Integration of Student-Centered vs Teacher Centered Approaches and Digital Media in Character Education Learning for Prospective Teachers in Punjab India

Abstract

Background. The growing global and national attention to character education, reinforced by India’s National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 call for learner-centered pedagogy, has outpaced empirical evidence on which teaching approaches are most effective in cultivating character among prospective teachers. Purpose. This study examined the comparative effectiveness of digitally supported student-centered and teacher-centered instructional approaches on character education outcomes among prospective teachers in Punjab, India. Method. A quasi-experimental, mixed-methods design was employed involving 123 prospective teachers across four intact classes, assigned to student-centered (n = 63) and teacher-centered (n = 60) conditions. ANCOVA and MANCOVA tested effects on character formation across three dimensions-moral knowing, moral feeling, and moral action-complemented by semi-structured interviews. Novelty. Unlike prior studies reporting composite character scores, this study disaggregated character formation into theoretically distinct dimensions and explicitly engaged an unresolved methodological debate regarding cognitive-versus-behavioral measurement bias in character education research. Results. The student-centered group showed significantly greater gains in overall character outcomes, F(1, 120) = 88.02, p < .001, partial ?² = .421, with the strongest effect observed for moral knowing (?² = .402). Conclusion. Digitally supported student-centered instruction shows promise for character formation in teacher education, though findings warrant cautious interpretation pending randomized, longitudinal replication with behavioral outcome measures.