Break the Corruption Chain, Reinforce Values Education
Schools, more and more, have emphasized the acquisition of knowledge, which seems to have come at the expense of wisdom and positive ethical values, which have not been emphasized. Nonetheless, wisdom and ethical values are what’s needed to be taught in schools (Kappan,2013). A character is defined as “a complex set of psychological characteristics, formed in part by growth in cognition that enables a person to act as a moral agent” (Bajovic, Rizzo and Engemann , 2009, p. 3). Subsequently, character education or values based education can be considered to involve the construction of moral knowledge and social reasoning (Leichsenring, 2010).
What are Values?!!!
Values are mental processes that are both cognitive and emotional. They combine cognitive representations such as concepts, goals, and beliefs with emotional attitudes that have positive or negative valence. For example, the values, associated with life and death, require the mental concepts of life and death and also the emotional attitudes that view life as positive and death as negative (Thagard, 2013).
Modern theories of values are grounded in the work of Kohn (class and values), Rokeach (general value systems), and Kluckhohn (group level). Values can be conceptualized on the individual and group level. At the individual level, values are internalized social representations or moral beliefs that people appeal to as the ultimate rationale for their actions. Though individuals in a society are likely to differ in the relative importance assigned to a particular value; values are an internalization of sociocultural goals that provide a means of self-regulation of impulses that would otherwise bring individuals in conflict with the needs of the groups and structures within which they live. Thus, discussion of values is intimately tied with social life. At the group level, values are scripts or cultural ideals held in common by members of a group; the group’s ‘social mind’ (Oyserman, 2001).
Values are thus at the heart of the human enterprise; embedded in social systems, they are what makes social order both possible and resistant to change. Values are not simply individual traits; they are social agreements about what is right, good, to be cherished.
The Origin of Values
The family constitutes the first step within values education. The family is the foundation of all upbringing values. Children start to see and learn how to speak and share emotions for the first time in the social world of the family. Children learn in a similar way, yet what they learn varies from family to family, because each family has a unique world-view and value system (Bozkurt, 2010). The values-learning process, which starts informally in the family, is carried out formally in schools (Yazıcı, 2006). Schools constitute the second step of the values-learning process. In terms of values education, values are taught in schools in two ways: theoretically and practically. Schools and teachers have a great practical influence on children in terms of development of values, followed by family, media and peer group. Schools are also the places where the values of the society are theoretically represented and reflected. The existence and development of values are thus closely related to schools. From this perspective, schools have an important role in ensuring those values continue their existence (Halstead, 2005).
Both the family and the school make important contributions to the education of individuals. Cooperation between family and school is considered to be important in students’ academic, social and personal development (Özeke Kocabaş, 2006).
Examples of Values
A group of educators, character education experts, and leaders of youth organizations meeting under the sponsorship of The Josephson Institute of Ethics developed the following list: respect, responsibility, trustworthiness, caring, justice and fairness, and civic virtue and citizenship (The Character Education Partnership, Inc., 1996). The Council for Global Education (1997) asserts the following set of values are either stated or implied in the Constitution of the United States and the Bill of Rights: compassion, courtesy, critical inquiry, due process, equality of opportunity, freedom of thought and action, human worth and dignity, integrity, justice, knowledge, loyalty, objectivity, order, patriotism, rational consent, reasoned argument, respect for other’s rights, responsibility, responsible citizenship, rule of law, tolerance, and truth (Huitt, 2004). The values of which are frequently referred to in the N.F.V.E.A.S. case study projects done by Australian Government, are the nine central values mandated by the Commonwealth government, to be learned about and practiced in all Australian schools: 1) Care and Compassion: care for self and others; 2) Doing Your Best: seek to accomplish something worthy and admirable, try hard, pursue excellence; 3) Fair Go: pursue and protect the common good where all people are treated fairly for a just society; 4) Freedom: enjoy the rights and privileges of being an Australian citizen, free from unnecessary interference or control, and stand up for the rights of others; 5) Honesty and Trustworthiness: be honest, sincere and seek the truth; 6) Integrity: act in accordance with principles of moral and ethical conduct, ensure consistency between words and deeds; 7) Respect: treat others with consideration and regard, respect another person’s point of view; 8) Responsibility: be accountable for one’s own actions, resolve differences in constructive, non-violent and peaceful ways contribute to society and to civic life, take care of the environment; and 9) Understanding, Tolerance and Inclusion: be aware of others and their cultures, accept diversity within a democratic society, being included and including others (Leichsenring, 2010).
Values Education
Values education is an explicit attempt to teach about values and/or valuing. Superka, Ahrens, & Hedstrom (1976) state there are five basic approaches to values education: inculcation, moral development, analysis, values clarification, and action learning (See the table below)
Conclusion and Recommendations
Values determined could positively influence the development of democratic practices as well. This is because democracy is not only a form of government, but also a structure involving values such as human rights, freedom, equality, justice, promoting the sacredness of human existence human dignity, and valuing humans (Duman, Yavuz, & Karakaya, 2011).
Recommendations to implement effectively Values Education were as follows: a) It is essential to reach agreement in the school community about the values that guide the school and the language in which they are described; b) Values education is sustained over time only through a whole school approach that engages all sectors of the school community; c) School leadership is critical in developing values education as a core part of schooling; d) Values must be explicitly articulated and explicitly taught; e) It is critical to student learning that there is consistency and congruence between the values espoused and the values modeled; f) Professional learning of all teachers is critical at all stages of the development of values education; g) Developing positive relationships in classrooms and schools is central to values education; h) Success is achieved when values education is integral to all aspects of school life; i) Schools working in clusters can foster effective professional development and quality teaching and learning as well as provide support for values education initiatives; and j) Partnership with parents and community members.
To Conclude, I believe reinforcing values in our education practices is prerequisite to revolutionize our society from all forms of corruption which are threatening our existence as free human beings. We need to raise leaders who believe in democracy, value humans and are able to increase the general level of peace and harmony in a society.
