Values education

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Values education is a term used to name several things and there is much academic controversy surrounding it.[1] Some regard it as all aspects of the process by which teachers (and other adults) transmit values to pupils.[2] Others see it as an activity that can take place in any organisation during which people are assisted by others, who may be older, in authority or more experienced, to make explicit those values underlying their own behaviour, to assess the effectiveness of these values and associated behaviour for their own and others' long term well-being and to reflect on and acquire other values and behaviour which they recognise as being more effective for long term well-being of self and others. [3]

This means that values education can take place in the family home, schools, colleges, universities, offenders institutions and voluntary youth organisations.[4] There are two main and opposed approaches to values education. Some see it as inculcating or transmitting a set of values which often come from societal or religious rules. Others see it as a type of Socratic dialogue[5] where people are gradually brought to their own realisation of what is good behaviour for themsleves and their community.

Very little research has been done on values education and fewer attempts to train teachers and youth workers on how to faciltate values education classes.[6] [7]

It can be an educational subject or an approach to education applied to the whole or parts of the curriculum, or indeed the whole school ethos. The values dealt with usually transcend exclusive religious viewpoints although Values education schemes may derive from particular religious traditions or New Religious Movements.

Contents

[edit] Definitions

There has been very little reliable research been done on the results of values education classes but there are some encouraging preliminary results. [8] [9]

This means that there are many definitions. One definition refers to it as the process that gives young people an initiation into values, giving a knowledge of the rules which function in this mode of relating to other people and to seek to develop in in the student a grasp of their underlying principles, together with the ability to apply these rules intelligently, and to have the settled disposition to do so[10] Some researchers use the concept values education as an umbrella of concepts that includes moral education and citizenship education[11][12][13] The concept is seen as complex and includes a number themes which overlap. These different themes are receive different weighting in different countries' values education in a way that reflects the countries' historical and ideological development. Themes that values education can address to varying degrees are character, moral development, Religious Education, Spiritual development, citizenship education, personal development, social development and cultural development.[14] It is important to see that the meaning in the term values education deals with two different phenomena, namely

  • the experience, i.e. to those documents or the impact that happen and that is held in the definition above, and
  • knowledge about the experience, i.e. theories and research about it that is held in the definition above.

There is a further distinction between explicit values education and implicit values education[15][16] where:

  • explicit values education is associated with those different pedagogies, methods or programmes that teachers or educator uses in order to create learning experiences for students when it comes to value questions.
  • Implicit values education on the other hand covers those aspects of the educational experience that results from explicit values education.

[edit] Objectives of Values Education

The objectives for values education depend on the people who claim to be doing the values education. Religious people will want to impart their specific set of values. People with a particular social perspective (socialist or capitalist) will want to impart socialist or capitalist values. However, there is a growing realisation that the underlying purpose of values education is to help people to behave more responsibly.

There is also a growing realisation that values education should not be about inculcating or imparting a pre-determined set of values but to expose those values which transcend religious and social perspectives.[17] For example, some Christian groups may hate homosexuals and therefore the religious values of that sect are not good for bringing out responsible behaviour towards others.

As many societies of the world have become heterogeneous with respect to religious belief and more secular, to stem the resulting moral relativism, Values education has been found a more politically correct way to teach spiritual, moral, social and cultural development, than nurture within any particular religious tradition.

[edit] Values education as moral education

Morals as socio-legal-religious norms which are supposed to help people behave responsibly. However not all morals lead to responsbible behavioural. Values education can show which morals are "bad morals and which are "good". The change in behaviour comes from wrestling with what seem to be philosophical questions about right and wrong.[18][19][20][21]

[edit] Values education as religious education

Religions ask their followers to follw sets of values. If you adhere to the values you are a good person, if not you are a bad person. Values education asks people to start with a completely open mind and evaluate which religious values are really helpful and which not.

[edit] Values education as citizenship education

One can know all the legal and procedural rules of citizenship but this is usally not enough to help people act responsibly.

[edit] Values education as health education

Health education seems to have overlaps with sex education and alcohol education - it is a matter of values.


[edit] Values education as sex education

There are claims that knowing how to use a condom and other kinds of contraception does not stop teenagers getting pregnant or experencing the emotional pain of early sexual relationships. Values shape what we do and values education strives to get young people to refrain from early sexual activity and for all people to show respect for partners, not because they have been told to but because they se it as the right thing to do.[22]

[edit] Values education as drugs education

Knowledge of what various drugs look like, how they are manufactured and the effects they have on the mind and body is not enough, some say, to help youngsters resist peer pressure and help adults resist the temptation to escape a humdrum existence. There is eveidence that traditional drugs education encourages more drug taking.[23]

[edit] Values education as alcohol education

One can know all there is to know about the different kinds of alcohol, how it is made, how many units one should drink and how it damages one's body, but this will not be enough to help people drink responsibly.

[edit] Values education as multicultural education

Multicultural education straive to get people to behave responsibiliy towards others of a different culture to ones own. We have laws to try and prevent racial discrinination, race-based crimes and racial abuse because a few people choose to ignore human values of decency and respect for others' cultures. Values education facilitates an open and honest discussion and brings people to their own realisation of how to behave well towards all others.

[edit] Values education as personal and social education

The content of courses in PSE can vary from school to school but the intention is to asssit people to behave more responsibly in personal relationships and in society generally. However, from the little research that has been done on this, the cntent seems to be merely factual. As a result young people are not confronted with the emotional choices and questions which can bring them to a realisation of the values which would help ythem, and hence others lead mre fulfilling lives.

[edit] Values education and teacher education

There is very little work been done on training teachers on how to facilitate values education classes. The problem is that most teachers are taught how to instruct, whereas values education requires a methods that extracts or brings up from experience the "best answers". Selmes and Robb have made a modest strat at documenting some tecaher training attempts.[24][25] Cross has also made an attempt.[26]

[edit] Multinational School-based Values Education Schemes

[edit] Living Values Education Programme (LVEP)

This project of worldwide proportions initiated by Brahma Kumaris incorporates twenty-two values (quality, unity, peace, happiness, hope, patience, caring, humility, simplicity, trust, freedom, co-operation, understanding, honesty, appreciation, courage, love, friendship, thoughtfulness, tolerance, responsibility and respect)[27] and has formed the basis of the whole-school ethos approach in schools such as West Kidlington Primary School, Kidlington. The LVEP website lists 54 countries where values education projects are undertaken.[28]

[edit] Sathya Sai Education in Human Values (SSEHV)

Initiated by Sathya Sai Baba it uses five key values (Truth (Sathya), Right Conduct (Dharma), Peace (Shantih), Love (Prema) and Non-violence (Ahimsa)[29] and now has projects in more than thirty-three countries. Recently SSEHV has changed its name to 'Educare'.

[edit] World Peace Ethics Contest (World-PEC)

This project based in Buddhist values and supported by the Dhammakaya Foundation started in 1982 in Thailand as an annual values quiz contest. The aim of the project is to bring children’s ethical development to higher levels resulting in positive behavioral changes in a way that is relevant to those of all nationalities, races and religions. The 'Path of Progress' is based on a textbook[30] of the thirty-eight values of Mangala Sutta. The number of participants started with 382 in 1982 and rose in 2002 to four million from 13,000 educational institutes — ranging from kindergartens, universities, police and military colleges — students and teachers alike from all over Thailand. The winners of the contest receive plaques of distinction from H.M. the King Bhumibol Adulyadej and representatives of many international organizations. Besides honorary plaques, winners are granted scholarships and certificates for their success in each category. In 2007 the scheme was renamed the 'World Peace Ethics Contest' (World-PEC) and extended to the general public of sixty nationalities in five languages with 5,000,000 participating in Thailand and 10,000 outside Thailand. In 2008 the scheme was extended additionally to bilingual schools in Thailand and to the general public worldwide in seven languages.

[edit] Character Education

Main article: Character education

Character education is an umbrella term generally used to describe the teaching of children in a manner that will help them develop as personal and social beings. Concepts that fall under this term include social and emotional learning, moral reasoning/cognitive development, life skills education, health education; violence prevention, critical thinking, ethical reasoning, and conflict resolution and mediation. Lickona (1996) mentions eleven principles of successful character education.[31] It seems to have been applied in the UK[32] and the United States[33]

[edit] Penn Resiliency Project (PRP)

The Penn Resiliency Program (PRP) is a school-based intervention curriculum designed by the University of Pennsylvania Positive Psychology Center to build resilience, promote adaptive coping skills, and teach effective problem-solving. A major goal of the study is to promote optimistic thinking to help children and adolescents respond to the daily challenges and problems that are encountered during the middle and high school years. The project has been applied at schools in the United States[34] and in dozens of schools in the United Kingdom.[35]

[edit] Involvement with Values Education from around the world

[edit] Australia

The Australian Government currently funds Values education in its schools, with its own publications and funding of school forums on values education at all levels of education.[36] A conference on "Moral Education and Australian Values" was held in 2007 at Monash University.[37]

[edit] Japan

Promotion of moral education by a large number of teachers in Japanese primary and junior high schools was reported in 1988 to be cautious because of fears of relapsing into pre-war style moral education[38] the subject remaining a controversial matter.[39]

[edit] Kenya

Lifewords runs Choose Life, a values education programme for Kenyan schools.

[edit] Philippines

It is government policy for values education, good manners and right conduct to taught as part of the social studies curriculum (Makabayan) in Primary and High Schools. Arabic Language and Islamic Values Education (ALIVE) Program has also been introduced for the Moslem community by LVEP and by the Theosophical Society at Golden Link School. Values education is given as a choice of major in Bachelor of Secondary Education (BSE) in many Filipino Teacher Training colleges and at MA level at De La Salle University-Manila College of Education

[edit] Singapore

Teacher training institutions in Singapore all have curricula for learning to teach moral and civics education programmes - but students do not take these as seriously as they should due to lack of assessment. The reason has been said to be the lack of innovative teaching approaches such as the discourse pedagogy.[40]

[edit] Sweden

The Swedish educationalist Robert Thornberg is a well known writer on Values education. There was also a Centre for Values Education (VGC) at Umeå University until 30 June 2005.

[edit] Thailand

In Thailand, values have traditionally been taught within the context of Buddhist religious education. Since 1982 there has been a revival of applied values as an extracurricular activity suitable for Buddhist, Moslem and Christian students alike to prepare Thai students for the effects of globalization[41]. Initiatives have been provided in the form of the 'Path of Progress' Ethics Quiz Contest and the World Peace Ethics Contest (World-PEC) which heirs from Thailand.

[edit] United Kingdom

Since 1988, values education has had a revival of interest from the British government who promote and inspect values in the guise of spiritual, moral, social and cultural development (SMSCD) leaving the initiative to individual schools to decide how values education standards should be met. It should be noted that the Government and state school systems have never called it "values education". Values education courses in Britain may be implemented in the form of government supported campaigns such as Social & Emotional Aspects of Learning (SEAL)[42] but are more often provided by local experts in the form of LVEP[43], SSEHV, Penn Resiliency or Character education.

One of the organisations taking a lead in promoting values education is CAVE, The Centre for Alleviating Social Problems through Values Education. CAVE is run by a leading expert in the field - Dr Bill Robb in his spare time.[44] The site is a resource with a num ber of free articles.

[edit] United States

Values education seems to be better known as Character education

[edit] Zambia

SSEHV has set up the African Institute of Sathya Sai Education (TAISSE) in Ndola. Zambia is one of the countries in Africa involved in SSEHV's Value-based Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Education (VBWSHE) programme.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Robb, W M (1995) Some problems with values education and values in education. NAVET Papers, Vol. XIII.
  2. ^ Powney, J., Cullen, M-A., Schlapp, U., Johnstone, M. & Munn, P. (1995). Understanding values education in the primary school. York: Reports Express. p.vii
  3. ^ Robb, W M (1996) Values education for more effective moral education, religious education, citizenship education, health education, sex education, environmental education, alcohol education, multicultural education, and personal and social education. CAVE, Aberdeen.
  4. ^ Robb, W. (1996) Values education: the contribution of some voluntary youth organisations, CAVE, Aberdeen
  5. ^ Minnis, F (1991) Socrates for six-year-olds. Booklet accompanying the BBC programme of the same title. BBC, London.
  6. ^ Selmes, C S G and Robb, W M (1996a) (Eds) Values and teacher education Volume 1. CAVE, Aberdeen.
  7. ^ Selmes, C S G and Robb, W M (1996b) (Eds) Values and teacher education Volume 2. CAVE, Aberdeen.
  8. ^ Saterlie, M E (Chair) (1988) 1984 and beyond: a reaffirmation of values. A report of the task force on values education and ethical behavior of the Baltimore County Public Schools. Board of Education of Baltimore County, Towson, Maryland.
  9. ^ Robb, W M (1994) Values education: can it alleviate social problems? CAVE, Aberdeen.
  10. ^ David Aspin (2000) A clarification of some key terms in values discussions, in M. Leicester, C. Modgil & S. Modgil (Eds.), Moral education and pluralism: Education, culture and values (Vol. 4, p.171-180). London: Farmer Press.[1]
  11. ^ Cheng, R. H. M., Lee, J. C. K. & Lo, L. N. K. (2006). Values education for citizens in the new century: meaning, desirability and practice. In R. H. M. Cheng, J. C. K. Lee & L. N. K. Lo (Eds.), Values education for citizens in the new century (pp.1-35). Sha Tin: The Chinese University Press.
  12. ^ Mei-lin Ng, M. (2006). Valuation, evaluation, and value education – On acquiring the ability to value: A philosophical perspective. I R. H. M. Cheng, J. C. K. Lee & L. N. K. Lo (Eds.), Values education for citizens in the new century (pp.49-66). Sha Tin: The Chinese University Press.
  13. ^ Taylor, M. (2006). The development of values through the school curriculum. R.H.M. Cheng, J.C.K. Lee & L.N.K. Lo (Eds.), Values education for citizens in the new century (pp.107-131). Sha Tin: The Chinese University Press.
  14. ^ Taylor, M. (1994). Overview of values education in 26 European countries. I M, Taylor (Ed.), Values education in Europe: a comparative overview of a survey of 26 countries in 1993 (pp.1-66). Dundee: Scottish Consultative Council on the Curriculum.
  15. ^ Cox, E. (1988). Explicit and implicit moral education. Journal of Moral Education, 17, 92-97
  16. ^ Halstead, J. M. (1996). Values and values education in schools. I J. M. Halstead, & M. J. Taylor (Eds.), Values in education and education in values (pp.3-14). London: The Falmer Press.
  17. ^ Robb, W. Values education as a better way to develop responsible behaviour, http://www.valueseducation.co.uk/articles/article-responsible-behaviour.html
  18. ^ Sharp, A M (1984) Philosophical teaching as moral education. Journal of Moral Education, Vol 13, No 1.
  19. ^ Rowe, D and Newton, J (1994) You, me, us! Social and moral responsibility for primary schools. Citizenship Foundation, London.
  20. ^ Lipman, M (1987) Ethical reasoning and the craft of moral practice. Journal of Moral Education, Vol 16, No 2.
  21. ^ Fisher, R (1994) Moral education and philosophy in schools. NAVET Papers Vol X.
  22. ^ Robb, W. What's wrong with Sex education?http://www.valueseducation.co.uk/articles/article-sex-education.html
  23. ^ Robb, W. Why drugs education won't work. http://www.valueseducation.co.uk/articles/article-drugs-education.html
  24. ^ Selmes, C S G and Robb, W M (1996a) (Eds) Values and teacher education Volume 1. CAVE, Aberdeen.
  25. ^ Selmes, C S G and Robb, W M (1996b) (Eds) Values and teacher education Volume 2. CAVE, Aberdeen.
  26. ^ Cross, M (1995) Values education: a staff development manual for secondary schools. Framework Press, Lancaster.
  27. ^ Farrer, F. (2000) A Quiet Revolution: Encouraging Positive Values in Our Children (London, Rider). p.35
  28. ^ http://www.livingvalues.net/profiles/index.html (accessed 27 February 2008)
  29. ^ Auton, J. (1997) Education in Human Values: Manual for Schools (Prasanthinilayam, India, Sai Towers), p.8
  30. ^ Dhammakaya Foundation (2005) A Manual of Peace (Bangkok: Dhammakaya Foundation)
  31. ^ Lickona, T. (1996) Eleven Principles of Effective Character Education, The Journal of Moral Education, 25(1), pp. 93 - 100.
  32. ^ Arthur, J., Deakin-Crick, R., Samuel, E., Wilson, K. & McGettrick, B. (2006) Character Education: The Formation of Virtues and Dispositions in 16-19 Year Olds with particular reference to the religious and spiritual(Canterbury, Canterbury Christchurch University).
  33. ^ Lickona, T. (1992) Educating for Character: How our Schools Can teach Respect and Responsibility (New York, Bantam).
  34. ^ Freres, D.R., Gillham, J. E., Reivich, K.J., & Shatté, A.J. (2002). Preventing depressive symptoms in middle school students: The Penn Resiliency Program. International Journal of Emergency Mental Health, 4, 31-40.
  35. ^ Layard, R. (2007) Happiness and the teaching of values Centre Piece (London, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE).
  36. ^ Values Education | Values Homepage
  37. ^ "Moral Education and Australian Values"Conference (Monash University)
  38. ^ Cummings, W.K. & Gopinathan, S. & Yasumasa Tomodo (1988) The revival of values education in Asia and the West (New York, Pergamon) p.83
  39. ^ ibid. p.91
  40. ^ Thomas, E. (1992) Moral development, cultural context and moral education, In Chong,K.C. ed. Moral Perspectives and Moral Education (Singapore, University of Singapore Press)pp.47-68
  41. ^ Kriengsak Chareonwongsakin (2006) “Values Education in Thailand: Preparation for Globalization, for the Academic Seminar for Values Education for Citizens in the New Century, pp. 319-345. Hong Kong: Hong Kong Institute of Educational Research, Chinese University Press
  42. ^ The Standards Site: Social and emotional aspects of learning... improving behaviour… improving learning
  43. ^ Nesbitt, Eleanor; A. Henderson (April 2003). "Religious Organisations in the UK and Values Education Programmes for Schools". Journal of Beliefs and Values, 24 (1): 75–88. doi:10.1080/1361767032000053015. 
  44. ^ www.valueseducation.co.uk

[edit] See also

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