Education
Institute of HeartMath Education Applications

Education Applications: Resilience

Character Education

About Character Education

Character education for children has long been important in many cultures, including for Americans during much of the nation’s history. Although it has yet to become officially defined and required in our public education system, there is a national movement today encouraging schools to create environments that foster ethical, responsible and caring young people. The Character Education Partnership, a national advocate and leader for the movement, defines character education this way:


"Effective good character education is comprehensive; it is integrated into all aspects of classroom life, including academic subjects and infused throughout the school day in all areas of the school (playing field, cafeteria, hallways, school buses, etc.). It provides long-term solutions that address moral, ethical, and academic issues that are of growing concern about our society and the safety of our schools."


Dr. Thomas Lickona, in his book Educating for Character, describes character education as "the deliberate effort to help people understand, care about, and act upon core ethical values."

An article on the website, goodcharacter.com has this message for educators and support staff: "Let’s get one thing perfectly clear – you are a character educator. Whether you are a teacher, administrator, custodian, or school bus driver, you are helping to shape the character of the kids you come in contact with. It’s in the way you talk, the behaviors you model, the conduct you tolerate, the deeds you encourage, the expectations you transmit. Yes, for better or for worse, you already are doing character education. The real question is what kind?"

Facts at a Glance:

Character Education covers a wide range of topics. Key among them are:

  • Cooperation
  • Caring
  • Responsibility
  • Dealing with feelings
  • Respect
  • Doing the right thing
  • Dealing with disappointment
  • Appreciating yourself
  • Asking for help
  • Being friends
  • Resolving conflicts
  • Trustworthiness
  • Honesty
  • Courage
  • Integrity

Who Needs HeartMath Research-Based Programs?

  • Students of all ages
  • Teachers and coaches who teach character principles, either directly or indirectly – as role models
  • Student counselors
  • Parents of students

How HeartMath Promotes Character Education

Character education is a natural feature of HeartMath’s wide array of programs and products for the classroom and its staff development training courses. Learning and practicing the HeartMath System of tools and techniques fosters synchronicity among the body’s heart, brain and physical systems. Inherent in these methods are the same character-building skills and qualities promoted in character education programs, including learning to care, appreciate and respect oneself and others, dealing with personal feelings and integrity, among others.

HeartMath also teaches people how they can minimize the impact of stress and reduce it, thereby allowing the qualities of the heart inherent in everyone to emerge more frequently in the beginning and routinely with practice. These heart qualities are critical to the development of character in each person and for inspiring character development in others.


IHM Research Publications and Articles Related to Character Education

  • The following excerpt is from a summary of the study: The Impact of an Emotional Self-Management Skills Course on Psychosocial Functioning & Autonomic Recovery to Stress in Middle School Children: "Their leadership and communication skills improved, and harmful behavior problems decreased. They felt more supported by their families and friends, more comfortable with their teachers and showed increased compassion with their peers. The children also felt more comfortable with themselves, were more assertive and independent in their decision-making, more resistant to the demands of peer pressure, and better able to manage their stress, anger and negative internal self-talk. In essence, the children showed increased satisfaction and control over their lives while with friends, at school and around their families." The study was conducted at Palm Springs Middle School, Dade County, Fla., by Rollin McCraty, Mike Atkinson, Dana Tomasino, Jeff Goelitz and Harvey N. Mayrovitz. Read more.
  • Excerpt from The Effect of Forgiveness Training on Psychosocial Factors in College Age Adults, by Frederic Luskin, doctoral dissertation, Stanford University: "These preliminary results indicate that negative emotions and psychosocial traits induced by past events can be released in a short period of time if individuals are provided with training in the appropriate tools and techniques to achieve the desired perceptual shifts. The data suggest that the techniques provided in this program were effective in helping students gain greater clarity and wider perspectives, allowing them to transmute the source of their emotional unrest." Read more.
  • Staff Resilience Independent Study, commissioned by Eugene Walker, associate superintendent, DeKalb County School System, Georgia. The DeKalb County School System utilized the services of HeartMath to provide training and facilitation to 20 key administrative leaders and 90 human relations representatives from the school system. Following the study, Walker concluded: "This work had very significant value to a broad spectrum of the district’s personnel. The Institute’s programs … help people reduce stress and conflict, enhance their performance, skills and sensitivity, and find balance in their personal and professional lives." Read more.

Products and Programs to Support Character Education

  • The TestEdge® Interactive Learning Programs, Grades 6-8 and 9-12+: Students love the lively and engaging video segments on these CD’s featuring real-life scenarios that depict how emotional stress can wreak havoc in a student’s life, and what to do to resolve the issues that cause it. Situations include balancing academic and extracurricular work and project deadlines, relationships, family pressures, internal self-talk and more. Practical tools for managing stress and developing character are presented in formats that lend themselves to independent study and/or classroom use. Go to: TestEdge Interactive Learning Program Grades 6-8 or Grades 9-12+.
  • HeartSmarts®: Created for grades 3-5, the HeartSmarts program is perfectly suited for character education. Students learn about their emotions and how emotions impact all aspects of life in lessons that are simple, visual and heart-centered. The program’s multimedia format, which includes posters, a flip chart, PowerPoint presentations and much more, provides lessons and skill-building activities that promote character development and encourage greater caring among students and in all of their relationships, with family, friends, etc. Go to: HeartSmarts.
  • emWave® Desktop for Mac and PC: Character development occurs naturally with this interactive software as students gain a deep, hands-on – and therefore lasting – understanding about the link between their emotions and their ability to self-regulate how they feel. This creates an awareness in students of the internal chaos that often underlies behavioral challenges and increases caring, compassion and respect for themselves and others. Students will easily shift into positive feeling states as they master heart-rhythm coherence, which is easily learned with the emWave Desktop’s easy-to-follow instructions. Go to: emWave Desktop for Mac and PC.
  • The Qualified Instructor Program® – Heart-Based Education: The first course offered under the program is the Resilient Educator®, an engaging, activity-based, stress-management workshop for in-service staff development. It helps educators boost performance, improve school relationships and strengthen resiliency – all crucial to maintaining the balance and poise needed to model positive character traits for students. Character education can be taught in many ways, but one of the most important ways students learn about character is from the example of those who teach and guide them. Go to: Qualified Instructor Program.

Testimonials on HeartMath and Character Education

"One morning Maria was having a hard time concentrating because she was worried about her mother, who was very sick. Her friend was the first one to notice that she was upset and asked how he could help. What she needed to do was send loving care to her mother instead of worrisome thoughts. The whole class did Shift & Shine and sent care and sunshine to Maria’s mother. Everyone felt better knowing that there was something positive they could do, including Maria."

– This story, from a fifth-grade classroom, is included in a HeartSmarts program lesson.

"Research clearly indicates that the quality of teaching is the most important school-related factor associated with student achievement. Investigations by Dr. William Sanders and other researchers have shown that good teachers can improve student achievement by as much as an extra grade level over the course of a year. Research has further shown that educators who attended HeartMath’s Resilient Educator® training made significant improvements in motivation and positive outlook, with major reductions in stress, fatigue, exhaustion, anger and the inten-tion to quit. Prior to the training, 34% of the participants said that they felt exhausted; three months after the training, that number had dropped to only 11%. Those who said they felt like quitting their job dropped from 21% to 14% during the same three-month period. The Resilient Educator program helps educators stay in the peak performance mode longer and experience more fulfillment in teaching. Teachers learn tools and strategies to stop the negative impact of stress. They also learn about the relationship between resiliency and overall health, performance and career longevity."

– Excerpted from IHM’s Winter 2005 Newsletter.
Click here to read the complete article, titled New Programs for the Educational Field: The Qualified Instructor Program.

"Andrew appears to be getting on with others in the classroom more. He has always struggled with peer relationships and remains quite odd, but he makes more of an effort now and the others are more willing to sit with him as a result. He wanders round the classroom less, and seems better within himself. Andrew is a difficult child, I expect he always will be, but HeartMath seems to have changed him without him really knowing."

– English teacher’s comments about an 11-year-old student’s behavioral improvements after learning HeartMath tools.
Click here to read an article about HeartMath research involving children with AD/HD.

Funding Tips for Educators:

  • Click here for links to information about a variety of federal, state and private educational funding sources for schools and districts interested in purchasing Institute of HeartMath programs and products.
  • Click here for information about the IHM Heart-Based Education Sponsorship Fund and to learn how you can apply to be a recipient.