| dc.description.abstract | This study focuses on the identification of didactic guidelines for presenting values
education in secondary schools. The studied literature sends a clear message that
values education is of cardinal importance in education, teaching and training. In 2000
the National Department of Education of South Africa assembled a task team to identify
a set of values in particular relevant to education and training. In the report Manifesto
on Values Education and Democracy (DOE, 2001) six core values are singled out as of
primary importance to the new dispensation in South Africa: equality, equal rights,
tolerance, multilingualism, transparency, accountability, and social responsibility. The
Report focuses only on national, political and social values, however. From research
performed by Rens (2005), Hattingh (1999) en Bagarette (1995), it is clear that an
individual needs to be educated as a holistic being and all life values thus need to be
addressed integratively .
A literature study was undertaken to clarify the concepts values, value orientation and
values education, and also to determine how adolescents experience values education.
Consequently, different values education programmes currently implemented in foreign
countries were analysed . It was found that the 'Cornerstone-waardes" programme of
John Heenan, applied in New Zealand, could reasonably easily be adapted for the
South African context. From the discussion of the curriculating process as applicable to
values education, didactic guidelines could be formulated for values education in South
African schools.
To identify the current orientation to values as manifested by learners, teachers and
school principals in South Africa, the values questionnaire compiled by Vreken and
Rens (2001) for research on the values orientation of university learners, was adapted
and completed by the population involved in this study. Principals were subjected to
partly-structured interviews to gain their opinions on values education in schools.
Interviews on possible guidelines for values education in South Africa were also
conducted by e-mail with international experts.
Since the primary aim of the study was to determine the values orientation of secondary
school learners and to recommend didactic guidelines for values education, the aim was
mainly attained by means of the empirical study. Noteworthy is, however, that there is
no symmetry between learners' views on important values and those that the
Department of Education finds it necessary to be promoted. | |
