39% to 22%).

Socioeconomic status also comes into play in the debate--in a major way. Those with household incomes of $50,000 or less placed the focus on intellectual pursuits by a 17-point margin, while respondents earning $75,000 or more put the accent on character development.

COPYRIGHT 2004 Society for the Advancement of Education
COPYRIGHT 2004 Gale Group