Character Building — Impact
Real results from the Character Building journey: character traits that last a lifetime.
The Science Behind Character Development
These findings come from accredited institutions and peer-reviewed journals. The evidence is clear: structured character education produces lasting academic and life outcomes.
Students in SEL/character programs score 11 percentile points higher on academic assessments.
CASEL Meta-Analysis, 2011 (Durlak et al.) — 213 studies, 270,000+ students
Students with strong character competencies are twice as likely to complete high school and pursue post-secondary education.
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Duckworth & Seligman, 2005
Schools implementing structured character curricula see a 19% average reduction in behavioral and conduct problems.
CASEL Meta-Analysis, 2011 (Durlak et al.)
Featured Accredited Studies
"The Impact of Enhancing Students' Social and Emotional Learning"
A landmark meta-analysis of 213 school-based SEL programs involving 270,034 students found that SEL participants demonstrated an 11-percentile-point gain in academic achievement, improved social-emotional skills, and a 10% decrease in emotional distress compared to controls.
"Self-Discipline Outdoes IQ in Predicting Academic Performance"
This widely cited study demonstrated that self-discipline—a core character trait—was twice as powerful as IQ in predicting academic achievement among eighth-graders. Students with higher character scores earned higher GPAs, better school attendance, and higher standardized test scores.
"The Children We Mean to Raise: The Real Messages Adults Are Sending About Values"
Survey of 10,000 middle and high school students found that 80% of youth reported that their parents were more concerned with achievement than caring for others. The research underscores the critical need for structured character programming in schools to fill the gap.
"Foundations for Young Adult Success: A Developmental Framework"
This multi-year study identified four key factors predicting long-term success: agency, integrated identity, competencies, and knowledge/skills. Character development education was identified as a primary mechanism for developing agency and identity — both critical for college and career readiness.
"A Framework for Character Education in Schools"
Analyzed character education interventions across multiple countries and confirmed that virtue-based character programs — when systematically implemented — improve student wellbeing, academic motivation, and prosocial behaviors. Programs with book-based and narrative approaches showed the strongest trait internalization.
"School Readiness and Later Achievement"
Followed students from kindergarten to age 25, finding that social-behavioral skills (a direct proxy for character) at age 5 were strongly predictive of educational attainment, employment, substance-free adulthood, and mental health outcomes — reinforcing that early character development has lifelong ROI.
Note: Kids Dreams Matter's Character Building program is designed in alignment with evidence-based SEL and character education frameworks, including CASEL's Core Competencies and the Jubilee Centre's Virtue Framework. Studies cited are publicly available through their respective journals and institutions.