by Andrea Stanberg
When I reflect on my journey into character education, it feels less like a career path and more like a calling that found me. It began in 1993, when I was the founding Faculty Head of Music and Year 7 Patron at the newly opened Australian International School in Singapore and a time when character education wasn’t really a curriculum focus. As a specialist teacher, I had the privilege of seeing my students through a different lens than their academic teachers. Overseeing the pastoral care of Year 7 students, just as they transitioned from primary into high school, brought their individual character strengths into sharper focus. It was in these moments of transition that I first became captivated by the holistic development of students.
Later, as a lecturer in music education and Director of Teaching and Learning in the School of Music at the University of Western Australia, I deepened this commitment. I was awarded a competitive Teaching Fellowship that allowed me to research how students transition across educational thresholds – first from high school into university, and later from university into the workforce, either as professional musicians or K-12 educators. It was during this time that I truly began to understand how developing students’ character strengths—what I now call their Character Quotient (CQ), could shape not only their academic outcomes but also their readiness to thrive in learning communities and beyond.
My mentoring program at UWA paired first-year and fourth-year students. The results were remarkable. The younger students, often grappling with the demands of self-directed learning, found inspiration and guidance from their older peers. They built confidence, resilience, self-discipline, and initiative. The fourth-year students, in turn, reflected on their own journeys, embodying virtues such as commitment, empathy, generosity, and reliability. The simple act of structured peer mentoring, infused with intentional focus on character, created an environment where everyone could flourish. And flourish they did, as the university recognised the mentoring and leadership skills of the Music Student Society by winning the Guild Prize for ‘Most Improved Student Society 2007’.
Several years after this and I returned to teach in an international school (again in Singapore). Character Education was well and truly at the centre of the school’s community, and I trained as a Virtues Facilitator with The Virtues Project™. Experiencing the community development at this school with virtues at its heart had such a profound impact on me that I eventually volunteered with The Virtues Project and co-chaired the development of a school accreditation system based on virtues. The focus on Learning Community Development based on virtues now is the central feature of my work as a consultant and defines my passion in supporting human flourishing.
When COVID-19 disrupted our lives, the importance of human skills and virtues came sharply into view. The world turned to screens, but we needed connection more than ever. Teachers across continents found each other in weekly WhatsApp “virtue circles,” where we checked in on one another and shared which virtues we had drawn upon that week to stay grounded. This simple, consistent connection helped many of us feel seen, valued, and supported, allowing us to, in turn, offer that same emotional scaffolding to our students.
The pandemic showed us that in times of crisis, our Character Quotient becomes not just important, but essential. Virtues like resilience, empathy, and adaptability weren’t just abstract ideas; they became lifelines. Whether through online mentoring programs, informal teacher networks, or classroom check-ins, educators worldwide leaned into the human side of education. And we saw, in real-time, how character-rich environments strengthened our capacity to learn, lead, and care.
This understanding deepened even further when I began volunteering with Svitlo School, an extraordinary online school that supports Ukrainian students navigating life under the constant threat of war. My weekly SEL (Social and Emotional Learning) classes begin with a simple but powerful check-in: students reflect on the week and identify which virtues they leaned on or needed to strengthen to get through the challenges they faced.
We emphasise virtues like empathy, openness, and gratitude as core tools for coping with trauma and uncertainty. One final-year student, despite the immense pressure of preparing for her national exams, writes and illustrates bilingual virtue stories each week to inspire younger students. She also volunteers as a buddy reader, offering her time and presence as a mentor and friend. Her actions are a living testament to the power of human goodness in the face of unimaginable adversity.
In this learning community, success isn’t measured by test scores alone. It’s in the way our student council leaders go above and beyond to create a joyful, safe, and connected environment. It’s the students who form bonds across geographic regions after meeting through weekly Svitlo lessons. It’s in the way students, often exhausted and alert to the sound of air-raid sirens, still show up after their regular school day for up to eight hours of online Svitlo classes. They come to learn English, to build their human skills, and to prepare themselves for a future where they can lead and flourish – even after the war.
And now, as AI technologies once again disrupt the landscape of education, I believe our focus on character has never been more urgent. Generative AI tools are already reshaping how students write, research, and reflect. These changes present both incredible opportunities and serious ethical challenges. What does it mean to learn when answers are only a prompt away? What happens to critical thinking, perseverance, or intellectual humility when technology does the heavy lifting?
We must now ask: How can we design learning environments that develop both cognitive agility and moral discernment? How do we ensure students grow not only in knowledge but also in wisdom?
I believe AI can be part of the solution, not just the problem. With thoughtful design, we can use AI to support character education: providing personalised virtue prompts, reflective journaling tools, or virtual mentorship programs that highlight students’ strengths. But this will only be effective if we remain intentional about the values we embed into our systems. The tools may change. The human core must not.
For school leaders wondering where to begin: start by building a shared language around virtues. Introduce simple weekly check-ins with your staff and students. Identify the human skills your community values most, and model them in leadership decisions. Create mentoring programs that bring different age groups together in purposeful dialogue.
Above all, recognise that Character Quotient isn’t an “extra.” It’s the foundation upon which academic success, well-being, and meaningful leadership are built.
As I look forward, my goal is simple but profound: to support educators and students in becoming more fully human. I want to see more learning communities, whether in a university in Australia, an international school in Asia, or an online classroom in Ukraine, thrive not just in knowledge but in character.
Because in the end, it is our virtues, not our grades, resumes, or technologies, that shape who we become and how we serve the world.
Andrea Stanberg, European Member of the International Advisory Council & Member of the Schools Designation Committee, The Virtues Project
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