Values Education in Context

Schools in democratic societies have traditionally been expected to reinforce the basic values of these societies and to initiate young people into traditions of critical thought. During the 1960s and 1970s there were new demands for what was variously called Moral Education; Personal, Social and Moral Education; Citizenship Education; and Human Development and Relationships. Among theorists there was an acute awareness of the problem of indoctrination and about the importance of “neutrality” or at least “impartiality” in the handling of moral and religious values. Thus, there was much stress on Values Clarification (e.g., Raths et al. 1966), Kohlberg’s “content free” approach to moral development (e.g., Kohlberg 1970) and the work of the Farmington Trust (Wilson et al. 1967).