and reach thousands of daily visitors
18 FEBRUARY 2009
NO 1402
Value assumptions
This chapter, then, will argue that psychological theories are not value free, but are in part a product of the value assumptions that psychologists and teachers bring to bear. This being the case, it will be suggested that whilst teachers must be aware of the variety of psychological strategies available to them in the practice of moral education, these value considerations must condition the degree to which they accept and implement the findings of the various theories. The teacher needs to be suitably cautious in the acceptance and implementation of psychological material.
By way of an introduction, please read the following eight statements about possible desirable classroom practices, and ask which of these approaches is nearest your own educational beliefs.
1. Rewarding children for good behaviour is the best means of ensuring correct moral behaviour.
2. Classrooms should be structured in order to show children the correct behaviour to adopt.
3. Moral development is basically the result of an interplay between the experiences children meet and their thought processes.
4. Classrooms should be structured in order to shape a child's behaviour in the desired direction.
5. One of the teacher's most basic tasks is to let the child know that he or she is liked, respected and secure.
6. Experiences must be provided for children which stimulate them to try to make greater sense of themselves and their relationships with others.
7. `Do as I do' is more important than `do as I say' in the teacher's moral education of the child.
8. A child's basic needs must be attended to before higher personal and moral development is possible.
The first group (numbers 1 and 4) are the kind of statements one might well expect a behavioural psychologist such as Burrhus Skinner to make in advocating desirable teacher behaviours in the classroom. The second group (2 and 7) are the kind of statements which a social learning theorist like Albert Bandura might be expected to espouse. The third (3 and 6) are the kind of statements a cognitive developmentalist such as Jean Piaget might make. And the last (5 and 8) are the kind a humanistic psychologist like Abraham Maslow might utter.
Two things should emerge from the emphases given. Firstly, any fairly large difference between the emphases indicates that more value is being placed on the statements of one group of psychologists than another. In other words, regardless of the fact that psychology is normally taken to be a science, and therefore impartial in its findings, some findings are seen as more important than others, and some findings would rather be applied in the classroom than others. Secondly, whilst one group of findings may be favoured more than another, all theories will probably still be seen as having something to contribute. It seems important, then, that one is aware of the variety of theories available, what they stress about human beings and what they tend to leave out.
Now look at the groups of statements again. These questions about their basic assumptions may now be asked:
(a) How free or how determined is the individual believed to be in his or her responses in each of the theories? Compare statements 1 and 3.
(b) How logical and rational are people believed to be in their behaviour in the different theories? Compare statements 4 and 6.
(c) To what extent is the person seen as a single unified trait, or as little more than bits and pieces joined together by genetic and environmental chance? Compare statements 1 and 8.
(d) To what extent are people seen as changing because of how they see the world, or because there are measurable factors outside themselves which change them? Compare statements 4 and 6 again.
(e) Are people seen as capable of being explained in objective scientific terms, or are they seen as deep creatures whose personalities will never be totally understood? Compare statements 2 and 5.
It will readily been seen that whilst some of the theories may share some assumptions they will differ on others. (For a more detailed treatment, see Hjelle and Ziegler, 1981.) Each theory starts with a particular selection of assumptions about human nature. It will probably be the case that some of the assumptions listed above are the root cause for an individual's liking or disliking of a particular theory. Being aware of these (generally unspoken) value assumptions is therefore immensely important. (Another very readable introduction is Stevenson, 1984.)
It is important to notice that value assumptions enter into psychological findings in at least two different ways. Both psychologist and teacher come to the findings with certain prior value assumptions. Both necessarily start off with a particular notion of what a human being is, of what particular aspects are seen, believed or valued as being those things which make a person distinctively `human'.
MIKE BOTTERY
Bottery, M. (1990). The Morality of the School:
The theory and practice of values in education. London. Cassell.
pp. 53-55.
REFERENCES
Hjelle, L.A. and Ziegler, D.J. (1981). Personality Theories – Basic Assumptions, Research and Applications. New York. McGraw-Hill.
Stevenson, L. (1984). Seven Theories of Human Nature. Oxford. Clarendon Press.
