What is Value in Civic Education: So what are the importance of values in civic education if we may ask? All you need to understand on the questions about what is value in civic education, what are the types of value in civic education, as well as what is negative value in civic education has been provided. Read carefully to unveil more.
The concept of value can refer to a number of different things depending on context. Our analysis of the topic at hand, ‘values,’ will be approached from the vantage point of Civic Education.
The many senses of value that people possess lead them to assign varying levels of worth to various things.
For instance, one individual might choose a car over a house for no other reason than the fact that they place a higher value on the car.
One person can decide to go in the opposite direction since, from their point of view, the residence has a higher worth.
Just for a second, think about anything that you adore, value, or look up to tremendously. It could be either of your parents, one of your brothers or sisters, a close friend, or even a piece of modern technology.
You will never stop doing everything in your ability to preserve, protect, and respect the things that you care deeply about and regard to be of great importance (have value).
In point of fact, you are unable to publicly contradict your feelings of affection for anything that you have set importance on.
What is Value As a Concept?
A society’s values might be thought of as the ideas, things, or principles that its members hold most dear.
Norms and behavioral characteristics that are usually acknowledged as having commonly accepted as being of considerable significance in society are referred to as values.
People’s precepts, moral principles, thoughts, and beliefs that they hold dear and cherish are examples of values.
Some examples of values include truthfulness, contentment, faithfulness, justice, tolerance, fair play, and other similar concepts.
The way in which the individuals who make up a society, nation, or state think and interact with one another is shaped by the values that are held by those individuals.
The term “values” refers to the worth that is ascribed to things that may not be capable of being quantified, such as integrity, hard work, perseverance, and so on.
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What is Value in Civic Education? Civic Explained!
The study of the rights and responsibilities of people in relation to society is known as civics. The origin of the term can be traced back to the Latin word civics, which means “pertaining to a citizen.”
The phrase refers to actions that have an impact on the lives of other members of the community, particularly in the context of urban growth.
In its broadest sense, “civic education” refers to all the activities that influence people’s attitudes, commitments, capacities, and behaviors as current or potential community members.
Institutions and communities already transmit values and norms without intending to; civic education does not need to be purposeful or deliberate.
It might not be advantageous since occasionally civic education works against people’s interests or weakens their sense of self-worth.
There is little doubt that it extends beyond the instruction of children and young people in schools. Civic education is viewed as a lifetime process that involves many institutions, including families, governments, churches, and the media.
Tocqueville’s oft-quoted statement that participation in local politics is a form of civic education is a justly famous illustration of this.
“Town meetings are to liberty what primary schools are to science; they bring it within the people’s reach, they teach men how to use and how to enjoy it,” he said.
In contrast to paideia (see below) and other types of citizen preparation that incorporate an entire culture and last a lifetime, the majority of scholarship that uses the term “civic education” examines intentional programs of instruction within schools or institutions.
The focus on education is justified for a number of reasons. First, research demonstrates that civic habits and ideals may be influenced and changed rather readily when people are still young, demonstrating that schooling can be successful when other efforts to educate citizens would fail (Sherrod, Flanagan, and Youniss, 2002).
Another factor is that many nations’ educational systems explicitly aim to prepare pupils for citizenship. School-based instruction is our most purposeful kind of human instruction, according to Amy Gutmann (1987, 15).
Public discussion of the goals and strategies of civic education in schools is important. Nevertheless, it’s critical to remember that civic education occurs at all ages and in a variety of settings outside of schools.
Civic education, whether narrowly or generally defined, involves the following empirical issues:
What leads people to form enduring habits, values, knowledge, and abilities that are pertinent to their participation in communities?
Are people affected differently if their starting points, ages, or socioeconomic or cultural backgrounds differ?
For instance, what improvements may be made to a high school civics course in order to make it more effective?
Since it was widely believed that socioeconomic class and ideology would have a greater impact than purposeful initiatives during this time period, empirical questions about civic education were mostly ignored from the 1960s through the 1980s (Cook, 1985).
Since then, numerous research studies and program evaluations have discovered significant effects, and the majority of social scientists who study the subject now think that educational practices like debate of contentious issues, participation in practical activities, and reflection can affect students (Sherrod, Torney-Purta & Flanagan, 2010).
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What are the Types of Values in Civic Education
Three (3) different types of values exist:
1. Positive values:
2. Negative values
3. Intrinsic values
Below we shall look at them obne after the other. Come with me.
1. Positive values:
These are the traits that are advantageous to both the individual and society at large.
Honesty, integrity, perseverance, hard work, diligence, discipline, patience, respect, and other virtues are examples of positive values.
Positive values sample listing‘
1: Honesty
2: Deligence
3: Discipline
4: Integrity
5: Patience
6: Positive Dedication and Focus
7: Respect
1: Goodness
8: Sincerity
9: Equity
10: Justice
11: Prudence
12: Self Belief
1: Selflessness
13: Kindness
14: Tolerance
15: Forgiveness
16: Self Control
17: Temperance
18: Cooperation
19: Compassion
20: Humility
2. Negative values
Negative values are traits that are harmful to both the individual and society at large. A person with poor values will only succeed in ruining his or her life.
Negative values are undesirable and useless traits that can only lead to one’s demise.
This could take the shape of emphasizing the bad habit in order to satisfy one’s own desires.
1. Pride
2. Anger
3. Covetousness
4. Sloth
5. Envy
6. Unfair Criticism
7. Discrimination
8. Laziness
9. Despair
10. Gluttony
11. Lust
12. Frustration
13. Malice
14. Self Disbelief
15. Selfishness
16. Depression
17. Lies
18. Stealing
19. Trouble Making
20. Gossip
21. Backbiting
22. Hatred on another person
3. Intrinsic values
Values that come naturally to someone or something are called intrinsic values. It can also be thought of as being a feature of something valuable on its own.
For instance, younger people are expected to kneel or prostrate for elders in several tribes in Nigeria as a display of respect.
The elder people (in the example above) are given more respect because of their seniority and rank.
His age and status are seen as intrinsic values in this situation because they are consistent with his character and nature.
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15 Reasons Why Values in Civic Education Are So Important
1. The behavior of individuals within a society can be helped to be determined and controlled by values.
2. They serve as standards or yardsticks by which the behaviors of individuals in the society can be evaluated and evaluated.
2. They provide individuals within the family and society as a whole with a focal point and a general direction to move in.
4. They are helpful to us in making decisions.
5. They do this by teaching us to tolerate differing points of view and behaviors in others and therefore altering our attitudes and feelings about other people.
6. People in a society are held to certain standards of behavior, which are defined by their values.
7. They direct people in the direction of achieving the aims that they have stated for themselves, such as individual, family, communal, corporate, and national objectives, among others.
8. They encourage cohesion, peace, and collaboration throughout the community.
9. They instill a sense of responsibility and promote the value of hard work among the Nigerian populace.
10. They teach young people how to stand up to the damaging influences of negative peer pressure that exists in society.
11. The development of respect for other people’s ways of life, such as different ethnic and religious groups, can be facilitated by the adoption of values.
12. They encourage people in society to be tolerant of one another and friendly with one another.
13. The promotion of values within a society leads to increased levels of self-reliance, which in turn leads to increased employment options for residents.
14. They will, in the end, contribute to the growth of society.
15. The pursuit of one’s values results in behaviors, which in turn contribute to increased levels of happiness and fulfillment in society.
That has been Value in Civic Education. I hope you enjoyed this article.
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