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The Importance of Values Education in Primary School
Values education is the process by which people give moral value.In the new educational reform in Mauritius, the government has put emphasis in acquiring values Education at school. In the NCF (2015), it has been mentioned that it is important to impart values education in the learners so as to enable them to become a responsible and active citizen in the future. Due to globalization, there is a rise in conflict and violence, changes in parenting style and family culture, more concerns towards materialistic things. These are causing a negative impact in our society and reflecting in the child behavior. People do not have time to inculcate values in their child. Nowadays schools are solely responsible to teach values in the children. Value education is important as the children will be able:
- Understand and respect their belongings as well as others
The student will learn to respect their friend’s belonging by seeking permission before taking something. This will prevent them from stealing their friend’s belongings. They will learn to respect what others have and not to damage others belongings. By practicing these little things in the class, the student will develop a lifelong value as this will become their habit that is we should ask permission before taking something from others.
- Demonstrate sensitivity towards others, including a consideration of their rights and responsibility
The student will develop the value of care towards others. Nowadays we saw that people do not care for others and they are not ready to help. For example, if an elderly person is standing in the bus nobody in the bus cares for that old man or woman to give them a seat. They keep looking at them standing but they would not give their seat. The people nowadays are very selfish this is because they forget about the importance of values. Hence, in school the student will get the opportunity to practice these values. They will be able to understand their role as an individual at home, at school and in the society. They will also develop the sharing values. Nowadays I noticed that the teacher encourages Bring and Share of food at school in which the students share their food, Biscuits, Snacks with their friends. This promotes the values of sharing in the student.
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- Develop a sense of patriotism, love and pride for the country
The student will know the importance of their motherland and their responsibility as a patriot. They should respect the sacrifices made by our ancestors. They should know the difficulty faced before the country attained its independence. They should love their country and respect the flag. For example, at school every day the students sing the national anthem there is no discrimination be it a Muslim, a Tamil everyone sings for their country. This help the student to understand that everybody is the same and they must all love their country and they should be proud of their country.
- Develop the ability to make ethical decisions and act on them
The students will be able to differentiate between the right and wrong deeds. They will abide by the laws. Before engaging in a bad action, they will think twice about the consequences.
- Demonstrate civic responsibility and contribute thereto
The children will get the opportunity to know will increase how their government function. They will learn about the executive, judicial and legislative branches of the government. They will be aware of their rights towards their country and also that voting is an important duty of every citizen
Today’s children are tomorrow leaders. It is indeed important that a formal values education be integrated in the curriculum so that the child is better prepared for a stable and adult life. Nowadays schools are the owners to teach proper values to the children because the family and the religious institutions are failing to do so.
The Family
In the 21st century in Mauritius I noticed that children are showing unethical behavior and also there is an increase in moral degradation everywhere. The children are not to be blamed as there are various reasons causing these things to happen. One of the major reasons is the parents. Nowadays parents are more involved in their worldly pleasures and social obligations rather than their responsibilities towards their child. The child is being neglected with lack of love and affection. Consequently, this causes the child to take wrong path and decision. They start smoking and taking drugs. Parents have no control over their child. Children do not fear their parents. Parents are to be blame as they have no time to give love and show values to their child. Moreover, many couple are victim of domestic violence, this causes a negative impact in the upbringing of the children hence leading to degradation of values.
Long ago, people were living in extended families whereby grandparents were taking care of children and also imparting moral values. In today’s era due to the shift from extended family to nuclear family, the children end up spending a lot of time with housemaids and caretakers as their parents are working round the clock. The children are growing on their own, nobody is there to guide them of what is good or bad. For parents, love has been replaced by money. They spoilt their children by growing their concerns towards materialism and moneymaking. They failed in giving values education to their children. Due to lack of values education many youngsters are involved in crime, theft and also drugs. Hence, it is important in primary school to integrate values education.
Religious Institutions
Values education surpasses cultural and religious differences whereby there is an involvement in raising awareness of fundamental values and enables people to take their own decision about the good and the bad and enables wide range of respectful discussion. Nowadays people are so busy that they do not attend to religious ceremony. They consider it to be a waste of time. They prefer to watch television than going to the prayer. Consequently, the religious institutions failed to impart the good values concerning religious issues. If the parents himself is not attending religious ceremony, the child also will follow his parent.
The child will prefer to stay at home than going to the prayer. The children will prefer to do his homework or going to tuition than going to religious ceremony. Hence the child is being deprived of acquiring proper values to socialize with other people in the society. In multi-religious societies like Mauritius, the study of religion plays a vital in the development of values in people. If religious issues are not inculcated in the child since his childhood racial conflict may arise. Therefore, school is the only platform where children can be taught how-to live-in harmony with other religions, thus having a more peaceful Mauritius.
Neighborhood
A person who probably lives his entire life within the same neighborhood is likely to come under influences which may help or hinder the development of ‘positive values’. In small countries like Mauritius, the ‘peer group’ also influences the individual. Therefore, children coming to school will be exposed to a wide variety of values and thus making it easier for the child to adapt to real life situation. If children are coming from unstable neighborhood, they will be inculcated with the proper values to become better citizen. The children will be able to transmit the values gaining at school to the neighborhood.
Education values will encourage the development of social values, thinking skills and problem-solving skills together with the improvement in children’s character, behavior, independence, and develop self-confidence.
From a psychological perspective, Moral development includes children learning about how to tell the difference between right and wrong that is to use this knowledge to come up with an appropriate decisions when they are faced with difficult choices and to be strong and independent to act with that right decision (to ‘do the right thing’) despite the fact that it may not be a convenient thing to do.
Piaget
Values Education can also be integrated in the primary school curriculum through the psychological perspectives. Piaget suggested two stages of moral development:
- Heteronomous morality (moral realism)
- Autonomous morality (moral relativism)
Heteronomous Morality (5 – 9 years)
In this stage of moral development, children abide the strict rules and are completely obedient to authority. Piaget states that this occurs because of their cognitive development. Children in this stage are also judge how wrong action is by its immediate consequences that is negative consequences or punishment is seen as an automatic response to breaking a rule.
Autonomous Reality
In the second stage of moral development children start learning new thing by interaction with their peers and adults. A s per Piaget, in this stage children learn how to evaluate rule critically and apply them in collaboration and respect with other children. In this stage they understand that people make rule and it can be change.
According to Piaget (Moral Development by Stages), individuals attain development of moral reasoning in early and middle childhood. Children between the ages of 5 and 9 years see the world through the lens of a ‘heteronomous’ (other-directed) morality. In this moral understanding, the children regard that rules are created by authority like parents, teachers, god and the rules cannot be change so they there will have to follow the rules. Children are very obedient in this stage. They believed that breaking the rules will cause immediate and severe punishment so the children follow the rules as a way to avoid being punished. Inculcating values at a small age will help the child to be discipline and develop naturally from early years of school according to each level they passed.
At this level there is an improvement in their Cognitive abilities that is the children have better concentration and at this age they are better able to remember information for longer period of time. Hence it is an appropriate time to start teaching values education. According to Piaget cognitive development is closely related to moral development and also children thought about morality changed. In other words, Piaget’s theory is based on experiential learning taking the fact that the role of the learner is active where building of knowledge materializes when existing knowledge is revised and re-constructed. Inculcate values at a small age will help the child to be discipline and develop naturally from early years of school according to each level they passed. The child has intellectual capacity to learn and store the right information so as to give a moral judgment and develop a moral reasoning.
Lawrence Kohlberg
Kohlberg’s theory of moral development is categorised in 3 stages; preconventional morality, conventional morality and postconventional morality.
Preconventional Morality
Preconventional morality is based upon obedience and punishment whereby the person refrains from doing something for fear of punishment. Morality is also determined as per the individualism and exchange whereby a person’s act can be categorised as right or wrong depending on the genuine need of that particular person.
Conventional morality
Conventional morality includes the society and societal roles in judging the morality of an action.
Postconventional Morality
In this morality, Individual judgment is based on self-chosen principles, and moral reasoning is based on individual rights and justice. According to Kohlberg this level of moral reasoning is as far as most people get.
Kohlberg believed a better approach to affect moral behaviour should focus on stages of moral development. These stages are critical, as they consider the way a person organizes their understanding of virtues, rules, and norms, and integrates these into a moral choice. Hence if children at the primary level are in the preconventional morality stage, they need to be taught accordingly. Inculcating values at this stage is important as they would be able to make judgement of their actions.
Nowadays in Mauritius, we need education that is based on spiritual, moral and social values to keep progressing and save the environment for the future generation. It is clear that teachers have a central role in imparting these values to students as children are under formal care at school till the age 16 years. By explaining and teaching moral values through stories, poetry, novels and illustrations, children will be able to acquire good manner by respecting each other.
