Thesis (DTh)--Universiteit van Stellenbosch, 2008. / Bibliography. Also available via the Internet.

Creation of open democratic Lithuanian society and modern worldwide tendencies results in changing of understanding of moral education. The aim of education is versatility. This also encompasses moral education. In order to get purposeful moral education, pupils choose either ethics or religion each year, both of which are available in school. Moral education is complicated because ethics has neither a single material sphere of expression nor a single area of education; ethics can be educated in all the areas of both life and education revealing human values and valuable relations. The problem of the research: an insufficient role of the head teacher in organization of moral education in school. The object of the research: organization of moral education. The aim of the research: revealing a role of the heads of educational institutions in organization of moral education in school. The research aims at pointing out an outlook of the head teachers and teachers of moral education towards moral education and a role of the head teacher in organization of moral education in school. An experiment of such kind means the subjects of the research are: o A conception of moral education; o An importance of moral education in school; o The help of the head teacher in organization of moral education; o A search of presumptions of service improvement of educational institutions’ supply of moral education. 60 head teachers of Kaišiadorys town and region, Kaunas and Vilnius and 110... [to full text]

Object of the research. The state of parents’ responsibility choosing lessons of moral education for their children. Aim of the research. To reveal the psychological and pedagogical expression of parents’ responsibility choosing moral education for their children. Objectives of the research. To perform the analytical review of scientific psychological and pedagogical sources; to emphasize the factor of communication between parents and children; to point out the state of parents’ responsibility choosing the lessons of moral education for their children; to carry out the psycho-pedagogical assessment of parents’ responsibility choosing the lessons of moral education for their children. Methods of the research. A summary of pedagogical and psychological and other sources as well as standard documents related to the topic; anonymous questionnaires; individual sincere and confidential talks with teachers and mathematical statistical methods. The results are reflected in the conclusions of the research. The main conclusions are: • Sincere mutual understanding and general view of what is hidden behind spontaneous human reactions is typical of parent-children interrelation and this is the first step towards learning how to understand children’s position since without this ability it is impossible to be aware of children’s and your own feelings. The emphasis is put on parents’ responsibility choosing moral education for their children. • Evaluating the state of parents’... [to full text]

The purpose of this study was to determine, under experimental conditions, the effects values clarification (VC) strategies might have upon the self concept of secondary students as measured by the Total Positive Score (TP) of the Tennessee Self Concept Scale (TSCS). Thus, the research question was: Does VC affect self concept among ninth and tenth grade students?The research was conducted at the H. H. Arnold High School in Wiesbaden, Germany, which serves an American military community. The population consisted of 50 freshmen and sophomore English students, 46 (34 male and 12 female) of whom were randomly divided intoa treatment and control group. The treatment consisted of 14 selected VC strategies conducted during a 50 minute class period Tuesdays and Thursdays of weeks two through eight of a normal nine week academic quarter. The control group viewed 35 selected films during the times the treatment was being conducted with the treatment group. All films shown to the control group were previewed by independent judges to insure content and level of interest was appropriate to the subjects. Effort was also made to insure the films shown did not promote examination of values in the same way as expected of VC strategies. During all other class periods of the quarter when the specific control and treatment activities were not being conducted, the normal curriculum of career development was maintained. For ethical reasons, each group was offered the other's experimental condition at the conclusion of the research period. No data were recorded at that time.Both groups were conducted by qualified secondary teachers. The treatment group was conducted by a 36-year-old female with 15 years of teaching experience, two master's degrees, and VC training from Sidney Simon. The control group was conducted by a 44-year-old female with 23 years of teaching experience, a baccalaureate degree and no VC training.The research design used in this experiment parallels Tuckman's Posttest Only Control Group design. The TP of the TSCS was used as the operational definition of self concept. The treatment effects were analyzed through a t test for independent means to compare the mean posttest TP scores of the two groups. A confidence level of .05 was considered necessary for testing signficance of the research hypothesis.The experimental hypothesis stated that there would be a difference between the treatment and the control groups in the self concepts of the subjects as measured by the TP of the TSCS. However, the findings revealed no statistically significant difference when the means of the treatment and control groups were compared. Clearly, the VC treatment did not have a statistically significant effect upon the self concept of the treatment group.The implications of the present research are particularly relevant to educators. Despite positive subjective observations by the students and teacher about the VC experiences, if the results are viewed as absolutely true, school systems will need to consider that VC in school curricula is not having a positive influence upon students' self concepts. Regardless of the grass-roots growth of the VC movement in public schools, the need for accountability demands a clearcut justification for continued use of VC methodology in classes. Such justification might be achieved through future research which could include: longer treatment conditions, more sensitive and specifically aimed test instruments, the use of younger subjects and the generation of a method of systematic interrogation aimed at the students subjective experience. The inescapable conclusion of the present study is that, with respect to the definitions and limitations of the present research, VC was clearly ineffective as a modifier of self concept.

This dissertation Is an investigation of educators' perceptions and practices of the key Constitutional Values in the Bojanala West Region High Schools. South Africa is experiencing an alarming increase of crime related incidents, such as, lack of accountability, dishonesty, violence and injustice, which is an indication of a decline in morality and values. Schools have their own problems, such as, lack of discipline and respect for authority especially by learners. The great challenge for education is for schools to transfer to learners not only the ability to learn and acquire skills for an increasingly complex world. It is also to ' assist in the building of character. Surely we all want our children to become adults who are caring, tolerant, fair, and respectful. We want our children to know and uphold the principles of; Democracy, Social justice and equity, Equality, Non-racism and Non-sexism, Ubuntu, An Open society, Accountability, The rule of law, Respect and Reconciliation. This is perhaps the expectation of parents and the South African Government alike. Data were collected from several sources. Questionnaires were distributed to High School educators in the four Area Project Offices in the Bojanala West Region, and structured interviews· were conducted. The findings indicated that educators agree that emphasis on the teaching of values is a solution to violence, social problems and lack of respect in our society, they further agree that the school has an important role to play in the teaching and imparting of the constitutional values to the learners. The interview responses indicated that educators are not aware of the existence of the Constitutional . values and the educational strategies to help them infuse the values into the curriculum, most of them indicated that they rely on their own Initiatives to Impart values to learners. Furthermore, the majority of educators interviewed Indicated that any attempt to give prominence to values in education should be done through the existing curriculum framework and not become an added imposition. / (M.Ed.) North West University, Mafikeng Campus, 2006

This study is of moral development in young children, with a focus on justice as fairness, a term appropriate to the life experience of three- and four-year-old children. The subjects were twenty-eight children attending two groups in a preschool centre (sessional kindergarten), eighteen female and ten male. The ages ranged from three years four months to four years eight months at the commencement of the study. The children were studied for one year at their kindergarten. Five problem areas were explored: (1) moral reasoning; (2) behaviour in peer conflict interactions; (3) relationship between moral reasoning in response to hypothetical dilemmas and behaviour in real-life conflicts;(4) construction of an instrument to describe and measure early moral reasoning and behaviour; (5) moral education within a preschool setting. Semi-structured interviews using Kohlberg-type dilemmas, and naturalistic observations of spontaneous social interactions in free play situations, were the methods used. Pretest and post-test interviews and observations were six months apart. Teachers of one group of children participated in a moral education project which included a process for using naturally-occurring peer conflict in the kindergarten to facilitate moral development.

This thesis explores the way a skilled teacher developed and implemented my idea that metacognition could be applied to affect as well as cognition in values education. This idea suggests that teachers can help primary school students to understand the role that affect has played in the development of their values through socialization, and that through this understanding the students may develop a greater capacity to question and develop their values in the future. I call this teaching idea the metacognitive-affective approach to values education. / The review of the literature explores a range of theory, research findings and practical teaching ideas. It looks at the psychological, social psychological, sociological, philosophical, and educational, literature to establish links between affect and cognition in the development and education of values. It also looks at literature on metacognition to establish ways in which metacognition could be focussed on affect and values. / The teacher developed her own understanding of my original idea, and developed, implemented, and evaluated, a teaching intervention based on her interpretation of the idea in a history unit of study over a ten week period with her grade six class. Data were derived from: (i) interviews with the teacher about her understanding of the idea, the concepts, and the issues, before, during and after the implementation; (ii) observations of the teacher’s implementation of the approach in the unit of study, and (iii) the teacher’s written reflections. / The research was an action research-oriented, evaluative case-study using an interpretive, naturalistic approach based on the constructivist paradigm. It employed a hermeneutic philosophical stance that emphasises the way prior understandings and prejudices shape the interpretive process. / The results of the research showed the metacognitive-affective approach to have potential, but, as there was insufficient time to fully implement it, there are still major questions about ways of implementing it, about its practicality, and about how to involve other teachers in trialing it. A conceptual framework for the approach was developed and the thesis concludes with the suggestion that other teachers be recruited to an action-research program to further trial and develop the approach using my framework as a starting point to confirm the value of the approach for practical classroom teaching.

No description available.

Thesis (Ed. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2007. / The entire dissertation/thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file (which also appears in the research.pdf); a non-technical general description, or public abstract, appears in the public.pdf file. Title from title screen of research.pdf file (viewed on March 12, 2008) Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Toronto, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 248-263).