Sponsor - Living Values Education Programme


What is Living Values Education Programme?
Vision of the LVEP
Materials - The Living Values Series of Books
Special Activities Book for Children at Risk
Results and Evaluation



What is Living Values Education Programme?

Living Values Education Programme (LVEP) (www.livingvalues.net) is a comprehensive values education programme based on the principle that values can and should be both taught and caught. The issue of implementation, and effectiveness, is resolved by an approach that focuses on the teacher as a potential, and necessary, role model while also stressing the importance of being learner-centred, or aware of what the learner is doing, and providing the opportunity for students to explore and develop values and associated personal and intrapersonal social and emotional skills. Educators are trained to accept, listen, and guide rather than impose and moralize. A values-based environment is created in which students, and teachers, can think about and reflect on the things that matter most to them. When taught in this way, values can also be caught; and, as the reports below reveal, not only can they be taught, they also are being caught.

Living Values offers a package of materials containing practical lesson content and using a range of methods, and comprising a wide variety of experiential values activities for use by teachers, parents and caregivers to help children and young adults to explore and develop twelve key personal and social values. The approach is experiential, participatory and flexible, allowing the Programme to be adapted according to varying cultural, social and other circumstances. The twelve values specifically covered in the Programme are: Peace, Respect, Cooperation, Freedom, Happiness, Honesty, Humility, Love, Responsibility, Simplicity, Tolerance and Unity.


Vision of the LVEP

The Programme's vision is of people living together in a world of inclusion in which there is respect and appreciation for each culture. Its activities aim to help children and young adults learn to perceive, understand and act in ways that promote peace, justice and harmonious coexistence and respect diversity. It is only with values such as these that citizens will be able to comprehend, face and resolve the challenges in today's world. The purpose of Living Values is to provide guiding principles and tools for the development of the whole person, recognizing that the individual is comprised of physical, intellectual, emotional and spiritual dimensions. Its aims are:

LVEP is a non-profit-making cooperative partnership among educators around the world. The Programme is supported by UNESCO, sponsored by the Spanish Committee of UNICEF and the Brahma Kumaris and developed in consultation with the Education Cluster of UNICEF, New York. It is part of the global movement for a culture of peace in the framework of the United Nations International Decade for a Culture of Peace and Non-Violence for the Children of the World.

LVEP is currently being implemented and producing positive results in about 70 countries at some 5,000 educational settings. While most such settings are schools, others are day-care centres, youth clubs, parent associations, centres for street children, health centres and refugee camps. The number of students doing Living Values Activities at each site varies considerably; some involve 10 students while others involve 3,000. In the Asia Pacific region, Living Values activities have taken place in Australia, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Laos, South Korea, Malaysia, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Turkey and Vietnam.


Materials - The Living Values Series of Books

Piloting of the initial LVEP materials began in March 1997. Following piloting, five separate books were created, reflecting comments and including contributions from educators around the world. LVEP's series of five Living Values books was formally published in April 2001 by HCI, of Florida, USA. The series was awarded the 2002 Teachers' Choice Award, an award sponsored by Learning magazine, a national publication for teachers and educators in the USA. The Living Values Series consists of the following books:

Translation of the Living Values series of books is ongoing into nearly 30 languages and, with regard to the Asia Pacific region, these include Bahasa, Chinese, Hindi, Japanese, Karen, Khmer, Telugu, Thai, Turkish, Urdu and Vietnamese.

A Framework for Action on Values Education in Early Childhood was developed at an international Workshop on Integrating Values in Early Childhood Programmes and Services co-organized by UNESCO and Living Values Education Programme and held in Paris in 2000. An activities book for use with children under three years' old is being finalised. Living Values also has its own comprehensive website with introductory versions of the books available for downloading.

Designed to address the whole child/person, Living Values Activities build intrapersonal and interpersonal social and emotional skills and values-based perspectives and behaviour. Students are engaged in reflection, visualization and artistic expression to draw out their ideas; cognitive and emotional skills grow as they are engaged in analysing events and creating solutions. The approach is child-centred, flexible and interactive; adults act as facilitators. The Programme emphasises the role of the individual teacher, rather than just the curriculum, as the primary resource for values education. During LVEP training, educators are asked to create a values-based atmosphere in which all students can feel respected, valued, understood, loved and safe. Part of LVEP educator excellence is viewed as modelling the values, respecting student opinions, and empowering children and young adults to enjoy learning and implementing values projects.

In Living Values Activities for Children Ages 3-7, Living Values Activities for Children Ages 8-14 and Living Values Activities for Young Adults, reflective and imagining activities encourage students to access their own creativity and inner gifts. Communication activities teach students to implement peaceful social skills. Artistic activities, songs and dance inspire students to express themselves while experiencing the value of focus. Game-like activities are thought-provoking and fun; the discussion time that follows those activities helps students explore effects of different attitudes and behaviour. Other activities stimulate awareness of personal and social responsibility and, for older students, awareness of social justice. The development of self-esteem and tolerance continues throughout the exercises. Educators are encouraged to draw upon their own cultural heritage while integrating values into everyday activities and the curriculum.

LVEP Educator Training Guide - LVEP Educator Workshops are available around the world and are recommended in order to implement LVEP most effectively. This guide contains the content of sessions within regular LVEP Educator Workshops. Sessions include values awareness, creating a values-based atmosphere and skills for creating such an atmosphere. LVEP's theoretical model and sample training agendas are included.

Living Values Parent Groups: A Facilitator Guide - This book offers both process and content for facilitators interested in conducting Living Values Parent Groups with parents and caregivers to further understanding and skills important in encouraging and developing values in children. The first section describes content for an introductory session and a six-step process for the exploration of each value. In this process, parents and caregivers reflect on their own values and how they live and teach those values. The second section offers suggestions regarding values activities that parents can do in the group and ideas for parents to explore at home. In the third section, common parenting concerns are addressed, as are particular skills to deal with those concerns. There is a small section on the needs of children from ages 0 to 2. A separate activities book for early childhood education is currently being finalised.


Special Activities Book for Children at Risk

For emergency situations, LVEP offers training to refugee teachers to implement Living Values Activities for Refugees and Children Affected by War. There are also special activities books for children affected by earthquakes and street children. Stories in the books for street children serve as a medium to educate about and to discuss issues related to domestic violence, death, AIDS, drug sellers, drugs, sexual abuse and physical abuse and are combined with discussion and activities focused on the development of positive adaptive social and emotional skills. With activities books designed for 3-7 and 8-14 age-groups, these materials are restricted, only made available to educators who undergo training for these particular modules.




Results and Evaluation

Educator evaluations have been collected from teachers implementing the Programme in countries around the world. The most frequent themes noted in the reports are positive changes in teacher-student relationships and in student-student relationships, both inside and outside the classroom. Educators note an increase in respect, caring, cooperation, motivation and the ability to solve peer conflicts on the part of the students. Aggressive behaviour declines as positive social skills and respect increase. The following are a selection from reports and comments by educators in the Asia Pacific region.

 

Following LVEP's first full year of implementation at Glendale East Public School, NSW, Australia in 2000, the combined feedback from teachers included: "The questioning aspects of the Programme are a real strength. The children are really responding and thinking well." "Activity lessons are very good and take a great deal of time; the children really respond to the gentle music; some children say there are no times in their family that are peaceful - their lives are so busy. The children love to be able to reflect and be peaceful - of all the lessons, these are the most positive with the children. They have an excellent release and are able to express what is inside of them. The visualisations are great."

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In Cambodia, LVEP has worked closely with the UNESCO office in Phnom Penh since early 2000. In April 2001, UNESCO completed the Khmer translation of the LVEP Activities Books and Educators' Guide and in May 2001 a five-day Train-the-Trainer, or TTT, took place in Phnom Penh. Following the May 2001 training, Cambodian LVEP trainers conducted four more one-day LVEP trainings with a total of 562 educators. Subsequently, Mrs. Lim Srey Phalla, Principal of Preah Norodom Primary School observed that LVEP has been integrated in the social study subject area and in the time of story-telling in the library, during which the children participate actively. Mrs. Lim noted that the children are developing more loving, respectful and helpful attitudes towards each other. Meanwhile, Mrs. They Sambo of UNESCO noted that the LVEP conflict resolution technique has been particularly useful in the Khmer Rouge community where she is working and the community is developing this new method of solving conflicts within their community.

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At a middle school in Beijing, China Mr. Peter Williams worked with teenage students for several months. When he asked his local colleague, Ms. Ao Wen-ya, why she thought a peace visualization was successful, she said: "It helped the children to find peace by themselves. It helped the children to feel happy and relaxed. It made them really want to be happy and motivated to build a better world and be kind to each other. Sometimes the children can be naughty in class; they don't concentrate. Now they are more engaged in their subjects because they are interested. They are motivated to learn because they are valued as people. They are now calmer and not as naughty. The quality and standards of work are higher. They are willing to take risks to express themselves well with more confidence." An observer from the Chinese Academy of Sciences commented that the motivation of the children had been greatly enhanced and that this carried over to other lessons.

Following a five-day training held in August 2001 with the Beijing Institute of Education for teachers from twenty local Beijing schools, a number of teachers reported positively on their experience of implementing the Programme. For example, Wu Ji-hong of Shi Jing Shan Experimental Primary School noted that her students became more confident, understood themselves better and came to realise their own values and strengths while she herself also became more peaceful. Gong Xian-jin of Xi Cheng Qing Lung Qiao Primary School commented that relationships among her students became more harmonious and loving while she gained a better understanding of the students.

Building on the achievements of the previous year, a three-day training seminar was held at the Beijing Institute of Education in August 2002 followed by a further three-day training at the China National Children's Centre, both of which were well attended and well-received by local teachers.

A number of local teachers have also contributed activities for the LVEP Activities Books and, following the successful publication by the Beijing Institute of Education of a trial edition of the Activities Books for 3-7 year olds and 8-14 year-olds, all five books within the Living Values series of books are being published in Chinese by the Beijing Normal University Press.

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In Hong Kong SAR, China, Ms. Kwok Yuen-wah, the Headmistress of Jimmy's International Nursery and Kindergarten reported: "In line with the new approach of educating the whole person, in 2000 we began to adopt Living Values Education Programme activities in our classrooms. The traditionally serious way of teaching moral education was put aside and replaced by a happy learning atmosphere. Teaching activities took a number of forms: in class, children learned cooperatively through games, singing, dancing and imagination exercises that matched the teaching themes; outside the classroom, children, teachers and parents jointly took part in activities that care for our environment so that LVEP was introduced not only in the family but also to the community. Outside the school, we helped children to be aware of their personal and social responsibilities, as well as their values regarding justice, when we had our picnic in the Zoological and Botanical Gardens in the autumn. We firmly believe that learning is more effective when it takes place in a happy and active atmosphere. Hence, we tried hard to create a good learning environment and opportunities for the children to put Living Values into practice. We also benefited from the input of our headmistress and our teachers in developing additional values activities. The teaching activities are interlocking to allow the children continuously to build on what they have learned and to enhance their personal values.

In the past, teaching and learning relied very heavily on textbooks. The teaching method used to be like preaching and was led by the teacher. Today, our teaching philosophy is to let the children taste a variety of learning experiences and to learn in an atmosphere that is happy, self-initiated and reflective. The activities of the Living Values Education Programme fit in very well with our concept. Through various activities that suit the lesson themes, the children would have a chance to understand what they themselves like and to develop their talents. They acquire knowledge through practice and learning to learn. We endorse the creation of a learning atmosphere that is values-based. It can ensure that values education succeeds and is not only beneficial for children but also enjoyable. We also firmly believe that as long as children enjoy learning, they will continue to search for knowledge on their own initiative and will practise the spirit of life-long learning.

Miss Lam, a teacher of our nursery class, said: 'I think the Living Values Education Programme is very meaningful, because from a series of LVEP activities a child can build a personal character that is good and positive. Children also learn to improve their social and communication skills. These are two very important ingredients for the growth of a person and young children must be able to receive such education as early as possible to help character formation.'

Miss Yim, a teacher of our upper class, observed: 'The Programme is most helpful to children as, through its activities, they begin to be concerned about themselves as well as others. They also begin to be aware of things that are changing around them. Naturally, children are different and such differences will affect their ability to learn and to understand.'

Mrs. Chan, a parent, said: 'I have discovered that there is improvement in my son's behaviour and social skills. It must be the good work of Living Values Education Programme.'

Another parent, Mrs. Chang, noted: 'My girl is only four years old but she understands that each individual has personal responsibilities. For example, Daddy and Mummy have to go to work every day and children have to go to school daily. We are surprised that through the activities she understands more about the meaning of responsibility and can fulfil what she has promised.'
In addition, at a parents' meeting, some parents mentioned that their children are very much aware of their responsibilities towards their own affairs at home and are concerned about things around them. From the above examples, we can see the effectiveness of the Living Values Education Programme."

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Living Values was adopted in Korea by Seoul International School for the 2000-2001 academic year to support Health and Social Studies programmes in the Elementary school. The Programme attracted an enthusiastic response; for example, Living Values became part of Jennifer Hart's daily classroom routine in the Junior Kindergarten and in her evaluation of LVEP she commented: "I love this programme! The best value for Junior Kindergarten was the Peace unit. My students now monitor their own behaviour and their peers." She shared how working with values helped one of her class members transform his antisocial behaviour: "One student in my class was very aggressive at the beginning of the year. While working on LVEP he became a new boy. I can now count on him to help in class and resolve his own conflicts. This is a great programme."

Working in the Senior Kindergarten with some of the activities for Peace, Respect, Cooperation and Tolerance, Lois Blair reported that over 90% of the class showed an improvement in the areas of self-confidence, respect towards adults and ability to cooperate, and good growth in the areas of respect towards peers and ability to resolve conflicts. Teaching a group of second language learners in 5th grade, Anisa Khan incorporated values in all her classes. Modifying the activities to meet the language needs of her students she targeted Peace, Respect, Cooperation, Happiness, Honesty, Responsibility, Tolerance and Unity. She noted good growth in responsibility, honesty, social skills, motivation and overall school functioning. She commented: "Classroom management is much easier. Students take a more active role in maintaining a healthy classroom climate; lots of positive energy."

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Mrs. Salma Syed is a teacher at the College of Home Economics, Lahore, Pakistan. There is a Child Care Resource Centre at the College and she is involved with curriculum development and teacher training programmes for primary education in Pakistan. In 2002 she started using LVEP and introduced it at the primary level in 104 educational centres in the province of Punjab in Pakistan. The material was first translated into Urdu and the activities and songs were modified to suit local culture. She reported that LVEP is "a very effective educational programme and it is being very well received."

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Karen refugee teachers at a refugee camp in Thailand have been using LVEP's Living Values Activities for Refugees and Children-Affected-by-War for several years. The educators noted that it is the favourite class of the day for students and that the students are more expressive and well mannered; the sadness and anger exhibited by some of the students is noticeably less and violence has declined considerably. "My students are so happy!" said one, "I feel as if my heart is soft now. I used to have such a hard heart." "Now I enjoy the children," said another, "I used to get angry so quickly before. I didn't feel as if I was a good teacher. Now I love to encourage them." Another reported that her students were now so adept at using the conflict resolution skills they'd been taught, that they never fight now. "They used to anger quickly and fight regularly," she said, "and now they do not fight. Some Living Values students tell other non-LV students when they fight, 'You don't have to fight, you can solve your problems. Would you like us to help?'"

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At Robert College kindergarten in Turkey, LVEP's Activities Book for Children Ages 3-7 was used continuously throughout the year 2000-2001 and the director of the Child Study Centre, Sema Ulcay, stated that the Programme was very useful. Citing an example, she stated: "One day, while doing some conflict-resolution with two five-year old children, I asked them how they could solve their problem without being aggressive. After thinking for a while and talking together they gave me the following response: 'This is a school of peace. We must solve everything by talking and loving each other.' This response was the result of having just finished working on the value of Peace, which we had been doing as part of Living Values."

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Created: 2 September 2003
Last modified: September 2003
Authorised by: Department of Educational Policy and Administration
Maintained by: Centre for Integrating Technology in Education (CITIE), The Hong Kong Institute of Education
Email: Ms June Ho scho@ied.edu.hk