Values education in the school curriculum

Associate Professor Lesley Harbon

Faculty of Education & Social Work

The University of Sydney

International Conference for Teacher Professional Development,

Suratthani Rajabhat University, Thailand 6-10 Dec ‘11

Overview

•This keynote talk will

•(i) discuss the notion of values

•(ii) examine developments for values education in Australia

•(iii) outline some current recommended strategies to embed values education in the school curriculum and

•(iv) posit some thinking for the future.

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What are values?

›"broad tendencies to prefer certain states of affairs over others”

›"something (as a principle or quality) intrinsically valuable or desirable" (Merriam Webster Dictionary Online)

›A value is a construct ‐‐ “a construct is not directly accessible to observation but inferable from verbal statements and other behaviors” (Hofstede, 1998)

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Values are constructs

›Constructs do not exist in an absolute sense: we define them into existence.

›Constructs such as values are mental programs; like computer programs, we cannot observe them directly; we can only observe what they do. In the case of people, we can observe their behaviour, their words and deeds, from which we infer the presence of stable mental programs (Hofstede, 1998)

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Values - part of a nation’s culture

›Values are part of the culture, or “the collective programming of the mind which distinguish the members of one group or category of people from another” (Hofstede, 1998)

›A value system is the ordered and prioritised set of values that an individual’s culture upholds. A value system refers to how an individual or a group of individuals organise their ethical or idealogical values. A well‐defined value system is a moral code. Each individual has certain underlying values that contribute to their value system.

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Why do things matter to people?

›“In everyday life we regularly engage in reasoning about how to value things – about how children should be brought up, whether a certain kind of behavior is acceptable, whether the tax system is fair, or whether people are becoming too selfish, and so on.” (Sayer, 2011, p. 23)

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Why do things matter to people?

› Values inform not only how we evaluate others but how we evaluate ourselves, and they influence how we act, albeit often imperfectly. They therefore become part of our character, so that we are likely to feel upset if they are criticized; indeed radical challenges to them may feel like a violation. It is this quality which lends support to the view that values are subjective and private, indeed perhaps even sacred. … Values and valuations guide our actions, and our actions have consequences for our well-being and the things we care about” (Sayer, 2011, pp. 26-27).

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A Good Childhood

›“So the first key role of the school is to develop the powers of the mind. But the second key role is equally important – to train the habits of the heart.” (Layard & Dunn, 2009, p. 106)

›“Second, it is equally important to help individual pupils to manage their emotions.” (Layard & Dunn, 2009, p. 108)

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A Good Childhood

›cite a survey of teachers in 2008 who reported “disruption in their lessons… answering back… abusive or insulting comments… damage to property… persistent and malicious disruptive behavior, including open defiance, and … pupil threatening violence to another pupil… pushing/touching or other unwanted physical contact… violence by a pupil to another member of staff… violence to teachers from parents.” (Layard & Dunn, 2009, pp. 106-7)

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A Good Childhood

› “What can be done about this? The solution is two-fold. First schools must act as values-based communities promoting mutual respect between all members of the school and involving parents closely. Unless parents are intimately involved in the life of a school, it is not possible to improve the ethos. School councils have a role to play. Schools need to work really hard with parents, teachers and children to reach agreed standards of behavior and aspiration…. (Layard & Dunn, 2009, p. 107)

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new book – Gilbert, 2011

›Why do I need a teacher when I’ve got Google?

›The notion behind Gilbert’s work (2011) is that we may have lost our values now in an age when every bit of knowledge and more is available at the click of a button on a computer. Have society's values disappeared in this electronic age? If a teacher is no longer "the font of all knowledge" and has been replaced with unlimited access to information on the internet and on our mobile phones, what is the role of the teacher?

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Emotional Quotient

› In his chapter about EQ (emotional quotient), Gilbert posits that therefore EQ will make far more a difference to our learners’ lives than what Google can assist them with – pure facts.

›“The basic premise is, in a nutshell, your ‘softer skills’ such as dealing with yourself and others at an emotional level, are far more valid in today’s world than IQ alone.” (Gilbert, 2011, p. 39)

›Teachers are essential for students’ EQ development

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What teachers say is important

›“What you say, as a teacher, can have far-

reaching consequences in terms of both a

child’s academic success and their overall

well-being now and in the future.” (Gilbert,

2011, p. 181)

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The role of the teacher

› to deliver Values education complete with values, purposes and goals that provide a firm foundation for providing students with a quality education.

›How schools enact these is guided by dialogue between the school and its community. They will be seen in the school’s curriculum programs, philosophy, classrooms and relationships.

› “Values guide decisions about the curriculum. They support students, teachers, parents, carers and the community.”

› (source: Tasmanian Department of Education)

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National Framework for Values Education

› (i) care and compassion

› (ii) doing your best

› (iii) a fair go

› (iv) freedom

› (v) honesty and trustworthiness

› (vi) integrity

› (vii) respect

› (viii) responsibility

› (ix) understanding/tolerance/inclusion

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evidence of these values

›My research in West Sumatran schools in 2004 to see evidence of….

-“belas kasih / empathy”-“hormat/menghormati / mutual respect”-“kemurahan hati / gotong royong / inter-dependence”

-“kerja sama / cooperation”-“percaya diri / self worth”, and -“tenggang-rasa / consideration of others”

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Strategies adopted to “own” values education

› continual communication with parents

› explicitly overt collaborations between staff, modeling core values, especially seen in the fortnightly “gugus” meetings

› helping others was a key to the classrooms, with more competent students placed alongside less competent students and peer tutors to assist in remedial work in the classroom

› seen too in the playground, with some students considered “little doctors” to assist sick or hurt peers

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my own data from a school in West Java, 2011

›“Jagalah kebersihan” – Ensure cleanliness

›“Dalam tubuh yang sehat, terdapat jiwa yang kuat” – In a healthy body is a strong soul.

›“buanglah sampah pada tempatnya” – Dispose of rubbish in the proper place

›“bersih itu indah” – Clean is beautiful

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Values taught in each Subject

› English ›History›Mathematics›Science›Social Science›Geography›Visual Arts›Sport and Physical Education ›Health Education

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Freakley, Burgh & MacSporran (2008) 5 steps in making values education the focus

›Step 1 – introduce a problematic situation “students read the stimulus material and think about what might be puzzling or disagreeable.

›Step 2 – identify the problem. Students discuss and say what they find problematic by asking questions and answering others’ questions. They try to link notions and questions by identifying underlying themes.

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5 steps continued

›Step 3 – offer suggestions. Students offer suggestions in response to a central question by expressing their opinions. There will be agreement, disagreement, uncertainty and confusion.

›Step 4 – analyse concepts and use reasoning to develop arguments. In this step students need to demonstrate “reasoning”. Developing an argument and justifying it. They should uncover assumptions in their own and others’ thinking that might be impacting.

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Step 5

›Step 5 – evaluate and conclude. It may not mean unanimous agreement but students will all come to a better understanding of different points of view.

›The students will need to practice the method before embarking on the real content.

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The importance of learning from one another…

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References› Education Services Australia. (2010). Giving voice to the impacts of values

education: The Final Report of the Values in Action Schools Project. Carlton South, Vic.: Commonwealth of Australia.

› Freakley, M., Burgh, G. & MacSporran, L.T. (2008). Values education in schools: A resource book for student inquiry. Camberwell, Vic.: ACER Press.

› Gilbert, I. (2011). Why do I need a teacher when I’ve got Google?: The essential guide to the big issues for every twenty-first century teacher. London: Routledge.

› Hofstede, G. (1998). A case for comparing apples and oranges: international differences in values. International Journal of Comparative Sociology, 39 (1), 16‐32.

› Layard, R. & Dunn, J. (2009). A good childhood: Searching for values in a competitive age. London: Penguin.

› Sayer, A. (2011). Why things matter to people: Social science, values and ethical life. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

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