Value Education
Meaning of Value Education: Values education is a term used to name several things, and there is much academic controversy surrounding it. Some regard it as all aspects of the process by which teachers (and other adults) transmit values to pupils. Others see it as an activity that can take place in any organisation during which people are assisted by others, who may be older, in a position of authority or are more experienced, to make explicit those values underlying their own behaviour, to assess the effectiveness of these values and associated behaviour for their own and others' long term well-being and to reflect on and acquire other values and behaviour which they recognise as being more effective for long term well-being of self and others. This means that values education can take place at home, as well as in schools, colleges, universities, offenders institutions and voluntary youth organisations.
There are two main approaches to values education. Some see it as inculcating or transmitting a set of values which often come from societal or religious rules or cultural ethics . Others see it as a type of Socratic dialogue where people are gradually brought to their own realisation of what is good behaviour for themselves and their community.
Role of Value Education
Types of Values
Constitutional values: The Indian society upholds a set of values namely, democracy, socialism and secularism, which guide the life of the individuals and group functioning. These three basic values are stressed in the preamble of the Constitution of India as:We, the people of India, have solemnly resolved to constitute India into a Sovereign, Socialist, Secular, Democratic Republic and to provide security to all its citizens.
National Values
i. Justice: The justice is built upon affirmative and collective relations and dependent on collective interests of individual groups and society. It includes social justice, economic justice and political justice. ii. Liberty: Each citizen has the right to freedom of speech. But it should not harm and ignore the national, social and even the personal interest of others. It should not jeopardize the national unity and social amity. Liberty is essential for individual progress and progress of society. iii. Equality: It is necessary to achieve the ends in liberty. It is one of the important social objectives of democracy.
iv. Fraternity: For the glory of the individual and society, both the unity of the nation and the dignity of the individual is of vital importance. The feeling of compassion, love among human beings and the feeling of friendship are necessary for fraternity with a national feeling. v National Integration: In India we have multi-cultural, multi-lingual, and multi-traditional groups. Our constitution emphasizes the concept of unity in diversity and expects every citizen of India to honour the feeling of national and emotional integration. vi Respect for all religions: India is a country of plural religions. The feeling of hatred towards religion may hamper the unity of democratic India. Each Individual is free to follow his own faith and principles of religion. Each individual has to respect other religions.
Social Values
On account of radical changes brought about by technical, scientific and technological advancements, our society has been undergoing rapid changes in every walk of life. The basic objective of socialism is to establish a new social and economic order on the basis of equality of opportunity and on the social, political and economic justice. Individuals constitute society which has certain ideals, models and norms in respect of social behavior, duties and responsibilities towards one another. Social values refer to those values which are oriented towards social amicability and coherence. They necessitate the interaction of two or more persons. Social values are always practiced in relation to our neighbors, community, society, nation and the world. Social Values: Some of the social values may be listed as follows: i) Love towards humanity - Brotherhood, Sharing ii) Sincerity and honesty - Dutifulness, forgiveness iii) Faith in co-operative living - Friendship, team spirit iv) Good citizenship - Sympathy, sportsmanship
Professional Value: Many professions are in existence and each profession has got its own independent values. Irrespective of the specific nature of profession, the following are the common values of all the professions: Commitment Sincerity and honesty Resourcefulness Competence Integrity punctuality
Religious Values:
Religion is based on certain moral principles. The core of all religions is the welfare of human beings. It is a way of life and binds human beings. Due to difference in land, climate, culture and language, many ways of worship came into existence. All religions emphasize a sense of brotherhood, sisterhood and love. The following common values of life are recommended by all the religions of the world. Tolerance Simple living Purity Honesty Prayer Broad mindedness Simplicity Welfare of mankind Pursuit of truth Holy life
Moral Values:
Moral Values are the standards of good or evil or principles of right or wrong or desirable or undesirable which govern an individuals behavior or choices. Moral values are acquired as a part of cultural evolution. Individuals morals are derived from society and government. In due course the moral values may change as laws. When society moves into the modern era the earlier system of laws may vanish. (Faith, loyalty, nonviolence, obedience, purity, truthfulness are examples of moral values.) Inculcation of Moral Values: i) Parenting ii) Peer guidance iii) Conscience iv) Disapproval v) Shunning vi) Enforcing laws Another source of moral values is the religion. Each religion has an in-built list of dos and donts. They prescribe a set of codes and principles which have a great impact on the behavior of followers.
Aesthetic Values: Aesthetic values are values concerned with beauty or the appreciation of beauty. They provide pleasure and happiness to the individual and are composed of feelings of heart and mind. Enjoying or appreciation of music, literature, painting, drawing, sculpture, natural scenes, paper work, modeling, etc. belong to this category of values. Particularly, children possess aesthetic impulses and express their impulses through paintings, music, modeling, etc. from their infancy. One can enjoy beauty in science as well as in poetry, sculpture and painting. Aesthetic value is concerned with questions of beauty and artistic taste. Inculcation of Aesthetic Values: i) By providing opportunities for extra-curricular activities and histrionic talents like music, drama, dance, recitation and other cultural activities. ii) Exposing students to the work of artistic beauty. iii) Role of mass media.
Environmental Ethical Values: The earth is unique among all the planets in our solar system. It is with plentiful resources and providing sustenance for the survival of human beings. But today everywhere in the world, environmental degradation is escalating. The air, land and water are increasingly becoming polluted. The atmosphere is becoming warmer because of the increase in its carbon dioxide content. Marine life is losing its ecological balance because of toxic wastes being dumped into the sea. Hence we are all confronted with multifarious environmental issues like air pollution, water and land pollution, noise pollution, deforestation, energy crisis, misuse and mismanagement of natural resources. The world is virtually sitting on an environmental time bomb that is ticking away without the consciousness of many of us. Unless we diffuse it soon, our life on the planet earth will be destroyed. Hence there arises an urgent need to inculcate among our people sensitivity towards environmental degradation by fostering environmental ethical values. Ethics attempts to define what is right and what is wrong regardless of cultural differences.
We have a fundamental responsibility to respect nature and to care for the earth, protecting the life-support systems, biodiversity and sustainable development. As pointed out by Mahatma Gandhi , There is enough for our needs but not for our greeds. Environmental Ethical Values: The following are a set of environmental ethical values to be inculcated. Environmental consciousness. Humility and reverence. Responsibility and commitment. Respect for all life and landscape. Global environmental citizenship. Self-reliance. Adoption of eco-friendly culture.
