Good character at school: Positive classroom behavior mediates the link between character strengths and school achievement.

Autor/inn/en	Wagner, Lisa; Ruch, Willibald
Titel	Good character at school: Positive classroom behavior mediates the link between character strengths and school achievement. Gefälligkeitsübersetzung: Ein guter Charakter in der Schule: Ein positives Verhalten im Klassenzimmer vermittelt die Beziehung zwischen Charakterstärke und schulischer Leistung.
Quelle	In: Frontiers in psychology, (2015) 6, 13 S. PDF als Volltext kostenfreie Datei Link als defekt meldenVerfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	1664-1078
DOI	10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00610
Schlagwörter	Persönlichkeitsmerkmal; Positives Denken; Psychologie; Verhalten; Grundschule; Sekundarbereich; Schüler; Schülerin; Unterricht; Leistung
Abstract	Character strengths have been found to be substantially related to children's and adolescents' well-being. Initial evidence suggests that they also matter for school success (e.g., Weber and Ruch, 2012). The present set of two studies aimed at replicating and extending these findings in two different age groups, primary school students (N = 179; mean age = 11.6 years) and secondary school students (N = 199; mean age - 14.4 years). The students completed the VIA-Youth (Values in Action Inventory of Strengths for Youth), a self-report measure of the 24 character strengths in the VIA classification. Their teachers rated the students' positive behavior in the classroom. Additionally, school achievement was assessed: For the primary school students (Study 1), teachers rated the students' overall school achievement and for the secondary school students (Study 2), we used their grades as a measure of school achievement. We found that several character strengths were associated with both positive classroom behavior and school achievement. Across both samples, school achievement was correlated with love of learning, perseverance, zest, gratitude, hope, and perspective. The strongest correlations with positive classroom behavior were found for perseverance, self-regulation, prudence, social intelligence, and hope. For both samples, there were indirect effects of some of the character strengths on school achievement through teacher-rated positive classroom behavior. The converging findings from the two samples support the notion that character strengths contribute to positive classroom behavior, which in turn enhances school achievement. Results are discussed in terms of their implications for future research and for school interventions based on character strengths. (ZPID).
Erfasst von	Leibniz-Institut für Psychologie, Trier
Update	2026/3