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Principal, B Ed Section

Ramakrishna Institute of Moral and Spiritual Education, Mysore

The Present Context

The subject value education has come to acquire increasing prominence in educational discussions at all levels during recent times in our country. The issue has been projected as one of national priority in the National Educational Policy (NPE), 1986. The Policy declares: "the growing concern over the erosion of essential values and an increasing cynicism in society has brought to focus the need for readjustments in the curriculum in order to make education a forceful tool for the cultivation of social and moral values". According to National Curriculum for Primary and Secondary Education (1985), the crisis of values our society is passing through "demands more explicit and deliberate educational efforts towards value development". The first term of reference for the National Commission on Teachers (1983) was "to lay down clear objectives for the teaching profession with reference to the search for excellence, breadth of vision and cultivation of values..". The Working Group to review teachers training programmes in the light of the need for value orientation (WG) set up by the Government of India in 1983 recommended for the inclusion of a value education component in the teacher education programme besides spelling out details of curriculum, methodology and teachers role.

Concept of Value Education

Value Education, as it is generally used, refers to a wide gamut of learning and activities ranging from training in physical health, mental hygiene, etiquette and manners, appropriate social behaviour, civic rights and duties to aesthetic and even religious training.

To some, value education is simply a matter of developing appropriate behaviour and habits involving inculcation of certain virtues and habits. In opposition to such a conception, it is pointed out that value education has an essentially cognitive component in it and that this should not be ignored. Actually the ability to make moral judgement based on sound reasoning is a very important aim of value education and has to be deliberately cultivated.

Moral development of a child, according to some, results automatically from the social life of the school. The child as a member of the group imbibes the attitudes, values and general behaviour of the group and continually tries to mould himself according to the group norm. Such adjustment to life constitutes his moral development. Value Education is a process of aiding the child in such adjustment. Such a view is contested on the ground that although children learn the rules of group living from the social life of the school, such learning does not constitute value education. For morality, it is pointed out, is not concerned so much with `what is' as with `what ought to be' and `what ought to be done'.

Value Education, according to one more view, is essentially a matter of educating the feelings and emotions. It is the `training of the heart' and consists in developing the right feelings and emotions. It does not involve any cognitive abilities that can be trained. Like poetry, it is `caught' rather than taught. It is essentially a matter of creating the right atmosphere, imitation and learning by example communion with nature or modeling one self after an ideal. Such a view is countered by saying that mere imitation of a `good' person and modeling oneself after an ideal does not confer any morality on an individual. Morality is not a thing that simply `radiates' from one person to another. Moral development includes both thinking morally and behaving morally. Moral thinking is a distinct type of thinking characterized by the exercise of rational choice. A moral person is not only a person who does the `right' thing but also one who does the `right' thing for the `right' reason.

Objectives of Value Education

Educational objectives refer to explicit formulations of the ways in which students are expected to be changed by the educative process. That is, the ways in which they will change in their thinking, their feelings and their actions. Objectives whether of value education or of any other curricular area depend on a variety of factors, psychological, sociological, epistemological.

Objectives of value education in the modern context

Objectives, especially in value education, have a temporal dimension. Traditionally the objectives of value education were based on religion and philosophy. There was no secular value education and very little scope for the development of moral thinking and the capacity for independent moral decision. In the modern world these are varieties of social demands made on the people. A civilized individual must possess certain minimum social skills. He has to establish decent relationship with people with whom he may come across for a short while or for a long duration. He may have to transact business in his private or public capacity. He has to function as a citizen of his state, or his country and of the world, all at the same time playing appropriate roles in each of these contexts. There are also many other demands made on him that need not be enumerated. Value education should therefore, it is pointed out, prepare an individual to meet these demands. That these cannot be accomplished in the form of a few do's and don'ts of the traditional form is quite evident.

The Working Group on value oriented education has identified five dimensions on value education, these being physical education, emotional education, mental development, aesthetic development and the moral and spiritual domain. The values to be pursued in the moral and spiritual realm, according to them are:

Sincerity, faithfulness, obedience to what one conceives to be the highest, gratitude, honesty, benevolence, generosity, cheerfulness, selflessness, freedom from egoism, equanimity in joy and suffering, in honour and dishonour, success and failure, pursuit of the deepest and the highest of the absolute and ultimate and the progressive expression of this pursuit in thought, feeling and action.

In many countries today the emphasis is on socio-economic reconstruction with the declared intention of a more equitable distribution of the benefits brought about by modernization. Traditional cultural values have had little time to adjust to certain attributes of modernization. Planners of value education curriculum then are faced with the problems of identifying values and character traits hat will best equip the individual to take to his place in modern society. The objectives of value education should be such that the curriculum should recognize the tensions that are brought about by the conflicts between tradition and change. The planned programme should aim at developing a critical value perspective in our pupils that will enable them to employ modern skills for the betterment of mankind while helping them renew their commitment to fundamental traditional values.

The Religious Dimension in Objectives

In countries where strong religious education programmes are supported either by religious bodies or by the government, it is clearly desirable even where schools follow different religious programmes, to have a common value education programme agreeable to all bodies engaged in education.

Value education programmes for separate religious groups may lead to religious, cultural, social and political prejudice that in pluralist societies may disrupt national unity. In countries with a secular education system, the government should consider the contribution which religions can make in developing an effective value education programme. It is believed that a good value education programme can be developed without relying on religion. This may be necessary in multi-religious societies and in those where the population is a mixed one of believers and non-believers. At the same time, common teachings of all religions can be used to reinforce values and also teach religious tolerance and understanding to children. For this purpose it is necessary to make a study of the common teachings of different religions and the religious phenomenon as a whole that might be conducive to the value development of children.

The Spatial Dimension

An important aspect of value education programmes in all countries relates to the development of the spirit of national identity and patriotism in children. This is necessary for the purpose of integrating and strengthening a nation, especially if it has won its freedom only recently or if its security is threatened in some form. But this concern for national identity may occasionally take the form of national chauvinism and the citizens of a country may develop a feeling that their country is always right.

It has been argued therefore that it should be an important objective of value education to make children aware of the fact that the whole world is now a community of interdependent nations that the survival and well-being of the people of the world depends on mutual cooperation. Children should be enabled to develop a world-view and appreciate the contributions made to the world's progress by different cultures and made to realize that in the case of various countries coming in conflict with one another, the world would be a very unsafe place to live in.

The Cognitive, Conative and Affective Dimensions of Value Education objectives

To be educated in the real sense of the term is to be able to think right, to feel the right kind of emotions and to act in the desirable manner. Objectives of value education should therefore be concerned with all the three phases of personality development as they relate to the right kind of behavior. As these phases are themselves inter related, it would be erroneous to think that value education is exclusively concerned with knowledge, emotion or action alone. To say that `morality is caught' is to do injustice to the cognitive abilities and training involved in it. Similarly to equate value education with making students observe certain do's and don'ts would amount to ignoring education of feelings and moral reasoning. The point of mentioning this here is only to draw attention to the multi-dimensional nature of the value education enterprise.

Moral Components advocated by John Wilson

1.      A consideration for others: — Principle of equality _ dignity of the individual _ virtues involved; kindness, sympathy, altruism, courtesy, cooperation etc.

2.      An awareness of feelings in one's own and in others: — capacity to anticipate the feelings that would arise in himself and in others as a result of his action _ moral thinking about the pros and cons of his action _ `Do unto others as you would like them do unto you' _ virtues involved: magnanimity, nobility, altruism etc.

3.      Ability to collect data (in a situation involving morality). _ right decision making _ moral issues and moral conflicts _ ability to collect all relevant facts _ analyse _ think of the possible course of action _ scientific method of solving problems _ virtues involved : reasoning, endurance, patience, etc.

4.      Ability to take a decision: — moral education must train the person to be able to take the right decision _ virtues involved: justice, wisdom, temperance etc.

5.      Will to act on the decision: — may not act for want of sufficient courage _ fear anticipated _ virtues involved: courage, duty, responsibility etc.

Recommends for the development in children five Primary Moral Traits (PMT) and four Primary Moral Attitudes (PMA). He seems to have evolved these traits and attitudes considering moral education as a process of socialization of the individual.

1. to make right moral judgements

2. to postpone gratification of desires

3. to treat other human beings with dignity

4. to be flexible in making moral judgements

5. to be creative and dynamic in moral decisions

The individual must be educated to possess the following attitudes:

1. Autonomy: — freedom of the will _ feel free to take a decision.

2. Rationality: - moral decisions based on reason.

3. Altruism: - extending help and cooperation to others _ self-sacrifice

4. Responsibility: - prepared to own responsibility for all his actions _ accept guilt in all humility.

1.   Manujamatha (Universal man) _ The religion of man should make him a universal man.

2.   Vishwapatha (Universal Path) _ The path should be the universal path _ cross the barriers from colour, religion, caste etc _ feeling the infinite and becoming infinite.

3.   Sarvodaya (Welfare of all) _ bond of love _ broad outlook concern for others _ Principle of Spirituality.

4.   Samanvaya (Harmony) _ no dividing lines between any individuals or levels of society _ no difference on the basis of the material or the spiritual aspects of life _ function on the basis of cooperation, unity and spirit of harmony.

5.   Poorna Drishti (Integral vision) _ entire humanity as one human values which are universal and absolute.

Kuvempu's Sapta Sutras: (The seven articles of the charter)

The character of fundamental principles to be practised in order to become the "Universal

Man' says:

1. accept all mankind as one(community)

2. wipeout caste system (not to reform)

3. caste systems in all countries and all religions should be totally denounced and completely destroyed.

4. `Spirituality' and not religion should be the scientific principle

5. Relgiion should become `Religion of Humanity'.

6. As many religions as there are individuals.

7. No single book becomes the `only one' and the `most sacred' scripture-study and assimilate all books _ `build one's own philosophy'.

Value Education _ Its Content and Learning Resources

Value education cannot be circumscribed by textbook material but should be left to the initiative and inspriation of the teachers in finding the learning resources. However, there are a few ways in which value education can be imparted.

a.       Social and ethical values, examples from day-to-day situations, extracts from sayings of great men, incidents and problems which develop value judgement among pupils, dramas, dialogues, simple poems(Kavya Vachana) and scriptures from world religions could form the major part of the content along with the biographies of great men.

b.      Personal, neighbourly and community values should be taught in the classroom and thoroguhly discussed with the students.

c.       A variety of learning resources can be used for value education ranging from biographies, scriptures, proverbs, hymns and sayings of great men to current social and political events, stories from religion and mythology, moral dilemmas and schools events.

d.      Yoga and other activities that develop self-discipline among students could be included.

e.       Group activities like cleaning the school camps, visiting slums, service campus, visits to hospitals, visits to places of worship of different faiths should form part of content in value education. Discourses on the lives of spiritual leaders can bring out values like self-sacrifice, collective happiness, love for truth and ultimate values of life for which the great leaders lived.

f.       `Personality Development Retreats' could be held to enable the students to develop self-control, punctuality, sharing and caring respect for other faiths, cooperation and the value of silence(inner peace).

g.      Prayer, meditation and `Shramadan' could form part of the content of value education. They can help the students cultivate inner poise and an attitudinal shift, and develop the quality of `dignity of labour'.

h.      Observing `Jayanthis' ie., birthdays of great national and spiritual leaders and organizing youth organizations for character development like Balaka Sangha and Taruna Sangha can go a long way in the inculcation of values in students.

Chairperson, National Council for Teacher Education

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.

As a result of quick economic growth, influence of western culture, over mechanization, urbanization and craving for materialistic life there has been a loss of values and of the value system at the individual level and in the country as a whole. Materialistic needs and never ending lust to earn more and more by putting in less and less effort, therefore, have to be balanced by a value-based life and by inculcation of an attitude that earning money is for leading a respectable life and for helping others who are disadvantaged. Where and when this value orientation should take place in the life of any person? It should begin from home, be buttressed by the community and be entrenched positively by one's school. The kingpin in the schooling process is the teacher. If the teacher is personally committed to the values and practices them in his/her own life, it is a foregone conclusion his/her students will imbibe the values for which teacher stands. It is for this reason only those teachers who leave deep impact on their students are remembered and also revered. Therefore, if values have to be nurtured in children it would be crucial that their teachers function as role models. For helping teachers in internalizing values that should be developed in children through the schooling process, making education in human values an integral part of the curriculum of teacher education will be necessary.

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 21^st 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.

As the world has entered the Information Age another dimension to value education

concerns information itself. This is to do with the nature of information. Information is received by human beings through five senses _ the sense of seeing, hearing, touch, taste and smell. Information as any one of us receives it is value neutral. Information of seeing is carried by electromagnetic waves, which consist of vibrations of electric and magnetic fields. These vibrations when received by our eyes are transmitted as signals to the brain. The response of brain to information that is received by it is determined by its sub-conscious mind. A person may feel happy, threatened or worried by what he sees. A piece of rope when perceived as a snake can cause feeling of fear and a snake when perceived as a piece of rope gives the feeling of dealing with a harmless object.

Similarly, when information is received as voice, it comes in the form of physical changes in the medium that carries the sound waves, which generally is air. It comprises of condensation and rarefaction of density of the medium. The audio information through the eardrums reaches the brain. When an audio information reaches the brain response of a listener to that information is also determined by its sub-conscious mind. A listener may perceive it as music and get a feeling of happiness, or may perceive it as noise and become aggressive or get emotionally disturbed. Different types of reactions to an information have nothing to do with its nature. Information can either be an electromagnetic wave or an acoustic wave or even some molecules that may reach the nose. Information does not carry emotions. It is a common reaction to blame the information for the way an individual reacts to it. It is possible to change the quality of response to an information by raising the level of sub-conscious mind to a level of higher consciousness.

Therefore, 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.

Some institutions have already developed professional programmes in teacher education in which value education has been incorporated in the curriculum and have been conducting such courses. The Ramakrsishna Institute of Moral and Spiritual Education (RIMSE), Mysore, has been conducting a value oriented B.Ed. course for over 25 years. The question before the teacher education is whether for imparting value orientation of entrant teachers a new course would have to be introduced or the entire programme of pre-service teacher education should be given a value orientation? The answer to this question could be given through a metaphor.

In sweetened milk sugar is not visible but its presence is felt by its pleasant taste. All of us prefer to drink sweetened milk than to drink unsweetened milk and eat sugar afterwards. Therefore, for giving value orientation to the curriculum of teacher education instead of adding to the existing courses a separate course it would be preferable to inseparably integrate value education in it.

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. It has been playing the role of an innovator and that of a facilitator at the same time. Hence, the thrust of its recent efforts have been on production of multimedia resource materials on education in human values and conduction of orientation programmes for teacher educators with the help of experts and of institutions, which have specialised in the field of value education.

The NCTE has been conducting orientation programmes on education in human values for teacher educators and repackaging electronically the contributions of the experts and those of the participants. The outcomes of its programmes are distributed to each of its recognised institutions on multimedia CD-ROMs and through the World Wide Web of the Internet. Full texts of publications on value education in easily downloadable form have been made available on the NCTE web site (http://www.ncte-in.org ). Titles related to value education available from the NCTE web site are: Education for Character Development; Education for Tomorrow; Report of the Working Group to Review Teachers' Training Programme; Role and Responsibility of Teachers in Building up Modern India; Gandhi on Education; Sri Aurobindo on Education; and Tilak on Education. The titles of the NCTE CD-ROMs on value education are New Education for New India - Integral Education of Sri Aurobindo, Jeevan Vigyan and Teachers as Transformers. A CD-ROM based on the workshop that was organised by the NCTE jointly with the Chinmaya World Centre will be released shortly. Recently, in December 2001 two workshops on value orientation in teacher education for teacher educators of the Southern States were organised by the RIMSE.

It may be appreciated that the role of the NCTE in bringing any curricular change in teacher education programme, even providing facilitation in integration of education in human values in it, at best, is that of a catalytic agent. What NCTE is trying is to make available a basketful of resource materials on education in human values to teacher education institutions.

As a rule, every educated man is a man of Values. It does not mean that every literate is. We see a dichotomy staring at us in life. We have outstanding doctors who take away the kidneys of their patients without even telling them; brilliant engineers whose bridges collapse as soon as their bills are passed; accountants whose intelligent manipulations rob millions from the Government coffers; our exalted civil servants are truly functioning as unquestioned emperors; politicians promise the sky but do not even show the roof. All of them have received perhaps the best education and are trained in the best institutions. This intellectual dishonesty is horrifying.

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 centered. The yawning gap between thought and action is shocking.

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.

But, what are these values?

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.

Role of Parents and Teachers:

House is the first learning environment for the child and parents are the first teachers. They not only guide the child in its progressive path but also demonstrate the appropriate behaviour by their actions. Normally we come across three categories of parents.

a)      Over possessive: This situation normally prevails in unitary families. In these days of small families, the parents would have one or at best two children. They become highly concerned about these children, which is natural but they become over possessive, which is detrimental to the growth of the child. They would try to do everything for the child without allowing him to do or experiment something on his own. In this overflowing flood of concern, they pamper the child, overlook his omissions and start supporting him even when he needs correction.

b)      Indifferent: This second type of parents is not much concerned about the child. It does not mean that they do not love the child. Either, they are illiterates or too busy persons. Some of them do not have the methods and tools to handle their children and some do not have the time to guide and manage the children.

c)      Overpowering: These parents desire to bring up their children under `total discipline'. They expect the child to be always immaculate and faultless in every action and situation. They cannot tolerate anything otherwise. They are very critical and keep on pointing the finger of accusation at the child. They take all decisions about the child and truly believe that the child cannot/should not take decisions.

The classification mentioned above is not necessarily a watertight compartment. These are the general types. The ideal is to have a good blend of all the above types. I believe that handling of a child by the parent should be with an iron hand in a velvet gloves. Iron hand is too hard and harsh. It hurts. Velvet glove is too soft and is incapable of holding anything firmly and guide. Only an iron hand in a velvet glove can provide the necessary firm guidance without being unduly harsh.

We have seen many children who defy all systems and become too selfish. They normally come out from the family of over possessive parents. They are used to the pampering of the parents so much so that they expect the same thing from the world at large. They get hurt very quickly. Children coming out of the houses managed by the overpowering parents would become either oversensitive and introverts or totally immune to criticism. Those children who are not guided properly are left to fend themselves.

Extremes are always not desirable. The impressions that the child gets in the initial part of his life, remains with him. One can never escape the childhood experiences. They hunt and haunt him. What a person becomes when he grows up is very largely determined by the upbringing. What the parents did is more important than what they said, because, the child learns by observing and not just by listening. An alcoholic or a smoker cannot advise his child not to drink or smoke etc., Parents have no options but to become role models.

Role of Teachers:

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.

Confucius has outlined the ethics of teaching in three beautiful words.

Ren - which means an act of utmost love.

Yi - refers to moral uprightness.

Li - indicates etiquettes in personal and institutional life.

According to Confucian theory, only a person who is always a source of love, morally upright and whose behavior not only in personal but also in the institutional life is impeccable, is worthy of being a teacher.

The role of a teacher in the changing social scenario is becoming very challenging. In the earlier times teacher was the only source of information and commanded respect on this count. Any one desirous of gaining knowledge had to bow down to him. Today, we have multiple information centers. There are books, coaching centres, the audio visual aids such as audio cassettes, video tapes, microfilms and internet services that provide a flux of information to those who need it. Thus teacher's role as the only source of information is marginalized. The society is becoming more materialistic and values appear to be pushed into the background. There is nothing unusual about it. Each era throws up a role model and the whole society tries to emulate this model. Consider the Vedic times when wise man or a Rishi was an icon. Even the kings and the princes came down to his hermitage, sat at his feet to get knowledge. When you look into the period of Mahabharata, the role models had changed. The heroes of this era are undoubtedly the mighty warriors such as Bhishma, Drona, Karna, Arjuna etc. The Brahmin Dronacharya was teaching the princes warfare instead of philosophy. Even the God incarnate, Parusharama was also teaching warfare. Every one wanted to be a great warrior. Before independence of India, our role models were Gandhi, Patel, Bhagat singh, Rajguru and other freedom fighters. It was the dream of every youngster to be a freedom fighter and every school in the country was a training ground for freedom fighting. All school campuses reverberated with the chanting sounds of vande mataram. After independence, unfortunately, the icon of the society has been a rich man. Every one in the society is aspiring to become rich, as much as possible and as quickly as possible. Getting rich at any cost has been the motto. Invariably this process of getting rich instantly is at the cost of values.

The situation would not remain like this forever. There are enough indications that our country would awaken once again to those eternal values for which this land has stood for many centuries. We are at a transition time during which it is essential that the values are maintained and nurtured. Only an ideal teacher whose life itself is a beacon light of values can lead a society in the right direction. He has to demonstrate the essential values such as optimism, motivation, willingness to learn and teach, truth, non violence, never to speak and think ill of others, creativity and ability to demonstrate unaddressed love.

This is a tall order. But, that is the responsibility that the teacher must take in order to be an effective catalyst for social change.

We hope and pray that God gives all the teachers this strength.