Integrative character education: Valuing both epiphanic and incremental routes to moral growth

In the first of two Target Articles for the current Special Issue on Epiphanies and Moral Education, Kristján Kristjánsson contrasts fast and epiphanic with slow and incremental approaches to moral growth, argues for the value of the former, and points out various obstacles to its realization. In this second Target Article, I argue that these obstacles can be overcome through a capacious understanding of epiphany and by means of the Structured Wholeness Theory of Human Flourishing, which focuses on a healthy integration of epiphanic and non-epiphanic (mundane) experience. I then introduce Integrative Character Education, a new field of inquiry and practice that is based on the Structured Wholeness Theory and thus emphasizes the moral growth that can come from valuing epiphany, mundanity, and their integration. Finally, I point out the importance of scaffolding for autonomy in character education and recommend next steps for the future development of Integrative Character Education.