CONFERENCE
The international research project TEPACE (Teachers’ and Parents’ Perspectives on Character Education in Europe) has received significant recognition following the presentation of the Research Award of the State of Lower Austria 2026 to its project leader, professor Roland Bernhard of KPH Vienna/Lower Austria. The award recognises his research on character education in schools, with the European TEPACE study at the heart of this work, as well as his efforts to translate research findings into educational policy and practice. The award was presented in Tulln on 29 September 2026.
TEPACE is a European research project promoted by the European Character and Virtue Association (ECVA) and conducted from 2023 to 2026. The project explores teachers’ and parents’ perspectives on character education in European schools and aims to provide evidence that can inform educational practice, school leadership and policymaking.
What began as research in England and Austria has developed into a European collaboration involving 47 researchers from 12 countries. The first comparative analysis brings together responses from 10,909 participants – 8,155 parents and 2,754 teachers – in Austria, the Czech Republic, England, Germany, Latvia, Poland, Slovakia and Spain.
The findings demonstrate strong support for character education. In the countries included in the relevant analysis, 93.3% of parents and 93.7% of teachers agree or strongly agree that character education in schools is very important. The study also reveals a striking perception gap: teachers considerably overestimate the proportion of parents who prioritise academic attainment over character, while parents similarly underestimate teachers’ commitment to character development.
Importantly, parents and teachers do not generally regard character development and academic achievement as competing educational goals. 91.1% of teachers and 87.1% of parents expect a greater emphasis on character education to have a positive effect on pupils’ academic attainment.
Latvia is an active partner in the TEPACE project, represented by researchers from the Scientific Institute of Pedagogy of the Faculty of Education Sciences and Psychology of the University of Latvia: Manuel Joaquín Fernández González, Irina Maslo, Tamāra Pīgozne and Svetlana Surikova. Latvian research has contributed to the project’s international publications, including the 2026 article “Teachers’ and parents’ perspectives on character education in Latvia: A comparative study” by Svetlana Surikova and Tamāra Pīgozne.
The Lower Austrian Research Award highlights the growing relevance of character education in European education and recognises research that connects scientific evidence with educational practice. TEPACE provides a substantial European evidence base for further discussion about the role of schools not only in supporting academic achievement, but also in fostering the character strengths and virtues that enable young people to flourish.
Further information
TEPACE – project, findings, consortium and publications:
https://rolandbernhard.at/research/tepace/
Research Award of the State of Lower Austria 2026:
https://rolandbernhard.at/research-award-2026/
European Character and Virtue Association – TEPACE:
https://ecva-character.org/teachers-and-parents-perspectives-on-character-educationin-europe-tepace
