VALUES EDUCATION
Learning outcomes
Learner to appreciate the relationship between beliefs, attitudes and values
Use values education processes making value decisions to resolve value conflict issues.
Background
A belief is a proposition, conscious or unconscious inferred from what a person says or
does.eg I belief that elephants also have a right to live.
Belief is made up of three parts
o Cognitive (knowledge)
o Affective (emotion)
o Conative (action)
Believes are either true or false and are formed early in life
A smaller aggregation of related beliefs forms an attitude.
An attitude is a relatively enduring organisation of beliefs around an object or situation
predisposing one to respond in some manner.Attitudes form the core of our likes and
dislikes for other people and situations
Attitudes are always accompanied by an emotional element and a behavioural
tendancy.Eg we should all sign to urge legislatures to pass laws that are pro wild
life.
Underlying beliefs
Signatures will force legislatures to pass laws
Laws passed will help save wild life
We all have a duty to act on behalf of wildlife
Values are in turn formed by closely held attitudes. A value is an enduring conviction that a
specific mode of conduct or end state of existence is personally or socially preferable to an
opposite mode of conduct or end state of existence.eg honesty, respect for environment
peace.etc
Values analysis
Values analysis applies the scientific, logical thinking of deductive reasoning to the
study of values.
Its main objective is to help learners apply this form of investigation to values
exploration and decision-making in their own lives.
Through the experience of a values analysis exercise learners should become more
competent at integrating and conceptualizing their values.
1
, The role of the educator is to involve the learners’ values in the values analysis exercise
and to function as a non-evaluative, supportive and active listener for the underlying
meaning of learner discourse.
A values analysis exercise encourages learners to gain insight into values and to
establish an empathetic relationship with others in a situation where there is a value
conflict.
Values analysis exercises consist of 6 basic steps :
o identifying and clarifying the value question by defining terms and providing
examples ;
o assembling (gathering and organizing) facts relevant to the value question ;
o assessing the truth of these facts ;-
o clarifying the relevance of the facts to the value question ;
o Arriving at a tentative value decision ;
o Determining whether or not the decision is acceptable
Exercise:
You are faced with a situation of whether or not to advice for licensing of the killing of
an endangered animal to extract medicine for treatment of a killer disease that until
then had no known cure for it. Would you advice to licence or not. Use values analysis to
make a decision.
Values clarification
Values clarification as a methodology seeks to help learners utilize the seven processes
of valuing in their own to apply the processes to already formed beliefs and behaviour
patterns and to those still emerging.
Values clarification increases learner self-awareness, exposing the learner to
incongruity between preferred attitudes and actual behaviour.
Values clarification can :
- help learners to become aware of and identify their own values and those of
others ;
- help learners to communicate openly and honestly with others about their
values ;
- help learners to use both rational thinking and emotional awareness to examine
their personal feelings, values and behaviour patterns
Values clarification methodologies include role-playing, games and simulations of real-
life situations, in-depth self analysis exercises, out-of-class activities and small group
discussion.
Values clarification emphasizes the process of valuing, not the values themselves.
2
Learning outcomes
Learner to appreciate the relationship between beliefs, attitudes and values
Use values education processes making value decisions to resolve value conflict issues.
Background
A belief is a proposition, conscious or unconscious inferred from what a person says or
does.eg I belief that elephants also have a right to live.
Belief is made up of three parts
o Cognitive (knowledge)
o Affective (emotion)
o Conative (action)
Believes are either true or false and are formed early in life
A smaller aggregation of related beliefs forms an attitude.
An attitude is a relatively enduring organisation of beliefs around an object or situation
predisposing one to respond in some manner.Attitudes form the core of our likes and
dislikes for other people and situations
Attitudes are always accompanied by an emotional element and a behavioural
tendancy.Eg we should all sign to urge legislatures to pass laws that are pro wild
life.
Underlying beliefs
Signatures will force legislatures to pass laws
Laws passed will help save wild life
We all have a duty to act on behalf of wildlife
Values are in turn formed by closely held attitudes. A value is an enduring conviction that a
specific mode of conduct or end state of existence is personally or socially preferable to an
opposite mode of conduct or end state of existence.eg honesty, respect for environment
peace.etc
Values analysis
Values analysis applies the scientific, logical thinking of deductive reasoning to the
study of values.
Its main objective is to help learners apply this form of investigation to values
exploration and decision-making in their own lives.
Through the experience of a values analysis exercise learners should become more
competent at integrating and conceptualizing their values.
1
, The role of the educator is to involve the learners’ values in the values analysis exercise
and to function as a non-evaluative, supportive and active listener for the underlying
meaning of learner discourse.
A values analysis exercise encourages learners to gain insight into values and to
establish an empathetic relationship with others in a situation where there is a value
conflict.
Values analysis exercises consist of 6 basic steps :
o identifying and clarifying the value question by defining terms and providing
examples ;
o assembling (gathering and organizing) facts relevant to the value question ;
o assessing the truth of these facts ;-
o clarifying the relevance of the facts to the value question ;
o Arriving at a tentative value decision ;
o Determining whether or not the decision is acceptable
Exercise:
You are faced with a situation of whether or not to advice for licensing of the killing of
an endangered animal to extract medicine for treatment of a killer disease that until
then had no known cure for it. Would you advice to licence or not. Use values analysis to
make a decision.
Values clarification
Values clarification as a methodology seeks to help learners utilize the seven processes
of valuing in their own to apply the processes to already formed beliefs and behaviour
patterns and to those still emerging.
Values clarification increases learner self-awareness, exposing the learner to
incongruity between preferred attitudes and actual behaviour.
Values clarification can :
- help learners to become aware of and identify their own values and those of
others ;
- help learners to communicate openly and honestly with others about their
values ;
- help learners to use both rational thinking and emotional awareness to examine
their personal feelings, values and behaviour patterns
Values clarification methodologies include role-playing, games and simulations of real-
life situations, in-depth self analysis exercises, out-of-class activities and small group
discussion.
Values clarification emphasizes the process of valuing, not the values themselves.
2
