Moral education, the need of the hour

by A. M. Ahamed

Schools have a strong influence which affects the behavioural patterns of students and play an important role in value education. But their importance should neither be exaggerated nor denied altogether. Moral development is promoted both within and outside the school. A complex network of environmental factors influences the students home, schools, friends, media and other means of communication.

Teachers and parents have an additional responsibility to set an example. The communication system, both public and private can make a valuable contribution to promote ethical values and prevent unethical behaviour. Schools as a training ground for value education depend on its physical condition and the professional idealism of teachers among other things. The enter-relationship between Principal-Teachers, Teacher-Parent and various other groups, school traditions and values, the curricular and co-curricular activities, and the school tone have influenced the moral development of children. In this respect schools have a responsibility in exercising control and creating conditions conducive to the moral development of children.

Human behaviour

Human behaviour is complex. Research and studies should be promoted to explore the causes for different aspects of social situation. We should aim at moral education giving direction to various educative efforts. The objectives of moral education are related to the aims of life.

Every teacher is a value education teacher. There is no getting away from this fact.

The teacher’s task as a value educator is not indoctrination but making the students critically aware of values and understanding and appreciating them towards rational thought and deliberation. The education system-formal, informal and technical should be viewed by its present contents of instructions to develop and strengthen ethical values particularly in one’s formative years. To do his job well, the teacher should himself have personal commitment towards value education and influence his charges more with his personal example than precept.

This does not necessarily mean that a teacher should be a paragon of virtue or the paradigm of the ideal person. It only means that the teacher has to be honest in his dealings with the students and ensure exemplary conduct in accordance with the highest standards and ethics of his profession.

Educational policy

After Sri Lanka gained independence, the national educational policy has been directed to democratise education focusing on the doctrine of equality and social justice. Referring to this the Father of Free Education, Dr. C. W. W. Kannangara said, “Let us start building a national system of education which aims at realising the destiny of the nation. Are we going to have a nation in this country or not? Are we going to be slaves forever? Are we not going to have some freedom?

If we aim at that, let us start with our schools, let us educate our people. If it is going to be a national education let it certainly be religious in spirit, let it be patriotic in form. If it is going to be a national system of education, let it draw its inspiration from the historic past and not from recent times. If it is going to be a system of national education, let it be based on principles of justice, equality and mutual service. If it is going to be a national system of education let it provide for all the children of the nation, let it be directed to their physical, moral and intellectual welfare”.

What are values?

Values refer to anything that fulfils or has the capacity of fulfilling the needs of man, which might be physical, psychological or spiritual. There are certain rules and regulations meant for the moral growth of man, and they are moral values. So values always refer to human needs.

Value education

Certain educationists claim that the Moral development of the child, results from the social structure and life in the school. The child imbibes the attitudes, values and general behaviour of the group and continually tries to mould himself according to the group norm. Such adjustments to life constitute its value development. Value education is a process of guiding the child. Such a view might be contested on the ground that although the children learn the rules of group-living in the social life of the school, such learning does not constitute value education.

One of the main problems today is lack of cross cultural understanding. Which is a prime reason for the conflicts raging around us. People are enslaved to their cultural traditions and at times do not respect the points of view of other people or the reasons why they think and act in the way they do. This is because our educational system has confined people to their own culture and traditions preventing them from entertaining the viewpoints of others. This situation or habits could be overcome moral education.

The writer is a Deputy Director of Education.