In a recent episode of The Table podcast, I sat down with Marvin W Berkowitz, Founder’s Professor at the University of Missouri-St. Louis and co-director of the Center for Character and Citizenship. With four decades of research in character education, Dr. Berkowitz has developed the PRIMED framework that transforms how schools cultivate character development.
It’s Not One More Thing
I hear this constantly from school leaders: “We’re already doing too much. How can we possibly add character education?”
Schools juggle SEL programs, diversity efforts, wellness initiatives, academic enrichment, and behavior management. Faculty are exhausted. Students are overscheduled.
But here’s what Dr. Berkowitz made clear: character education isn’t one more thing. When implemented correctly, it becomes the organizing principle that makes everything else more effective.
“Character education is the primary purpose of school,” he emphasized. “And you as the leader, are the most influential element in making it happen.”
The PRIMED Framework
Dr. Berkowitz’s PRIMED framework offers six design principles. Unlike programs requiring expensive curricula, PRIMED focuses on intentional design choices that leverage what schools already do.
P is for Prioritization
Is character development truly a priority in your school, or just something you say you value?
Prioritization manifests in concrete ways: “It’s in your mission. You talk about it. You put your money where your mouth is in terms of when you hire, when you design professional development, when you evaluate staff,” Dr. Berkowitz explained.
This isn’t about adding budget line items. It’s about examining every decision through the lens of character development. When considering advisory programs, are you asking how they’ll build character? When hiring, are you prioritizing candidates who model your values?
I’ve worked with schools that claim character is their priority but schedule advisory when everyone’s exhausted or cut it during exams. Others invest heavily in academic support but provide minimal advisor training. These choices reveal true priorities.
R is for Relationships
Character development happens through relationships, not programs. “If you care for someone, if we have a healthy relationship, then you are willing to suffer for me,” Dr. Berkowitz explained. “You will do stuff that you don’t want to do for my benefit.”
Students don’t develop integrity from reading about it. They develop it through sustained relationships with adults who model integrity and hold them accountable with genuine care.
When schools focus on building relationships, behavioral issues decrease and academic performance improves. Advisory programs work when advisors know their advisees deeply. Discipline systems work when students trust that consequences come from adults who care about their growth.
I is for Intrinsic Motivation
External rewards and punishments undermine character development. “As soon as you do that, then you undermine the kid’s intrinsic motivation,” Dr. Berkowitz said. “Kids learn to do the right thing for the wrong reason.”
Honor rolls, behavior charts, detention systems focused on punishment, excessive praise that creates dependence on adult approval – these produce short-term compliance but don’t build character. When the external motivator disappears, so does the behavior.
The alternative requires more work. Instead of prizes for reading, help students discover books they genuinely enjoy. Instead of punishment for dishonesty, create conversations about integrity. Instead of behavior charts, build communities where students want to contribute because they belong.
“It’s work, it’s hard. Bribing people is easy,” Dr. Berkowitz acknowledged. But the long-term benefits far outweigh short-term convenience.
M is for Modeling
Adults must model the character they hope to develop in students. “Kids are watching and they’re imitating what they see adults do much more than what adults tell them to do,” Dr. Berkowitz explained.
When teachers talk about growth mindset but respond defensively to feedback, students notice. When schools espouse community values but faculty engage in gossip, students observe. When administrators preach honesty but make excuses, students learn that integrity is situational.
Modeling doesn’t require perfection. Dr. Berkowitz emphasized that sharing our struggles with character is actually more powerful than pretending we have it figured out. When an adult apologizes authentically to a student, that moment teaches more about accountability than any lesson could.
E is for Empowerment
Character develops through practice. “You learn to swim by swimming, not by being lectured about swimming,” Dr. Berkowitz noted. “We need to give students graduated opportunities for decision-making, for action, for voice.”
This means creating authentic opportunities for students to practice autonomy and develop agency. Schools that empower students see increased engagement, stronger moral reasoning, and greater sense of belonging.
Elementary schools might involve students in creating classroom agreements. Middle schools might give students voice in advisory curriculum. High schools might create student-led honor councils.
The key is authenticity. Students quickly recognize tokenism. Dr. Berkowitz cautioned: “You don’t throw your two-year-old the keys to the car.” Empowerment should be graduated and developmentally appropriate.
D is for Developmental Pedagogy
Developmental pedagogy has two components: using developmentally appropriate strategies and actively promoting student development.
What works for building empathy in five-year-olds differs from what works for teenagers. Schools need approaches calibrated to where students are developmentally.
More challenging is viewing every interaction as an opportunity to promote development. Are students working collaboratively in ways that develop perspective-taking? Are academic tasks building perseverance? Are assessments helping students develop metacognition?
In discipline, instead of simply punishing violations, developmental pedagogy asks: how can this situation promote growth? What does this student need to learn?
Where to Start: Finding Your Noble Purpose
I asked Dr. Berkowitz where to start. His answer: “Find your noble purpose.”
This isn’t about creating a mission statement. It’s about authentic clarity on why this work matters to you personally. Who do you want to be? What kind of community do you want to build?
“Start there,” Dr. Berkowitz advised. “Then become the kind of person and educator who embodies what will serve your purpose. Then figure out how you can implement it in your role.”
Practical Next Steps
Start with an audit. For each major program, ask: How does this build character? Which PRIMED principles does it leverage?
Define character together. Engage faculty in articulating what values are central to your mission.
Examine hiring and evaluation. Are you hiring for character as much as competence? Are you evaluating relationship-building and modeling?
Redesign professional development. Prioritize PD that helps adults examine their own character and create developmentally appropriate character education.
Review discipline. Is it focused on compliance or character development? Does it leverage relationships or rely on external consequences?
Give authentic voice. Expand opportunities for meaningful student decision-making.
Align resources. Ensure your budget, schedule, and spaces reflect that character is your priority.
Character as Culture, Not Program
Character education isn’t a program you implement; it’s a culture you cultivate. Too many schools treat it as something that happens during advisory. They adopt curricula and launch initiatives. But they miss the point.
Character develops through daily interactions: how a teacher responds when a student struggles, how administrators handle family conflicts, how the school addresses injustice. When PRIMED principles shape these interactions, character education becomes woven into the school’s fabric.
The Critical Role of Leadership
Dr. Berkowitz was emphatic: “You as the leader are the most influential element in making it happen.”
Leaders must be keepers of the vision, models of the behavior, and protectors of the priority. When budget cuts loom, fight to preserve what matters for character development. When conflicts arise, respond in ways that model school values.
Leaders must create conditions for success: professional development, systems that support relationships, time for collaboration, and structures that empower students. This requires moral courage to prioritize character when external pressures push toward test scores.
How to Know It’s Working
Dr. Berkowitz’s response challenged conventional approaches: “If you really want to understand how you’re doing in character education, look at how adults treat each other.”
Are faculty supporting each other or competing? Are administrators modeling values when dealing with difficult parents? Are conflicts handled restoratively?
The culture among adults predicts the culture among students. If teachers feel cared for, respected, and empowered, they create similar conditions for students.
Your First Step Forward
Remember Dr. Berkowitz’s advice: start with your noble purpose. Why did you get into education? What kind of community do you want to build?
From that clarity, take one step. Maybe it’s redesigning your hiring process. Maybe it’s examining your discipline system through a restorative lens. You don’t have to implement all six PRIMED principles simultaneously.
What research shows: when you prioritize character, other outcomes improve. Academic performance increases. Behavioral issues decrease. Teacher retention improves.
Character education isn’t one more thing. When done well, it’s the thing that makes everything else work better. As Dr. Berkowitz reminded me, “Character education is the primary purpose of school.” Everything else flows from getting that foundation right.
