RESEARCH ON THE
VIRTUES PROJECT™


Research informs practice and policy in the teaching and learning of English language arts. The ultimate goal of research in English language arts is to enable teachers, teacher educators, and institutions to make sound decisions about the educational activities and experiences that will best serve students.

Afshar, Faezeh (2012). Shared Value Priorities in Groups. This thesis is submitted in total fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. School of Science, Information Technology and Engineering. University of Ballarat, Victoria, Australia.
Beaumaris, Arini Rosslee (2010). Moral Judgement to Moral Action: Implications for Education. A thesis submitted to fulfill the requirements of the Award of the Doctorate of Philosophy. The University of Newcastle, Australia.
Clinton, Janet, Hattie, John and Dixon, Robyn (2008). Final Report. Evaluation of the Flaxmere Project: When Families learn the language of school. Research Division, Ministry of Education, New Zealand and the Faculty of Education, University of Auckland.
Chew, Phyllis G.L (2018). Final report on an interventionist pilot project to measure the effects of the Virtues Project on Lower primary levels in Singapore. National Institute of Education SUG 17/16 CGL
de Moor, Gerrit (2011). Supporting Moral Development: The Virtues Project. Reclaiming children and Youth, 20, 2, 57-59.
Diessner, Rhett (2017). The Beauty of the Human Psyche: The Patterns of the Virtues. The Journal of Baha’i Studies, 26, 4, 75-90.
Dixon, Judy (2005). An investigation of the Virtues Project as developed by Linda Kavelin Popov, Dan Popov and John Kavelin. Sabbatical Report, Frankton School Charter, New Zealand.
Greenslade, Fay (2007). Teachers, Virtues Circles and Holistic Professional Development: A study of Teachers’ Experiences of Virtues Praxis. A thesis submitted by Fay Greenslade in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Education, the University of Auckland, Faculty of Education, 2007.
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Hancock, Dorothea (2015 ). An exploration of the Virtues Project: Ontological, Educational and cross-cultural inquiries into a moral education program within a Mongolian School Setting. A Thesis submitted to fulfill the requirements of the Award of the Doctorate of Philosophy.
This thesis explores The Virtues Project's ontological, educational and cross-cultural dimensions taking Charles Taylor's philosophical perspective of an anthropological account of the self and a phenomenological account of moral life and engagement. The globally attractive project appears in moral education and virtues ethics research and surveys, yet no critical evaluation has been undertaken. Its conceptual features are appraised from a Taylorean perspective. In conclusion, the project is coherent, constructive and potentially suitable cross-culturally.
Hessel, Inga-Lisa Tahirih Dahl (2013). Developing a Virtuous Aspect of Leadership. A Case study of the Virtues Project’s approach to leadership development. A thesis submitted to the Department of Educational Research. Faculty of Educational Sciences.
University of Oslo.
This thesis is a contribution to the scholarly field of leadership development in connection to virtues, by mapping a concrete initiative that seeks to develop a virtuous aspect of leadership (The Virtues Project™). This thesis postulates that the view of human nature must be a fundamental part of any discourse on the nature, purpose and development of leadership, and offers one perspective of the view of human nature, as a contribution to this discourse.
Hopwood, Kimberley (2016). The effectiveness of a Pre-school bullying prevention Programme. City University of Seattle.
While bullying may serve a genetically adaptive purpose, it is associated with serious short- and long-term negative effects on mental and physical health. Early intervention is important. Canada requires a national, empirically-validated program in order to effectively combat bullying. This research proposal seeks to replicate evidence for one such program, The Virtues Project, in a preschool setting.

Jordan, J., Chand, J, and Mott, Kris (2005). The courage to Lead. Re-culturing for well-being and learning through whole school change. Myponga Primary School. Department for Education and Child Development. South Australia.
This is a story of re-culturing, of change from the inside out, of shifting perceptions, and of the letting go of old ways of thinking. It is a story about courage, as courage was required of all of us (staff, students and parents) as we began to take risks, to critically reflect on our individual and collective actions and beliefs, and to act innovatively to create a more educationally inclusive learning community.
McCowan, Timothy Ross (2012). The building bridges through interfaith dialogue in schools programme: an investigation into the effectiveness of a model of interfaith Education. A thesis submitted in total fulfillment of the requirements of the Doctor of Philosophy. School of Religious Education, Faculty of Education. Australian Catholic University.
Patton, Derek (2007). Antisocial Behaviour of Nine 3½- to 4-year-olds in a Preschool. A thesis submitted for the fulfillment of the degree of Masters in Education in Child and Family Psychology. University of Canterbury, New Zealand.
The effect of 12 hours of teacher training in the strategies of The Virtues Project (VP) (Popov, Popov, & Kavelin, 1995) on the behavior of nine 3½- to 4-year-old children attending an early childhood education center was studied through an ABC single-subject design replicated across children. Direct observation of social, antisocial and shy/withdrawn behaviour in 10-minute samples using the Early Screening Project (ESP) (Walker, Severson, & Feil, 1995) observation protocols, and ratings using the teacher- and parent-report Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) (Goodman, 2002) were used to measure changes over 3 months of implementation and again at a 3-month follow-up.

Patton, Derek (2015). Quality Talk Interactions in Preschools. A thesis submitted in total fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Melbourne Graduate School of Education. The University of Melbourne.
Patton, Derek (2019). Early childhood moral development through language. A Paper presented at the Asia Pacific Network for Moral Education Conference. Seoul National University, Republic of Korea.
Patton, Derek (n.d.). A shared language of virtues approach to parent-school collaboration. Submitted for an undergraduate course in school counselling at the University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand.
The common thread in his research and practice has been the use of a positive language of change optimizing capacities and hope. To see Dr. Derek Patton, talk about current research on The Virtues Project with preschool children, go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uptMwDiJn-I
Reuther, Carrie (n.d.). The relationship of the Virtues Project to Waldorf Education. A research report for the Waldorf Education Curriculum Project, California, USA.
This study shows that the Virtues Projects can be easily implemented and have a positive effect on the moral development of children in a Waldorf-inspired public school staying within the parameters of the Waldorf curriculum and pedagogy.

Singteach (2017). Change Your language, change your life. National Institute of Education, Singapore. Retrieved from singteach.nie.edu.sg; issue 62
Steffens, Evic (2010). Evaluating the use of Virtues in Psychotherapy focusing on Narrative Therapy and three Virtues-based instructions. Submitted for fulfilment of postgraduate degree, Institute of Psychology. Copenhagen University,
This thesis evaluates the knowledge to date on the theories and practices of using virtues in psychotherapy, and focuses on Narrative Therapy, as well as three virtues-based interventions: the Virtues Project, Positive Psychotherapy and Strength-Centered Therapy. The concepts of virtues and psychotherapy as well as its virtue-relevant history are examined.
Williams, Janis Diane (2009). The Virtues Project and Waldorf Education. Working with Children, teachers, parents and communities in the modern cultural transitions. A thesis submitted to the Faculty of the College of Education in partial fulfillment for the degree of Masters of Arts in Education to Touro University, California