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Investigating the effect of values education programmes on prosocial attitudes
Author
Ng, Wilson Whye Shoen
Supervisor
Khoo, Angeline
Abstract
The aim of this study is to investigate the impact of Values Education Programmes on prosocial attitudes.
On the July 2000, the Prime Minister of Singapore Mr Goh Chok Tong, urged Singaporeans to volunteer more of their time towards community service. This call came at a time when there was much public outcry over the apparent lack of graciousness among Singaporeans. Two contributory factors were offered for this unhealthy trend. The lack of physical space had caused us to withdraw and form a psychological barrier as our only means of defense. By interacting less, we had become more withdrawn and less confident of ourselves. The other possibility was the competitive nature of our island community, which puts so much emphasis on a successful educational and career. The aim of this study was to examine one possible contributory factor that may have led to the problem - the primary school Values Education Programme and its effects on pro-social attitudes.
The cognitive developmental theories of Kohlberg, Piaget and Eisenberg were discussed to find out how prosocial behaviour was dependent on moral judgement and its stages of cognitive maturity. The study also used and adapted Latane and Darley's five choice points to helping behaviour and how this could be used to explain the actual process of helping.
These theories were vital in the development of the instruments for data collection and the verification of hypotheses. The Values Education Programmes Questionaire was designed to measure pupils' attitude towards school Values Education Programmes like Pastoral Care and Civics and Moral Education. The Prosocial Orientation Questionaire and the Perceived Helping Behaviour Questionaire were used to measure pupils' prosocial attitudes.
A total of 149 respondents, 78 males and 71 Females, from the top two classes of Primary 4 and Primary 6 of a neighbourhood school, participated in this study
Pupils who found the Values Education Programmes beneficial and enjoyable did show higher prosocial tendencies. This has implications for schools because it showed that the existing Values Education Programmes were effective. Younger pupils were found to be more prosocial than the older pupils. This showed that Kohlberg's stages of moral judgement based on cognitive maturity were not accurate all the time for all individuals because individuals some times think below their cognitive maturity, depending on the context.
Girls were not more prosocial than boys of the same age measured using the Prosocial Orientation Questionaire. This proves that the stereotype that girls are more caring and helpful than boys is incorrect.
Civics and Moral Education and Pastoral Care are important for the development of moral judgment in individuals and should undergo constant reviewing to keep it relevant with the changing pace of technology.
Knowing how prosocial an individual is may provide clues regarding what is important to the individual. These insights may help in the understanding of the development and maintenance of prosocial behaviour.
On the July 2000, the Prime Minister of Singapore Mr Goh Chok Tong, urged Singaporeans to volunteer more of their time towards community service. This call came at a time when there was much public outcry over the apparent lack of graciousness among Singaporeans. Two contributory factors were offered for this unhealthy trend. The lack of physical space had caused us to withdraw and form a psychological barrier as our only means of defense. By interacting less, we had become more withdrawn and less confident of ourselves. The other possibility was the competitive nature of our island community, which puts so much emphasis on a successful educational and career. The aim of this study was to examine one possible contributory factor that may have led to the problem - the primary school Values Education Programme and its effects on pro-social attitudes.
The cognitive developmental theories of Kohlberg, Piaget and Eisenberg were discussed to find out how prosocial behaviour was dependent on moral judgement and its stages of cognitive maturity. The study also used and adapted Latane and Darley's five choice points to helping behaviour and how this could be used to explain the actual process of helping.
These theories were vital in the development of the instruments for data collection and the verification of hypotheses. The Values Education Programmes Questionaire was designed to measure pupils' attitude towards school Values Education Programmes like Pastoral Care and Civics and Moral Education. The Prosocial Orientation Questionaire and the Perceived Helping Behaviour Questionaire were used to measure pupils' prosocial attitudes.
A total of 149 respondents, 78 males and 71 Females, from the top two classes of Primary 4 and Primary 6 of a neighbourhood school, participated in this study
Pupils who found the Values Education Programmes beneficial and enjoyable did show higher prosocial tendencies. This has implications for schools because it showed that the existing Values Education Programmes were effective. Younger pupils were found to be more prosocial than the older pupils. This showed that Kohlberg's stages of moral judgement based on cognitive maturity were not accurate all the time for all individuals because individuals some times think below their cognitive maturity, depending on the context.
Girls were not more prosocial than boys of the same age measured using the Prosocial Orientation Questionaire. This proves that the stereotype that girls are more caring and helpful than boys is incorrect.
Civics and Moral Education and Pastoral Care are important for the development of moral judgment in individuals and should undergo constant reviewing to keep it relevant with the changing pace of technology.
Knowing how prosocial an individual is may provide clues regarding what is important to the individual. These insights may help in the understanding of the development and maintenance of prosocial behaviour.
Date Issued
2001
Call Number
LC315.S55 Ng
Date Submitted
2001