Value Oriented Education: A Quality TeachingPerspectiveChaman Lal Banga

Assistant ProfessorDepartment of Education

ICDEOL, Himachal Pradesh University, Shimla – 171005Email : Authorchamanbanga@gmail.com; Profchamanlalbanga@gmail.com

Abstract

This paper highlights the value oriented education. Defining

value education as education itself, the author advocates the

need for the preparation of a teacher as an agent for social

change, to equip him or her to deliver the quality of values

as per the situation and explore the process by which children

develop values essential for living in the society. Teachers

need to be trained to create situations and be imaginative to

reflect on that situation by making students aware of values

and highlighting its need. Values education can take place at

home, as well as in schools, colleges, universities,

offender's institutions and voluntary youth organisations. In

this direction, radical change in human consciousness is

needed, so that human beings conduct themselves in more

desirable directions to shape their life patterns by

strengthening their beliefs and by integrating facts, ideas,

attitudes and actions. This will also help clarify their aims

in life as well as processes to achieve them. This paper

emphasises that value education in modern context is

considered much wider, transcending the boundaries of

religions and encompassing ethical, social, aesthetic,

cultural and spiritual values. Value- oriented education needs

to be realistically achievable in consonance with the academic

framework of a school. Values are not only taught overtly, but

are also embedded in the patterns of social relations and

interactions, the codes of conduct, modes of discourse

amongst students themselves as they partake of school life,

and in their interactions with teachers and administrators

etc.. So the encounter of values education is a complex

cultural practice. Value Education refers to planned

educational actions aimed at the development of proper

attitudes, values, emotions and behaviour patterns of the

learners. Teaching is both an intellectual and moral

enterprise; therefore there isn’t a point in time or stage

during the teaching or preparation that values aren’t a part

of the process Ball and Wilson (1996). Ball and Wilson (1996)

further argue that in the process of teaching teachers are

striving to establish and maintain the integrity in teaching,

this process being dependent upon the interplay of

commitments, values, beliefs and understanding of students,

subject matter, professional communities and parents. Teaching

is not a job; it is an attitude. Teacher is a source of

information, a guide, a mentor, a surrogate parent, a

motivator, all at the same time. Education, the belief is

around the teacher’s capacity to make a difference by engaging

students in the sophisticated and life-shaping learning of

personal moral development. While many of the eight

identified qualities or teacher values may be desirable for

teaching in all areas, they are essential for teaching values

education. It may of course be simplistic to identify only two

areas: values education and ‘the rest.’ It also refers to

significant changes in the educational system itself, in the

nature of its inputs (students, teachers, facilities,

equipment, and supplies); its objectives, curriculum and

educational technologies; and its socioeconomic, cultural and

political environment.

Kew words: Value Education, Quality Teaching.

IntroductionEducation plays a very important role in our lives.   It is

not to torture us by making us sit in class for hours at a

time, but to ensure us the opportunity to make the most out of

ourselves.   Very few people succeed in life without a good

educational foundation, so it is important to stay in school

and make the most out of it.   Education brings more than just

book smarts, but also knowledge of the world around you and

the tools necessary to make a comfortable and happy living.

Everyone, no matter what background or race wants to enjoy

life.   We all want to be happy, feel safe and comfortable.  

Education is something that can help ensure all of those

things.   In general, more education means more money, greater

employment options and better job security.   Job security is

of great importance throughout life.   It is something that

keeps a roof over our heads and food in our stomachs.   But

without an education, a chance at a job that can support the

needs of yourself, or in most cases yourself and others, is

nearly impossible. Education is a process of evoking knowledge

from the child, not giving knowledge to the him or her. Values

are not only taught overtly, but are also embedded in the

patterns of social relations and interactions, the codes of

conduct, modes of discourse amongst students themselves as

they partake of school life, and in their interactions with

teachers and administrators etc.. So the encounter of values

education is a complex cultural practice. Education should lay

a firm foundation in the child to stand upon a rock, a faith

where he can say, “well, the winds of the world can blow upon

me, but they cannot shake me off this pedestal.” But

unfortunately, today's education is only giving mere

information to the children, which they learn by heart and

reproduce in the examination, get 99% or even 100% and are

called the cream of their schools. In this country, nowadays

education means only preparing yourself for a job and people

want to do something that will give them maximum money,

comfort and good standard of living. As a rule, every

educated man is a man of Values. It does not mean that every

literate is. All the education they received is used to make

personal gains. Education to them has been a tool for personal

prosperity even at the cost of others happiness. It is very

self centred. The yawning gap between thought and action is

shocking.

The Adelaide Declaration (1999) tells us that schooling is to

provide young Australians with a foundation for “ ...

intellectual, physical , social, moral, spiritual and

aesthetic development,” while the Values Education Study tells

us that “ ... schools are not value-free or value neutral

zones of social and educational engagement,’ that they are

“ ... as much about building character as ... equipping

students with specific skills,’ and that “ ... values

education is ... an explicit goal ... aimed at promoting care,

respect and cooperation.” (DEST, 2003: ) In a very explicit

connection between the goals of values education and the

centrality of a quality teaching perspective, the National

Framework for Values Education tells us that: “Values

education reflects good practice pedagogy.” The report makes

explicit reference to the language of quality teaching in

extending the general notion of good practice pedagogy to

incorporate the specific notion of ‘good practice values

education.’ (DEST, 2005:7). With the criteria of Quality

Teaching in place, the focus of that good teaching that is

titled Values Education will fit well and be at one with the

underpinnings of teacher practice. Intellectual depth will

ensure that Values Education never settles for its own surface

learning (= a distinct possibility).Impelled by intellectual

depth, a la Habermas, Values Education will be building on any

factual knowledge (about values) to develop in students the

kind of communicative capacities, interpretive skills and

powers of negotiation that are at the heart of a social

conscience, and, moreover, the reflective and self-reflective

growth that is the foundation of a personal morality.

Similarly, the criterion of relevance will serve to ensure

that Values Education is always connected with the real

contexts and concerns of the students. Furthermore, the

criterion of supportiveness will underpin the credibility of

the values educator as being someone who practises what they

preach, and is a credible and authentic model of the care,

respect and love they are proposing as the basis of personal

morality and social citizenry. Today we are talking of value

education, value based politics and value based society. All

of us feel that the values are falling and nobody is

respecting them. In an enthusiasm to point fingers at others

we do not realize that we too have contributed to this fall.

Values are a set of desirable behaviour by following which it

is good for the individual and also the society. That exactly

is the reason as to why values are not taught, lectured about or professed,

they are only demonstrated. Two categories of people who make maximum

impact on the personality of an individual in the formative

years of life which remains all through the life are the

parents and the teachers. Incidentally, it is this class of

people who become role models good or bad, without their

consent or knowledge. Since independence education system in

the country has expanded very rapidly. In spite of the

recommendation of the several commissions on education that

education in human values should be made an integral part of

the curriculum, it is hardly visible in the State's schools,

perhaps, because of lurking suspicion that value education

might be used for religious education. India is a multi-

religious country and comprises of multicultural societies.

The constitution of the Republic of India is based on the

concept of secularism. Therefore, it is imperative to

distinguish value education from religious education or even

education about religions. Also, the country needs teachers

with vision - as good teachers make good schools and a good

nation. Teachers are the real masons who lay the foundations

of a nation. They can make or unmake a nation. Teachers have

to be competent and be committed to their task of nation

building by developing values in the future citizens. In the

UNESCO Commission Report, Education for the 21st Century - Learning the

Treasure Within, emphasis has been laid on reorientation of pre-

service and in-service teacher education for enabling teachers

in acquiring intellectual and emotional qualities that a

nation wants to be developed by them in their pupils. In the

National Policy on Education (NPE) and the Programme of Action (1992) emphasis

was given to value oriented education, and 10 core elements

were made an integral part of the school curriculum. But their

transaction has continued to remain fragmented. What is now

required is to use the instrument of pre-service teacher

education for ensuring that entrant teachers understand

holistically the concept of education in human values, and are

able to use direct and indirect techniques in formal and

informal education for the development of values through the

schooling process. Teachers will have to provide learning

experiences for holistic development of mind, body intellect

and emotions. So the challenge of teacher education will be to

prepare such teachers as can take care of the holistic

education of children. This would require value oriented

teacher education. There are two challenges that may have to

be faced in providing value orientation to teacher education -

stability and change. Stability demands preservation of

culture and change demands technology. The National Council

for Teacher Education (NCTE) is well aware of this challenge.

The foci of its recent initiatives have been on developing

resource materials on indigenous thoughts on education and

promotion of use of information and communication technologies

in school education through teachers. Value crisis is a global

phenomenon of our times. Rapid scientific growth and

technological advancements resulting in industrialisation have

threatened our age-old moral standards. Education has to be

directed to the full development of the human personality and

to the strengthening of respect for human rights. It should

promote values like understanding, tolerance and friendship.

Continuous and constant attempts have to be made at all levels

for universalising and reinforcing education. The youth have

to be given opportunities to develop individual excellence

through values and contribute to the progress of the society.

Education has to be an effective means to achieve this goal.

The main aim of value education in schools should be to make

the students good citizens so that they may share their

responsibilities for the development of the country. Students

should also be able to understand the national goals of

democracy and secularism. They could develop themselves to be

useful fellow citizens and continuously strive for their inner

development.

Values Education

Every decision a school makes is values based. A values-

based school seeks to promote an educational philosophy

based on valuing self, others and the environment through,

the consideration of an ethical values vocabulary

(principles that guide behaviour), as the basis of good

educational practice. It encourages adults to model values

and to give time for reflective practices that empowers

individuals to be effective learners and good citizens. We

have a growing number of schools that have been awarded

the Quality Mark as Values-based Schools.

Values-based Education is a great success and is one of

the fastest growing approaches in the world, endorsed by

teachers, school leaders and governments. This is because

it is based on the soundest principles of pedagogy,

educational philosophy, brain research and common sense.

It helps pupils to develop holistically, nurturing a

secure sense of self, respect for self and others and

supports the raising of academic standards. What is

emphasised, included in or omitted from the school

curriculum, the relationships fostered and encouraged with

the parent community, among staff and between staff and

students, the school’s classroom organisation, preferred

pedagogical approaches and behaviour management strategies

all reflect the values of the principal, staff and the

school community. In a sense schools can never be values

neutral.

The Curriculum Framework (1988) defines values as:

...the beliefs we hold. They are the ideas about what someone or a group

thinks is important in life and they play a very important part in our decision

making.

Definition of values

The definition of values does not carry a lot of differences

across disciplines but rather it’s what constitutes values

that is at the centre of the debate. Values in general speak

to the woth of something or its merit. Common to all the

definitions of values is the fact that ...they refer to

principles, fundamental convictions, ideals, standards or life

stances which act as general guides to behaviour or as points

of reference in decision-making or evaluation of beliefs or

action and which are closely connected to \personal integrity

and personal identity. Value Education refers to planned

educational actions aimed at the development of proper

attitudes, values, emotions and behaviour patterns of the

learners.  Education is intrinsically and by definition

value-oriented. In fact, education is a subset of a larger

setting of culture, and culture consists of cultivation of

faculties and powers pertaining to reason, ethics and

aesthetics in the light of the pursuit of values of Truth,

Beauty and Goodness (satyam, sivam, sundaram). Culture also

consists of infusing the influences of this pursuit into

physical and vital impulses, so as to refine them and

sublimate them to the highest possible degrees, and to

transmit the resultant fund of experience through various

modes of expression, including those of poetry, music, dance,

drama, art, architecture, and craft. The height of a culture

is to be judged by the depth and height that are reached in

terms of an ascending process of harmonisation and, in that

process, development of quest of spiritual inspiration and

revelation and their manifestation in various domains of

physical life. Every developed culture, therefore, inspires

methodologies of transmission of accumulated normative lessons

of culture to succeeding generations, and this process of

transmission is greatly secured by a process of education

which, in turn, discovers and implements a more and more

ripened system of acceleration of progress. Thus, the basic

thrust of culture and education is inevitably value-oriented.

Need For Value Education

(i) Value Erosion: We are going through a crisis of values in

our social and political life. Disregard shown to basic values

like honesty and integrity_, for example, in personal and

public life, has become a matter of grave concern. Crime,

violence, cruelty, greed and apathy to human suffering have

spread to all aspects of our life-- political, economic and

social.  Pursuit of material wealth and selfish ends at any

cost has become ultimate aim of life. There is great crisis in

politics and crisis in colleges.  Recent episode of law

students fighting between them in Law College premises in

Chennai is abominable. Is there any example needed to point

out the value crisis of today.  How are they going to save our

nation with this kind of attitude? How are they going to bring

justice to our nation? Is it believable when reading about a

colonel who served the army for many decades has had links

with terrorists in India in the News paper? Doctor who was

caught by police in North India for murdering her own child

recently spread shock waves. Students of Information

Technology and senior executives of software industries who

have links with terrorists in our country baffle our mind. 

This is the time when our government is in dilemma as to allow

the Gaysex legally.  Don't we have mind set to say that this

is sexual perverseness?

ii) Education equated with Transmission of Knowledge: 

Education is a process of initiating the learner to good life.

But today in education primary importance is given to

transmission of knowledge and cultivation of occupational

skills. That is alright in one sense. Is education aimed at

character-building in the learners?  But in the present day

system of education there seems to be a "moral vacuum".  As

Gandhiji pointed out, education without character, leads to

criminality; educated persons have wider opportunities to

indulge in crimes and that too committing them most

efficiently and technically

(ii) Spread of Degraded Culture:  The value of truth,

selflessness and service to fellow human beings are vanishing

from our life. People started believing that "might is right"

and through physical force alone problems could be solved.

(iii) No Social Concern: Today one sees everywhere grossness

and general insensitivity to finer feelings with the sole

object of life being to make oneself as comfortable materially

as one can. Sensitivity to sufferings of fellow human-being is

lacking in most of us and it is very rare to see people with

social concern. Our physical environment – rivers, mountains,

forests, plant and animal life-is getting increasingly

polluted, and depleted of its resources.

(iv) Indifference to National Welfare:

Narrow mindedness, communalist, linguistic and rationalistic

outlooks have divided the people and come in the way of

developing a unified national and international outlook.

All these problems cannot be effectively tackled through

narrow piece meal efforts.  What we need under the present

circumstances is a drastic change in our very outlook on life,

which could be brought about by value education, imparted

systematically right from the primary level.

When Teacher themselves lack values:

In today's schools and colleges we see a large number of

teachers who are more after making money by fair or foul

means. Such unscrupulous teachers make a fast buck through

indifference in classroom teaching and conducting mass private

tuition classes. This has led to all sorts of malpractices in

examinations. Some of the teachers are addicted to smoking,

drinking alcohol and even gambling.  How can such teachers be

entrusted with teaching great values to the students who are

future nation – builders? Value based education has expanded

from the medieval foundation of education, to include a

greater range of human talent and a much more inclusive number

of human beings, holding on to the dream that perhaps someday

everybody might be liberated by and education that stands in

the service of human freedom.

Role of Teachers

Teaching is both an intellectual and moral enterprise;

therefore there isn’t a point in time or stage during the

teaching or preparation that values aren’t a part of the

process Ball and Wilson (1996). Ball and Wilson (1996) further

argue that in the process of teaching teachers are striving to

establish and maintain the integrity in teaching, this process

being dependent upon the interplay of commitments, values,

beliefs and understanding of students, subject matter,

professional communities and parents. Teaching is not a job;

it is an attitude. Teacher is a source of information, a

guide, a mentor, a surrogate parent, a motivator, all at the

same time. Teaching is the only profession which always deals

with the future. To be an ideal teacher, who can be a role

model, one should ask himself three questions before taking up

this noble profession.

i) Do you love your subject? Anyone who does not love his subject can never

be a good teacher and cannot inspire his students.

ii) Do you love your profession? If one does not have the respect forhis vocation, he can never have self-esteem of himself. Suchteachers do not exude confidence and assurance.

iii) Can you love your students as intensely as your own children? Anyone whocannot answer this question in the affirmative cannot become agreat teacher. All the greatest Masters in the world havedemonstrated this remarkable quality of loving their disciplesunconditionally.

Teachers committed and dedicated to the cause of value-

oriented education play a vital role in the portals of formal

or non-formal channels of education. They have to develop a

zeal, a love for learning and an aspiration of doing something

good for the society.

They should acquire and utilise the strategies of education,

accelerating pace of learning in curricular as well as co-

curricular activities, leading to value-based education.

Education with this aim in view is essential in order to be a

better man, to have a richer life and to have a more

integrated personality. Education is the manifestation of

divine perfection already existing in man. It is the

realisation of the self. We must never ignore what one could

call the self- discovering and the self-fulfilling aspect of

education. This would relate to the enrichment of personality.

Thus education has a great cultural value, which cannot be

overestimated in terms of anything. It may be regarded as the

panacea on way to a social, economic and moral change. Then

only it would achieve its purpose fully. The important thing

is to create the right attitudes in students, so that they

gain interest and involvement. Teaching is a cognitive process

and has to be an effective one. It is essential that teachers

pass on positive attitude to their students.

1. Help the students reach their ‘full potential’, by

understanding their strengths as well as weaknesses.

2. ‘Praise’ the strength or quality the student possesses. Let

us not hesitate in showering praise. Most of us have a

tendency to catch students doing something wrong. Try to catch

them doing something right and giving a ‘1 minute praise’. A

smile and a pat on the back is the first thing in public

relations and behaviour.

Qualities such as responsibility, courage, self-discipline,

honesty, loyalty, compassion etc. are the essentials of good

character. Value education enables children to understand by

living values and virtues. It is training of the heart and

mind. Education is indeed to be and to live together.

(i) Value education comes through precepts and the logic

behind them.

(ii) Children are encouraged into good habits of thought and

action.

(iii) Children learn by example and through example. It is

here that adult behaviour (teachers) as a determinant of

success comes into play.

(iv) Children through stories, poems and historical incidents

see through how values help in life and how inspiring and

ennobling they are.

A teacher can help the students in developing a new attitude,

a positive approach towards their daily learning tasks and

sports, wanting to do something good for oneself, family,

friends, society, country and the globe. Environment and

resource conservation, and caring for nature are basically to

be looked into. The whole education has to be value- added and

value-oriented.

(i) To promote basic and fundamental qualities like

compassion, truthfulness, peace, justice etc. In the children.

(ii) To train them to become responsible citizens in personal

as well as social life.

(iii) To enable them to become open and considerate in thought

and behaviour.

(iv) To rise above prejudices on religion, language, sex,

caste or creed.

(v) To develop proper attitudes towards one’s own self and

fellow beings

Different perspectives on the good teacher Quality can be regarded from different perspectives. For many

students quality is a fair system where their skills are

awarded and where their achievements are acknowledged

(MacBeath et al, 1996). For example did a Scottish student in

grade 2/3 think that a good teacher; “is very clever, doesn’t

shout, helps you every day, is not bossy, has faith in you, is

funny, is patient, is good at work, tells you clearly what to

do, helps you with mistakes, marks your work, helps you to

read,\ helps you with spelling and has got courage.” (MacBeath

et al., 1996, p. 55). For parents quality is a school where

the students are safe and where they can learn in a

stimulating environment (MacBeath et al, 1996). For many

teachers quality is a school where the students want to learn

and where the working conditions are good (MacBeath et al.,

1996).

Moral Values and Thoughts of Vivekananda:Moral values are the standards of good and evil, right or

wrong which govern an individual’s behaviour and choices.

Moral values are the rules and guidelines, the mores, which an

individual or a group has about what is right or wrong, good

or evil. Morality speaks of a system of behaviour in regards

to standards of right or wrong behaviour. Moral values

include some important aspects:

1. Moral standards, with regard to behaviour;

2. Moral responsibility, referring to our conscience; and

3. Moral identity or one who is capable of right or wrong

action

Morality has become a complicated issue in the multi-cultural

world we live in today. Let’s explore what morality is, how it

affects our behaviour, our conscience, our society, and our

ultimate destiny. Morality describes the principles that

govern our behaviour. Without these principles in place,

societies cannot survive for long. In today’s world, morality

is frequently thought of as belonging to a particular

religious point of view, but by definition, we see that this

is not the case. Everyone adheres to a moral doctrine of some

kind.

Desirable Teacher Values That Inform TeachingThe dangers in deriving an ideal set of teacher values for

effective teaching include the tendency to confuse

personality with ‘character’ (values), and personal values

with professional values. One attractive image is that of the

teacher who is approachable, charming, enthusiastic and

possessing a strong sense of humour. It may well be however

that some students prefer a teacher who exhibits the opposite,

that is, one who is distant, phlegmatic and humourless, as

this teacher may produce better results. Carr (2010, 645)

argues that while certain desirable qualities (like enthusiasm

and charm) may contribute to professional expertise, such

personality traits are only ‘contingently contributory.’

While the expression of professional behaviours is dependent

on certain personal values, it is the context sensitive

expression of these values that has relevance for classrooms.

There is no lack of literature that examines desirable teacher

behaviour, and therefore implicitly, teacher values. There is

also a growing awareness of the importance of relationship to

effective teaching and learning. For instance, impelled by

the belief that ‘attention to pedagogical relationships is

long overdue,’ Bingham and Sidorkan (2004, 40) edit a variety

of contributions that explore the significance of ‘relation’

in education, focusing not so much on educational process as

on human relationships

The Cognitive Developmental ApproachThis approach is called ‘cognitive’ because it bases values

education, like intellectual education, on the active

thinking of students about values. It is ‘developmental’

because it views values education as the movement through

stages. These stages define ‘what (a person) finds

valuable....how he defines the value, and why he finds it

valuable, that is, the reasons he gives for valuing it’

(Kohlberg 1975, 672).

Desirable Teacher Values That Inform TeachingThe dangers in deriving an ideal set of teacher values for

effective teaching include the tendency to confuse

personality with ‘character’ (values), and personal values

with professional values. One attractive image is that of the

teacher who is approachable, charming, enthusiastic and

possessing a strong sense of humour. It may well be however

that some students prefer a teacher who exhibits the opposite,

that is, one who is distant, phlegmatic and humourless, as

this teacher may produce better results. Carr (2010, 64-5)

argues that while certain desirable qualities (like enthusiasm

and charm) may contribute to professional expertise, such

personality traits are only ‘contingently contributory.’ While

the expression of professional behaviours is dependent on

certain personal values, it is the context-sensitive

expression of these values that has relevance for classrooms.

Professionalism and commitment are apparent in the planning

for, and the demonstrable support given to students, and

cooperation is evidenced in promoting caring and respect for

each other and working as co-learners in the classroom. Two of

the arguably more enduring profiles of teacher

qualities/values that are desirable in establishing teacher -

student relationships to optimise learning are those of Carl

Rogers (1969) and Paulo Freire (1998). Those of the former

present an ideal of the teacher and human being as

emotionally and psychologically stable, and are described by

the author as follows:

Realness: This involves the teacher ‘being herself/himself ‘

without pretence or assuming different classroom persona:

‘she/he can be enthusiastic, bored, interested, angry,

sensitive and sympathetic...because she/he accepts these

feelings as her/his own, she/he has no need to impose them’.

Prizing, Accepting, Trust: This involves the teacher

acknowledging individual students, and caring for them in

such a way that their feelings and opinions are affirmed. It

includes accepting the students’ ‘occasional apathy’ and

‘erratic desires’ as well as their disciplined efforts.

Empathic Understanding: This involves the teacher

demonstrating a sensitive understanding of how the student

thinks and feels about learning. In his endorsement of

context as a major requisite for learning, Rogers (1969)

adopts the student voice: ‘At last someone understands how it

feels to be me without wanting to analyse me or judge me. Now

I can grow and learn.’

The Fully Functioning Person : This involves teachers in ‘the

process of being and becoming them self’ by being open to

their feelings and evidence from all sources, and by

discovering that they are ’soundly and realistically social’.

These teachers are emotionally secure and have no need to be

defensive. Freire’s (1998) ‘Indispensable Qualities of

Progressive Teachers’ also portray the essentially ‘human’

and emotionally responsive teacher:

Humility : knowing our own limitations, and embracing a

democratic rather

than an authoritarian classroom.

Lovingness : loving both students and teaching, and

practising ‘armed love’

(fighting for what is right).

Courage : overcoming one’s own fears.

Tolerance : respecting difference but not ‘acquiescing to the

intolerable.’

Decisiveness : making often difficult choices for the best,

yet being careful not to ‘nullify oneself in the name of

being democratic.’

Living the tension between patience and impatience :

preserving the tension between the two yet never surrendering

to either.

Joy of living : committing to both teaching in particular,

and life in general.

What is quality?

Whenever quality in education is discussed it may be

important to reflect on what is understood by the term

quality. Many educators, researchers and politicians have

tried to define this term and a number of different

definitions can be found in the literature.

One almost classical definition is the way in which Coombs

(1985) described quality in his book “The World Crises in

Education: The View from the Eighties”:

“..qualitative dimensions means much more than the quality of

education as customarily defined and judged by student

learning achievements, in terms of traditional curriculum and

standards. Quality (.....) also pertains to the relevance of

what is taught and learned -to how well it fits the present

and future needs of the particular learners in question,given

their particular circumstances and prospects. It also refers

to significant changes in the educational system itself, in

the nature of its inputs (students, teachers, facilities,

equipment, and supplies); its objectives, curriculum and

educational technologies; and itssocioeconomic, cultural and

political environment.” (Coombs, 1985, p. 105) . Quality

education should not be regarded as a process of consumption,

but as a process of interaction between teachers and students.

Education must aim at giving the students opportunities for

personal development and confidence to adapt to new situations

as well as change these, when they find that necessary.

Education can never be a neutral process; it will always be

value based. The balance between objective “facts” and

questioning these facts represents a great challenge to the

professional teacher. (ETUCE, 2002)

Different description of the good teacher The OECD report “ Quality in Teaching” (1994) defines teacher

quality in five dimensions;

“ knowledge of substantive areas and content; pedagogic skill,

including the acquisition and ability to use a repertoire of

teaching strategies; reflection and ability to be self-

critical, the hallmark of teacher professionalism; empathy,

and commitment to the acknowledgement of the dignity of other;

Another interesting approach to describe the good teacher is

the ten competences identified by Perrenoud (1999):

• Organising student learning opportunities.

• Managing student learning progression.

• Dealing with student heterogeneity.

• Developing student commitment to working and learning.

• Working in teams.

• Participating in school curriculum and organisation

development.

• Promoting parent and community commitment to school.

• Using new technologies in their daily practice.

• Tackling professional duties and ethical dilemmas.

• Managing their own professional development.

What qualities do we associate with an educated person?

William Cronon, the author of ‘Uncommon Ground’ (2) has

suggested 10 qualities.

They listen and they hear: Educated people know how to pay

attention to others and to the world around them. They hear

the emotion in the voice of the other, they can follow an

argument, track logical reasoning. The quality of an educated

person is that they can hear with respect. This idea of

hearing reminded me of the words of the Woman Poet, Gertrud

Kollmar when she said, "You hear me speak. But do you hear me

feel?" (3). Gertrude Kollmar did not survive the Holocaust,

but some of her poems did and her question reminds each of us

of the effort we must make to hear both words and feelings.

They read: Skilled readers know how to read more than mere

words. They recognise and understand great works of art, music

and athletic achievement. They read for the sheer joy of

reading and they read to understand our world.

They can talk with anyone: Educated people can talk to anyone

-a high school dropout or a college president. Moreover when

they talk they participate in conversation, ask thoughtful

questions, and listen to the other’s point of view.

They can write: Educated people know the craft of putting

words together. They can express what is in their hearts and

minds so as to teach, persuade or move the person who reads

their words to think and reflect about life and their part in

it.

Educated people are puzzle solvers: The ability to solve

problems, to be comfortable with computers, to look at a

complicated reality and break it into pieces, figure out how

it works and then put it back together again, is the mark of

the educated. This involves a cosmic consciousness because

part of the challenge of the modern world is to respect the

integrity of the world by replacing what we as human beings

have destroyed.

Rigor and truth seeking: A truly educated person loves to

learn. They understand that knowledge serves values and that

these need to be in constant dialogue with each other. True

rigor is noble, good but it is also dangerous if it is not

placed at the service of a larger vision that also renders it

humane. We must never forget that the gas chambers of Europe

were invented by the educated. Teach students to Respect

education and to Beware of education.

Educated people are tolerant and humble: A truly educated

person has the ability to step outside their own intellectual

range and emotional prejudices and open themselves to other

perspectives. The liberally educated person opposes

parochialism and celebrates the wider world. Without

encountering people who are different we will never appreciate

all that we have in common. Encourage students to travel, to

embrace new cultures while honouring their own, to respect

diversity.

They strive to make the world a better place: Learning to get

things done in the world in order to leave it in a better

shape is one of the practical implications of education. As

the great Dr. Albert Schweitzer, the accomplished concert

organist, theologian, missionary and medical doctor said "You

may have a great education, you may have the name of a great

college behind you, you have great careers ahead of you, but

if you do not block out at least a small part of your life to

give to others, you will never be truly happy." (4) Teach

students the examine at the end of each day: How has the world

become a better place today, because of me?

They educated person nurtures and empowers: No one ever acts

alone. The achievement of power, the exercise of talent, the

celebration of diversity is the recognition that the triumph

of one is in fact the triumph of all. The liberally educated

person understands that we belong to a community and that the

well being and success of the other is crucial to my own.

What is education? It is about Connection: The liberally

educated person is able to make sense of the world by making

connections. If we want to measure how institutions are doing

we need to look at how we encourage people to connect.

Liberal education is about nurturing the human spirit,

exploring human freedom and realising that education is never

really complete. In he act of exercising our freedom, we do so

in such a way as to make a difference in our world. Education

without goodness that is without ethics is arrogant and

dangerous. Unethical behaviour thrives in darkness, and can

only exist when ‘ethical’ leaders remain bystanders in the

face of evil. If we who are in the business of educating the

young want to measure and assess our efforts we need to look

at how our institutions nurture human freedom in the service

of humanity.

Conclusion Hence, to conclude: we live in a time when our understanding

of the role of the teacher and the power of Values Education

are coalescing. No longer is Values Education on the periphery

of the central roles to be played by the teacher and the

school in our society. It is at the very heart of these roles.

Unlike the assumptions that seem to underpin so many of our

concerns around structures, curriculum and resources, Values

Education is more cl early than anything I could point to in

contemporary education premised on the power of the teacher to

make a difference. While the artefacts of structure,

curriculum and resources are not denied, the focus is,

appropriate to the insights of the day, on what John Hattie

(2003) describes as “ ... the greatest source of variance that

can make a difference.” In the case of Values Education, the

belief is around the teacher’s capacity to make a difference

by engaging students in the sophisticated and life-shaping

learning of personal moral development.

While many of the eight identified qualities or teacher values

may be desirable for teaching in all areas, they are

essential for teaching values education. It may of course be

simplistic to identify only two areas: values education and

‘the rest.’ Curriculum specialists would claim that each

discipline has its own procedures of investigation and

teaching strategies, and therefore its own requisite teacher

values that inform teacher student relationships. values

education is an activity during which people are assisted by

appropriately qualified adults, in schools, homes, clubs and

religious and other youth organisations, to make explicit

those values underlying their own attitudes; to assess the

effectiveness of these values for their and others' long term

well-being and to reflect on and acquire other values which

are more effective for short term and long term well-being

References

Adelaide Declaration (1999) National schooling goals for the twenty-first century.

A.N. Maheshwari , Value Orientation in Teacher Education, Chairperson, National Council for Teacher Education.

Badrinath, Chaturvedi (2006), Swami Vivekananda The Living Vedanta , New York: Penguin, ISBN 0-14-306209-3.

Bingham, C. W. and Sidorkin, A. M. (Eds) (2004). No educationwithout relation. New York: Peter Lang.

Carr, D. (2010). Personal and professional values in teaching,in T. Lovat, R.Toomey and N. Clement (Eds). International research handbook on values education and student wellbeing. Dordrecht: Springer.

Coombs, P. H. (1985) The World Crises in Education: The View from the Eighties . Oxford: Oxford University Press .

DEST (2003). Values education study. Melbourne: Curriculum Corporation.

DEST (2005). National framework for values education in Australian schools. Canberra: Department of Education, Science and Training.

Dr. Gururaj Karajagi, Role of Teachers and Parents in Imparting Values , Jain International Residential School , Director, International Academy for Creative Teaching, Bangalore

ETUCE (2002) Quality in Education: Presentation of ETUCE ́s work 1995 – 2001. Brussels: ETUCE

Freire, P. (1998). Teachers as cultural workers: letters to those who dare teach.Boulder, Colo: Westview Press.

Hattie, J. (2003). Teachers make a difference: What is the research evidence? Invited address at the Australian Councilfor Educational Research conference, Melbourne.

Kohlberg, L. (1975). The cognitive developmental approach to moral education. PhiDelta Kappan.

MacBeath, J., Boyd, B., Rand, J., & Bell, S. (1996) Schools Speak for Themselves. Towards a framework for self-evaluation.London: National Union of Teachers MacBeath, J., Meuret, D.

OECD (1994) Quality in Teaching. OECD, Paris .

Paul H. Hahn (Xavier University) Commencement address Mt. Aloysius College. May 6 2000.

Perrenoud, P. (1999). Dix nouvelles competences pour enseigner. Paris: ESF. Prabhananda, Swami (June 2003), “Profiles of famous educators: Swami Vivekananda”, Prospects (Netherlands: Springer) XXXIII (2): 2

Rogers, C. (1969). Freedom to learn. A view of what education might become.Columbus, Ohio: C.E. Merrill Pub. Co.

Simeon S. Simon , Value Oriented Education - The Need Of The Hour, Prathyusha Institute of Technology and Management Thiruvallur Astronaut-teacher McAuley.

William Cronon: Uncommon Ground: Rethinking the Human Place in Nature and Nature’s Metropolis. Chicago 1992. Quoted in Carol Rittner and John K. Roth, eds. Different Voices: Women and the Holocaust. New York. Paragon House, 1993, vi.

Websites

http://www.det.wa.edu.au/education/cmis/eval/curriculum/learningareas/values/

http://www.indianmba.com/Faculty_Column/FC931/fc931.html

http://www.values-education.com/

http://ifihhome.tripod.com/articles/voe01.html