J. Mark Halstead

Learning and Teaching about Values: A review of recent research

Children begin to learn values very early on in life, initially from their families, but also from the media, peers, playgroups, carers, their local community and other agencies. There is evidence that children probably develop a moral sense within the ® rst two years of life (Kagan & Lamb, 1987; Buzelli, 1992) and this is closely linked with their emotional and social development (Dunn, 1988; Kuebli, 1994). Children therefore arrive in school with a range of different values drawn from their pre-school experiences. The role of the school is two-fold: to build on and supplement the values children have already begun to develop by offering further exposure to a range of values that are current in society (such as equal opportunities and respect for diversity); and to help children to re ̄ ect on, make sense of and apply their own developing values. The ® rst of these tasks has received increased explicit of® cial attention in England since the 1988 Education Act, through discussion documents (OFSTED, 1994a; School Curriculum and Assessment Authority, 1995), through the statement of shared values produced by the National Forum on Values in Education and the Community (School Curriculum and Assessment Authority, 1996b; cf. Smith & Standish, 1997) and through the guidance for schools currently being developed by the Department for Education and Employment and the Quali® cations and Curriculum Authority. The term `values’ is used in this review to refer to the principles and fundamental convictions which act as general guides to behaviour, the standards by which particular actions are judged to be good or desirable. Examples of values are love, equality, freedom, justice, happiness, security, peace of mind and truth. The broad term `values education’ encompasses, and in practice is often seen as having a particular emphasis on, education in civic and moral values. It is very closely related to other terms in current use, including spiritual, moral, social and cultural development (OFSTED, 1994a), character education

An Islamic concept of education

The paper begins by exploring the problematic nature of philosophy in Islam. The second section examines the resources that are available for a systematic exploration of the principles of Islamic education. The third section discusses three dimensions of education in Islam, one focusing on individual development, one on social and moral education and one on the acquisition of knowledge. The paper concludes with a brief discussion of differences between Islamic and liberal ways of understanding education and of the possibility of future dialogue with western philosophies.

Values in Sex Education : From Principles to Practice

1. Why values are central to sex education 2. Diversity and change in sexual attitudes and values 3. Childrens voices and childrens values 4. Liberal values 5, Pleasure, recreation, health and well-being 6. Religious values 7. Family values 8. Love 9. Aims for school sex education 10. Frameworks for school sex education 11. Sex education in the primary phase 12. Sex education in the secondary phase

Should Homosexuality be Taught as an Acceptable Alternative Lifestyle? A Muslim perspective

Abstract> In most western countries homosexuality is gaining growing support as an alternative lifestyle and, being a part of sex education in schools, is presented to children as a positive image. The first section of the paper summarises the current political and social aspirations of the gay and lesbian movement and examines the underlying values and assumptions in this position as well as its educational implications. The second section considers evidence of the extent to which the gay and lesbian aspirations are receiving a sympathetic hearing from liberals, sex education specialists, Christians, members of other world religions and the population at large. The third section develops a Muslim perspective on (male) homosexuality, based mainly on Islamic teaching but also referring where appropriate to practices in Muslim countries. Muslims oppose the teaching of homosexuality not only because Islam proclaims homosexual practices to be an ‘abomination’, but also because the notion of homosexuality as a...

Islamic values: a distinctive framework for moral education?

The first half of this Editorial examines the implications of the close link between morality and religion in Islamic thinking. There is no separate discipline of ethics in Islam, and the comparative importance of reason and revelation in determining moral values is open to debate. For most Muslims, what is considered halāl (permitted) and harām (forbidden) in Islam is understood in terms of what God defines as right and good. There are three main kinds of values: (a) akhlāq, which refers to the duties and responsibilities set out in the shari‘ah and in Islamic teaching generally; (b) adab, which refers to the manners associated with good breeding; and (c) the qualities of character possessed by a good Muslim, following the example of the Prophet Muhammad. Among the main differences between Islamic and western morality are the emphasis on timeless religious principles, the role of the law in enforcing morality, the different understanding of rights, the rejection of moral autonomy as a goal of moral education and the stress on reward in the Hereafter as a motivator of moral behaviour. The remainder of the Editorial is concerned with the two main aspects of moral education in Islam: disseminating knowledge of what people should and should not do, and motivating them to act in accordance with that knowledge. Ultimately, moral education is about inner change, which is a spiritual matter and comes about through the internalisation of universal Islamic values.The first half of this Editorial examines the implications of the close link between morality and religion in Islamic thinking. There is no separate discipline of ethics in Islam, and the comparative importance of reason and revelation in determining moral values is open to debate. For most Muslims, what is considered halāl (permitted) and harām (forbidden) in Islam is understood in terms of what God defines as right and good. There are three main kinds of values: (a) akhlāq, which refers to the duties and responsibilities set out in the shari‘ah and in Islamic teaching generally; (b) adab, which refers to the manners associated with good breeding; and (c) the qualities of character possessed by a good Muslim, following the example of the Prophet Muhammad. Among the main differences between Islamic and western morality are the emphasis on timeless religious principles, the role of the law in enforcing morality, the different understanding of rights, the rejection of moral autonomy as a goal of moral educa...

Muslims and Sex Education.

Abstract Objections to contemporary practice in sex education are examined in the light of recent calls by Muslim leaders in Britain for Muslim parents to withdraw their children from sex education classes. The dilemma facing liberal policy makers is discussed, as they seek to reconcile the public interest, the wishes of parents with a wide diversity of beliefs and values and the perceived needs of children, and the paper concludes with a consideration of how far it is possible to develop an approach to sex education in the common school which is broadly acceptable to all groups, including minorities such as Muslims.

Autonomy as an element in Chinese educational reform: a case study of English lessons in a senior high school in Beijing

Recent educational reforms in China have emphasized “learner autonomy”, but this differs in crucial respects from the concept of “personal autonomy”, which is a central goal of western liberal education. The many changes that have resulted from the opening up policy in China in the last 30 years include what has been called “regulated individualism”, but moves towards individualism remain balanced by a recognition of interdependence and collectivism. Can autonomy take root in schools in these circumstances? The research reported in this article provides a snapshot of the situation in a senior high school in Beijing. It reveals that learner autonomy is currently hardly a reality at all in the classroom. Students show their desire for autonomy and manage the class activities for which they have responsibility with some degree of autonomy. The teacher also tends to accept the principle of learner autonomy, but finds her hands tied both by her own natural tendency to dominate the learning process (in accordance with traditional Chinese expectations of a teacher) and by the requirements of the University Entrance Examination.

Moral and Spiritual Education in Russia

Abstract The paper examines the systematic and authoritarian methods of moral education that prevailed with the Soviet Union before perestroika, and considers how far the recent political changes, include democratisation, the move to a market economy and the new religious freedom, have led to new approaches to spiritual and moral education.

Values Education and the Hidden Curriculum

This chapter focuses on an aspect of the hidden curriculum – the informal learning that goes on in schools, especially in the domain of values and attitudes, as a result of structured activities like registration, assemblies, grouping strategies and classroom organization and responsive activities mainly concerned with keeping order, like rewards and sanctions. The research reported in this chapter focuses upon children’s experiences of school rituals, collective activities and classroom management; on children’s own perspectives and understandings of the taken-for-granted routines of school life; and on what children learn from these things such as how to please the teacher, how to cope with boredom, how to decide whether to obey the teacher or not and how to reflect on what they experience. Thus the purpose of the chapter is to raise consciousness about certain aspects of schooling that are normally merely taken for granted as an implicit part of classroom life and to make teachers more aware of their own practices and of children’s responses. They will then be able to respond more effectively to children’s needs and to improve the quality of their work, particularly in the field of values education.

Moral Education in Family Life: The effects of diversity

Diversity is a feature of family life which those who speak of the importance of family values should not ignore. The diversity is seen not only in the structure of families, but also in the moral values which children actually pick up in the context of the family and the way in which the transmission of values occurs. Diversity becomes a matter of public importance when the values which children develop at home are perceived to be in serious conflict with the values which underpin moral education in the common school. Any response to this diversity requires a delicate balance between the right of families to initiate their children into their own moral values, the right of schools to teach the shared values of the broader society, and the right of children to develop into autonomous moral agents.