Guidelines for Teachers

3.3 Effects on teaching values at school

Teaching fundamental values can assure foundation for the moral, social, spiritual and cultural development of pupils. Through exploring a selection of positive values in depth, pupils learn what these mean to them and their lives and what application they have for other people in the wider world. The enactment of these values in shared behaviours, shared language and reflection across the school enables pupils to develop both their cognitive understanding and their personal inner curriculum. Moreover, teaching values infuses the ethos and culture of the school, meaning that a child’s entire school experience furthers their spiritual, social and cultural development.

The report on Education policies and practices for fostering tolerance, respect for diversity and civic responsibility amongst children and young people in the EU (Van Driel, Darmody & Kerzil, 2016) reviews the most relevant European and international research on the issue of teaching values to summarise existing knowledge and to distil policy lessons based on evidence. Some of the conclusions from this report are:

1. ‘Respect for others can be taught. There is a need to correct misconceptions and provide opportunities for genuine intercultural experiences from an early age.
2. School policies that encourage ethnic mixing create conditions for inter-ethnic cooperation and foster tolerance. However, simply bringing together young people from different backgrounds physically is not sufficient to reduce prejudice and develop positive intercultural relations; schools need to create the conditions for all children and school staff to develop their intercultural competence.
3. The way a school operates makes a difference. In particular, whole school approaches and schools with strong and dynamic ties to the local community have great potential for promoting cohesion. They create a sustainable positive school atmosphere, as well as a stronger sense of belonging.
4. New effective methods for creating inclusive classrooms have been developed in recent years. Most European countries still tend to use traditional teaching methods, although methods such as project-based learning, cooperative learning, service learning and peer education are becoming increasingly common.

These methods have demonstrated their value in combating intolerance.’

A whole school approach to teaching values is important – this includes the teaching of values in a specific subject, its integration in other subjects, as well as in cross-curricular activities; a more dialogical methodology of teaching and learning; a democratic school culture with students’ active participation in decision-making processes; inclusive education bringing together different groups of students and teachers; teachers trying to live the values and teaching by being role models; and a link with the wider community.