The Challenge of Assessing Character: Measuring APA Goal 3 Student Learning Outcomes

Abstract

Goal 3 of the APA Goals for Undergraduate Major in Psychology specifies three dimensions of character development deemed central to the major. The purpose of this article is to review the current state of practice that addresses how we measure student learning in ethical reasoning, interpersonal relationship-building, and diversity-related skills, including globally. Deemed the most difficult goal to measure by the organizers of the Summit on National Assessment in Psychology, Goal 3 still generated a variety of strategies to assist in teaching and assessing aspects of the major dedicated to character development; however, this category remains one of significant untapped potential. We conclude by evaluating what gaps in assessing these goals exist and still need to be addressed.

Keywords

assessment student learning outcomes ethical reasoning interpersonal skills diversity

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Acheson

Finley

Hickman

Sternberger

Shealy

(in press). Interdisciplinary innovations in formative and summative assessment: Beliefs, Events, and Values Inventory (BEVI), VALUE Rubrics, and Cultural Controllability Scale (CCS). In Nolan

S. A.

Hakala

Landrum

R. E.

(Eds.), Assessment: Individual, institutional, and international approaches. APA Books.

Adams

Bell

L. A.

Griffin

(2007). Teaching for diversity and social justice. Routledge.

Albiero

Matricardi

(2013). Empathy towards people of different race and ethnicity: Further empirical evidence for the Scale of Ethnocultural Empathy. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 37, 648–655. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijintrel.2013.05.003

Association of American Colleges and Universities. (2005). Liberal education outcomes: A preliminary report on student achievement in college. https://www.aacu.org/leap

Braskamp

L. A.

Braskamp

D. C.

Engberg

(2014). The Global Perspective Inventory (GPI: Its purpose, construction, potential uses and psychometric characteristics. Global Perspective Institute, Inc. http://gpi.central.edu

Cathey

Ross

A. S.

(2011). Teaching about diversity: Activities that promote student engagement (PDF, 213 KB). In Miller

R. L.

Baketis

Burns

S. R.

Daniel

D. B.

Saville

B. K.

Woody

W. D.

(Eds.), Promoting student engagement: Vol. 2. Activities, exercises and demonstrations for psychology courses. Society for the Teaching of Psychology Division 2, American Psychological Association.

Chambless

(2003). Assessing the teaching of ethics in psychology: A sample survey instrument. ERIC. https://eric.ed.gov/contentdelivery/servlet/ERICServlet?accno=ED479343

Clark

K. M.

(2010). Applied and transformed understanding in introductory psychology: Analysis of a final essay assignment. Journal of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, 10(3), 41–57.

Cohen

(2006). Social, emotional, ethical, and academic education: Creating a climate for learning, participation in democracy, and well-being. Harvard Educational Review, 76(20), 201–237. https://doi.org/10.17763/haer.76.2.j44854x1524644vn

10.

Curren

(2017, October). Why character education? Impact: Philosophical Perspectives on Education Policy, 2017(24), 1–44. https://doi.org/10.1111/2048-416X.2017.12004.x

11.

Curren

Kotzee

(2014). Can virtue be measured? Theory and Research in Education, 12, 266–282. https://doi.org/10.1177/1477878514545205

12.

D’Andrea

Daniels

Heck

(1991). Evaluating the impact of multicultural counseling training. Journal of Counseling & Development, 70, 143–150. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781452231693.n10

13.

Denisova-Schmidt

(2016). The global challenge of academic integrity. International Higher Education, 87, 4–6. https://doi.org/10.6017/ihe.2016.87.9494

14.

Ducker

D. G.

Tori

C. D.

(2001). The reliability and validity of a multicultural assessment instrument developed for a graduate program in psychology. Professional Psychology: Resarch and Practice, 32(4), 425–432. https://doi.org/10.1037/0735-7028.32.4.425

15.

Dunn

D. S.

Brewer

C. L.

Cautin

R. L.

Gurung

R. A.

Keith

K. D.

McGregor

L. N.

Nida

S. A.

Puccio

Voight

M. J.

(2010). The undergraduate psychology curriculum: Call for a core. In Halpern

D. F.

(Ed.), Undergraduate education in psychology: A blueprint for the future of the discipline (pp. 47–61). American Psychological Association.

16.

Dunn

D. S.

McEntarffer

Halonen

J. S.

(2004). Empowering psychology students through self-assessment. In Dunn

D. S.

Mehrotra

C. M.

Halonen

J. S.

(Eds.), Measuring up: Assessment challenges and practices for psychology (pp. 171–186). American Psychological Association.

17.

Earnest

D. R.

Rosenbusch

Wallace-Williams

Keim

A. C.

(2016). Study abroad in psychology: Increasing cultural competencies through experiential learning. Teaching of Psychology, 43, 75–79. https://doi.org/10.1177/0098628315620889

18.

Estrada

A. U.

Durlak

J. A.

Juarez

S. C.

(2002). Developing multicultural counseling competencies in undergraduate students. Journal of Multicultural Counseling and Development, 30, 110–123. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.2161-1912.2002.tb00483.x

19.

Fluckiger

(2010). Single point rubric: A tool for responsible student self-assessment. Teacher Education Faculty Publications, 5. https://digitalcommons.unomaha.edu/tedfacpub/5

20.

Fowers

B. F.

(2014). Toward programmatic research on virtue assessment: Challenges and prospects. Theory and Research in Education, 12, 309–328. https://doi.org/10.1177/1477878514546064

21.

Gurung

R. A.

Hackathorn

Enns

Frantz

Cacioppo

J. T.

Loop

Freeman

J. E.

(2016). Strengthening introductory psychology: A new model for teaching the introductory course. American Psychologist, 71, 112–124. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0040012

22.

Hall

J. C.

Theriot

M. T.

(2016). Developing multicultural awareness, knowledge, and skills: Diversity training makes a difference? Multicultural Perspectives, 18, 35–41, https://doi.org/10.1080/15210960.2016.1125742

23.

Hammer

M. R.

Bennett

M. J.

Wiseman

(2003). Measuring intercultural sensitivity: The intercultural development inventory. Insternational Journal of Intercultural Relations, 27, 421–443.

24.

Handelsman

M. M.

(2017). A teachable ethics scandal. Teaching of Psychology, 44, 278–284. https://doi.org/10.1177/0098628317712789

25.

Johnson

W. B.

Corser

(1998). Learning ethics the hard way: Facing the ethics committee. Teaching of Psychology, 25, 26–29. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15328023top2501_7

26.

Kim

B. S. K.

Cartwright

B. Y.

Asay

P. A.

D’Andrea

M. J.

(2003). A revision of the multicultural awareness, knowledge, and skills survey-counselor edition. Measurement and Evaluation in Counseling and Development, 36, 161–180. https://doi.org/10.1080/07481756.2003.11909740

27.

Littleford

L. N.

Nolan

S. A.

(2013). Your sphere of influence: How to infuse cultural diversity into your psychology classes. Psychology Teacher Network, 23(1). http://www.apa.org/ed/precollege/ptn/2013/05/cultural-diversity.aspx

28.

Löfström

(2012). Students’ ethical awareness and conception of research ethics. Ethics and Behavior, 22, 349–361. https://doi.org/10.1080/10508422.2012.679136

29.

Marchesani

Adams

(1992). Dynamics of diversity in the teach- ing-learning process: A faculty development model for analysis and action. In Adams

(Ed.), Promoting diversity in college class- rooms: Innovative responses for the curriculum, faculty, and institutions (Vol. 52, pp. 9–20). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

30.

Munroe

Pearson

(2006). The munroe multiculrual attitude scale qustionnaire: A new instrument for multiculrual studies. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 66(5), 819–834. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0013164405285542

31.

Morgan-Consoli

M. L.

Inman

Bullock

Nolan

S. A.

(2018). Framework for competencies for U.S.A. psychologists engaging internationally. International Perspectives in Psychology: Research, Practice, Consultation, 7, 174–188. https://doi.org/10.1037/ipp0000090

32.

Neuliep

J. W.

McCroskey

J. C.

(1997). The development of intercultural and interethnic communication apprehension scales. Communication Research Reports, 14, 385–398. https://doi.org/10.1080/0882409970938865

33.

Neville

H. A.

Lilly

R. L.

Duran

Lee

R. M.

Browne

(2000). Construction and initial validation of the Color-Blind Racial Attitudes Scale (CoBRAS). Journal of Counseling Psychology, 47(1), 59–70. doi: 10.1037/0022-0167.47.1.59.

34.

Pedersen

P. J.

(2010). Assessing intercultural effectiveness outcomes in a year-long study abroad program. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 34, 70–80. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijintrel.2009.09.003

35.

Peterson

Seligman

(2004). Character strengths and virtues: A handbook and classification. APA Press.

36.

Robinson

Bradley

L. J.

(1997). Multicultural training for undergraduates: Developing knowledge and awareness. Journal of Multicultural Counseling and Development, 25, 281–289. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.2161-1912.1997.tb00349.x

37.

Shealy

C. N.

(2015). The Beliefs, Events, and Values Inventory (BVI): Overview, implications and guidelines [Test manual]. Author.

38.

Sirin

S. R.

Rogers-Sirin

Collins

B. A.

(2010). A measure of cultural competence as an ethical responsibility: Quick-Racial and Ethical Sensitivity Test. Journal of Moral Education, 39, 49–64. https://doi.org/10.1080/03057240903528675

39.

Wang

Y. W.

Davidson

M. S.

Yakushko

O. F.

Savoy

H. B.

Tan

J. A.

Bleier

J. K.

(2003) The scale of ethnocultural empathy: Development, validation, and reliability. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 50 (2), 221–234. https://www.academia.edu/8723373/The_Scale_of_Ethnocultural_Empathy_Development_Validation_and_Reliability

40.

Wickline

Matthews

Davis

H. L.

Ferguson

(2016). Exploring intercultural competence with non-traditional students: A case study at Miami University (Ohio). In. Proceedings from the 2016 Hawaii International Conference on Education (pp. 367–402). http://hiceducation.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/EDU2016.pdf

41.

Wiggins

(1990). The case for authentic assessment. ERIC Clearinghouse on Tests Measurement and Evaluation. American Institutes for Research. https://www.ericdigests.org/pre-9218/case.htm

42.

Woolf

(1929, 1935). A room of one’s own. Hogarth Press. GrayGlobal Press. https://www.globalgreyebooks.com/room-of-ones-own-ebook.html

43.

You

(2014). The impact of internship on undergraduate psychology students’ ethical sensitivity and reasoning. Psychology Journal 11(2), 108–117. http://ethicaldevelopment.ua.edu/uploads/8/4/9/8/84986096/_2014__the_impact_of_internship_on_undergraduate_psychology_students_ethical_sensitivity_and_reasoning.pdf

44.

Zucchero

R. A.

(2008). Can psychology ethics effectively be integrated into introductory psychology? Journal of Academic Ethics, 6, 2425–2457. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10805-009-9070-7