VALUES EDUCATION: WHAT, HOW, WHY AND WHAT NEXT?

Dr John De Nobile, Senior Lecturer in Education at Macquarie University, has been involved in researching values education and related pedagogy in schools for a number of years and is currently involved in research projects investigating school communication, culture and values as well as the effects of the Global Education Curriculum on student values and attitudes. Prior to that, he was a member of the University Associates Network in the capacity of advisor to the Merrylands cluster project, part of the Values Education Good Practice Schools Project.</jats:p

Values education : what, how, why and what next?

The last decade has seen a lot of work done in Australia to raise the profile of values education. The Values Education Good Practice Schools Project from 2005 to 2008 and the Values in Action Schools Project from 2008 to 2009 both investigated how values education can have positive, constructive influences on matters as wide-ranging as pedagogy, teacher–student relationships, and student wellbeing and social cohesion. The achievements of those national projects have already been documented through several reports; the current article describes some examples of the impact of these projects on students and schools that the authors have observed, then offers some directions and speculations about the future of values education in Australia

Pulse oximetry as a means of assessing bowel viability

Utilizing a pulse oximeter, oxygen saturation was determined in the periphery (tongue) and compared to the intestinal wall in a canine model. Segmental intestinal ischemia was then produced and the last obtainable pulse oximetry reading was marked with a suture on either end of the ischemic segment. Reexploration was performed within 48 hr and full thickness biopsies were taken in normal intestine and at various distances into the ischemic segment. Blinded evaluation of the biopsies showed that all biopsies taken within 1 cm of a normal pulse oximetry reading were normal, whereas at 3 cm into the ischemic segment 7 of 15 biopsies showed partial necrosis and 5 of 15 showed full thickness necrosis. We conclude that pulse oximetry of the intestinal wall is a valuable method of assessing intestinal viability in this model. © 1990

Investigating the impacts of Global Education curriculum on the values and attitudes of secondary students

Each year, World Vision and AusAID devote substantial resources to their educational programs. These initiatives include the production and dissemination of Global Education related instructional materials and the provision of professional learning for teachers. Given the substantial funds involved, it is important that we evaluate the effectiveness of such initiatives. Are they for example enhancing students’ knowledge and understanding of global issues? Do they have a positive impact on attitudes and values of students? Do they enhance students’ sense of self or personal identity? Do they make students more predisposed to support programs that seek to alleviate poverty in developing countries? And, do they promote active and informed global citizenship? The purpose of this study is to investigate how the study of Global Education impacts student knowledge, understanding, attitudes and values. The research reported here explores student attitudes and values using quantitative data extracted from a total of 521 pre- and post- questionnaires. The authors will discuss that, despite the anticipated positive effect of the Global Education program, the results revealed an element of intolerance in the students’ responses.11 page(s