Articles

A selection of articles and research papers related to values education appears below in alphabetical order. Those marked NEW are the most recently added resources.

These publications have appeared in print media or on the Internet and encompass concerns about social change, programs that support values education and research and data related to values education.

Benninga, Jacques S., Berkowitz, Marvin W., Kuehn, Phyllis, and Smith, Karen February 2006, ‘Character and Academics: What Good Schools Do’, (website), Phi Delta Kappa International, (Vol. 87, No. 6).
There has been increasing interest in character education among policy makers and education professionals in the United States but at the same time there has been an increasing expectation of academic achievement. Many schools are wary of taking on anything that might detract from their focus on the latter. The authors present evidence indicating that the two goals are not incompatible.

Bernard, Michael E., Stephanou, Andrew, Urbach, Daniel October 2007, ‘ASG Student Social and Emotional Health Report: A Research Project conducted by the Australian Council for Educational Research’ (website), Australian Scholarships Group.
The ASG Student Social and Emotional Health Report is an extensive research project on the social and emotional health of Australian students. It is based on a survey of more than 10,000 students from 81 schools across Australia spanning Prep through to Year 12. The report, commissioned and funded by the Australian Scholarships Group (ASG), reveals that a large percentage of students are experiencing social and emotional difficulties. Nine recommendations that address policies, programs and practices for improving the social and emotional health of all students are outlined in the report.

Bezzina, Associate Professor Michael, Butcher, Professor Jude 2008, ‘Promoting Interfaith and Intercultural Understanding in School Settings: Review of the Pilot Project’  (PDF), produced for the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (DEEWR) by the Flagship for Creative and Authentic Leadership and the Institute for Advancing Community Engagement of the Australian Catholic University.
This mid-term review of the pilot program: Promoting Interfaith and Intercultural Understanding in School Settings (IIU) was carried out in the second year of the pilot which was conducted by Erebus International for DEEWR. The review concludes that the pilot has been successful in its own right, and in terms of the learning it has generated for the future. It documents significant shifts in people’s understandings and attitudes in the area of IIU and in the capacities of their schools. Recommendations are presented for the continued implementation of IIU.

Brass, Charles 15 June 2004, 'What HR can learn from primary school', (website), Human Resources, Reed Business Information.
Charles Brass went to his daughter’s parent-teacher interview and wrote this article for Human Resources online magazine.

Brown, Raymond, Woods, Annette, Hirst, Elizabeth & Heck, Debbie 2006, The Public Construction of Values in Education: A Synthesis of Case Studies, (website), AARE Conference Paper Abstracts – 2006.
This paper explores the approaches to values education taken by a selection of schools in the south-east region of Queensland as interpreted from texts on school websites. Publicly available documents such as behaviour management policies and the school prospectus are analysed to determine how schools present values education to the public and what approaches to values education are being advocated.

'Bullying research supports national push for safer schools' 19 August 2002, (PDF) Media Release, Curtin University of Technology.
The WA Centre for Health Promotion Research (WACHPR) at Curtin University of Technology has recently completed a long-term study of its bullying intervention program – known as Friendly Schools – which has achieved a significant reduction in bullying amongst primary school children. Developed by Curtin's Associate Professor Donna Cross and several colleagues, the Friendly Schools program includes classroom, family and whole school activities intended to empower children, parents and teachers in reducing bullying.

Cahill, Sue, Butler, Geraldine, and Duncan, Leesa February 2006, ‘Manningham Catholic Primary Schools Cluster, Vic: Student Action about Values’, (PDF), Connect, No. 157.
Sue Cahill, student wellbeing coordinator at St Charles Borromeo Primary School and cluster coordinator, reports on how the grade 4 and 5 students in the cluster are investigating and taking action around values using a Student Action Team approach. Geraldine Butler and Leesa Duncan, two of the teachers in the cluster, reflect on how the project has had a positive impact on the teachers as well as the students.

Canning, Simon 19 May 2004, ‘The great southern brand’ (PDF), The Australian.
This article further explores the reasons for the Australian Tourist Commission's move away from ‘throwing a shrimp on the barbie’ style of tourist promotion to focusing on seeing Australia's unique qualities ‘in a different light’.

Covell, Katherine and Howe, R. Brian September 2008, Rights, Respect and Responsibility: Final Report on the County of Hampshire Rights Education Initiative, (website), Children’s Rights Centre, Cape Breton University, Sydney, Nova Scotia, Canada.
This report summarises the evaluation research conducted over three years by Canadian academics Brian Howe and Katherine Covell on the Hampshire Education Authority’s Rights, Respect and Responsibility (RRR) initiative. The RRR initiative was started in Hampshire in 2003 and is based on and consistent with the rights of children as articulated in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. The RRR has been demonstrated to be a very effective means not only of children’s rights education, but also of education. The schools that are rights-consistent and rights-respecting are functioning optimally and in the words of the overarching principle of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, in “the child’s best interests.”

Cross, D., Shaw, T., Hearn, L., Epstein, M., Monks, H., Lester, L., & Thomas, L. May 2009, Australian Covert Bullying Prevalence Study (ACBPS), (website), Child Health Promotion Research Centre, Edith Cowan University, Perth.
The first of two research projects into covert bullying commissioned by the Australian Government, this study investigated the prevalence and impact of covert bullying in Australian school communities. The report provides information at a national level about what constitutes covert bullying, the prevalence of bullying and its impact on victims and perpetrators. The report recommends actions for the Australian Government, state and territory education authorities and schools to address covert and cyber bullying in Australian schools.

David, Jane L May 2009, 'Service Learning and Civic Participation', Educational Leadership, (website) ASCD, Volume 66, number 8 Teaching Social Responsibility.
Service learning aims to link community service with the school curriculum to enhance both character development and academic skills. Service learning can also go beyond these goals to prepare students to become engaged citizens, by expanding their understanding of social problems and the role of civic action in solutions to these problems.

Davidson, Matthew; Lickona, Thomas; and Khmelkov, Vladimir 14 Nov 2007, ‘Smart and Good Schools: A Paradigm Shift for Character Education’, (website), Education Week, Vol. 27, Issue 12, pp 32, 40.
In the United States character education is essentially an elementary school movement. Two of the authors of this article have written a report ‘Smart and Good High Schools: Integrating Excellence and Ethics for Success in School, Work, and Beyond’, http://www.cortland.edu/character/highschool/ based on a study of 24 diverse, award-winning high schools which describes nearly a hundred promising practices for fostering eight strengths of character that help youth lead productive, ethical and fulfilling lives. They believe that character has two major parts: performance character (qualities that enable us to achieve to our highest potential in any performance environment) and moral character (qualities that enable us to be our ethical best in relationships and roles as citizens).

Duckworth, Julie and Bridget Knight 11 February 2005, ‘Reflecting on the vocabulary of relationships’, (website) Times Educational Supplement.
At Clehonger CE primary in Hereford, UK the children designed and made, under the guidance of an artist, a values stained glass window. Values education has become a firm foundation of the school’s ethos. The school community is developing a common values vocabulary and attempting to live the values espoused. 

Eckersley Richard 2008, ‘Never Better – or getting worse: the health and well-being of young Australians’  (PDF) Australia21.
In 1988, the Australian Commission for the Future published a report by Richard Eckersley, Casualties of Change: The predicament of youth in Australia. It provided an analysis of the social and psychological problems faced by young Australians, which are expressed most clearly in rising rates of suicide, drug abuse and crime. Never Better – Or Getting Worse: the health and well-being of young Australians is in part an examination of what has happened to the health of young Australians, but it also ranges more widely over the patterns and trends in health and wellbeing.

Eckersley, Richard, Cahill, Helen, Wierenga, Ani and Wyn, Johanna April 2007, Generations in Dialogue about the Future: The hopes and fears of young Australians (PDF), Australia 21 and the Australian Youth Research Centre.
Pathways to the preferred futures of young Australians is the second project within Australia 21’s Program One, and takes up themes discussed in the first project Pathways to success and wellbeing for Australia’s young people: the importance of cultural ‘intangibles’ to wellbeing (especially how young people see the future), and the role of narrative in their lives.

Emerson, Scott 19 May 2004, 'Out with kitsch in Aussie pitch' (PDF), National Tourism writer, The Australian.
‘Underpinning the new Brand Australia is a series of values such as inclusiveness, irreverence, optimism and mateship’. A $360 million tourism campaign aims to rebrand the nation in the eyes of the world. Singer Delta Goodrem, poet Les Murray, cricket commentator Richie Benaud, Indigenous artist Barbara Weir and TV and radio presenter Jonathan Coleman will be the international faces of Australian tourism ‘redefining the way Australians see themselves’. If you were selling Australian tourism overseas, which values would you focus on?

Encouraging Tolerance and Social Cohesion through School Education July 2006, (PDF), Erebus International.
This is a report to the Australian Government Department of Education, Science and Training on a project ‘to examine issues affecting young Muslims at risk of potential isolation in schools, and investigate what schools, systems and sectors are currently doing to encourage the message to Islamic youth that Islam is compatible with, and can live alongside, other faiths and Australian values.’ The project was intended to assist in the development of a national action plan to address threats to Australia’s social cohesion, harmony and security being developed by the Council of Australian Governments (COAG).
There is also a report on Encouraging Tolerance and Social Cohesion through School Education – Showcase Seminar May 2006, (PDF), Australian Curriculum Studies Association (ACSA).

Gilding, Nicole with Wallace, Margaret April 2003, Youth Development, Service Learning and Schooling, (website), Ausyouth.
This document discusses the current status, future development and benefits of service learning in Australian schools.

Hawkes, Neil 11 February 2005, ‘Add values to build an ethos’, Times Educational Supplement (website).
‘For the past 15 years’, Neil Hawkes writes, ‘I have been developing a philosophy that places valuing at the heart of the curriculum.’ Hawkes, an international education consultant, outlines this philosophy and provides examples of schools in the UK that have embraced values education to positive effect.

Hill, Emeritus Professor Brian V. 28 April  2004, 'Values Education in Schools: Issues and Challenges' (PDF) Keynote address at the National Values Education Forum in Melbourne.
Emeritus Professor Brian Hill (photo left) was the Foundation Professor and Dean of the School of Education at Murdoch University, WA. Professor Hill writes in the area of ethics, values education and religious education in schools. In the Keynote Address to the National Values Education Forum Professor Hill briefly discussed the history of values education in Australia, cultural factors contributing to values education, pedagogic challenges to values education, ‘the cognitive core’ of values education and ‘transcending the Public/Private dichotomy’ of values education. An extensive bibliography is also provided for those who may be interested in further research.

The PowerPoint presentation that accompanied Emeritus Professor Hill's address may be downloaded here.

Lewis, Elaine, Mansfield, Caroline and Baudains, Catherine 2008, Getting down and dirty: Values in education for sustainability (website), Issues in Educational Research, 18 (2), pp. 138–155, Institutes for Educational Research.
An independent primary school in Perth participated in research exploring an explicit values education agenda from an environmental education for sustainability perspective. The research was part of a Values Education Good Practice Schools Project – Stage 2 that involved a tri-state cluster of six schools. ‘Preliminary evidence supports the proposition that conducting environmental education projects, with an education for sustainability perspective was an effective, meaningful approach to the teaching of values and for enhancing awareness of whole systems thinking.’

Lobo, Jude 2009, Give Kids a Chance: No One Deserves to Be Left Out,(website) Wesley Mission.
Four-fifths of respondents (85 per cent) in Wesley Mission’s ground-breaking survey of school bullying have admitted that their childhood bullying experience had affected their adult development. The survey of 1,200 adults found that schoolyard bullying had a crucial effect on the development of essential social (life) skills. A number of respondents, even 30 years after leaving school, reported suffering depression and other mental illnesses and said they were loners in society because of the bullying they had suffered as children.

Lovat, Professor Terence 1999, 'Australian perspectives on Values Education: research in philosophical, research and curricular' (website), NSW Department of Education and Training. 
In this article Professor Lovat explores ‘three areas of research relevant to philosophical, professional and curricular best practice in educating for values in formal education settings’. The first area is concerned with the notion of difference, the second area is concerned with the professional ethics of educators and the third area examines practical work in progress in the area of values education.

Lovat, Professor Terence May 2006, Values Education: The Missing Link in Quality Teaching, (PDF), Keynote address to National Values Education Forum. 
In his keynote address to the 2006 National Values Education Forum Professor Lovat suggests that ‘Values Education and Quality Teaching are cohering. Values Education without Quality Teaching is an oxymoron … but Quality Teaching without Values Education has the potential to suffer from the missing link that promises to strengthen and complete it.’

Lovat, Professor Terence May 2005, 'Values Education and teachers' work: A Quality Teaching perspective' (PDF), Keynote address to National Values Education Forum.
Professor Lovat, President Australian Council of Deans of Education, considered in his keynote address to the National Values Education Forum that in order for values education to become part and parcel of mainstream schooling, the closest possible links need to be found between it and the world of teachers and schools.

Lovat, Professor Terence 2005, 'What is values education all about?' (PDF)
In this paper Professor Lovat asks: What is values education all about? As he says, ‘values education goes to the heart of where education began, as a public good designed to make a difference, either as a supplement to what was offered at home or to make up for what was missing at home.’ He also discusses education beyond the goals of literacy and numeracy and the roles that values play in creating and understanding society’s legal codes and social ethics. The integral role of the teacher in values education is also discussed in terms of Quality Teaching. Professor Lovat’s paper places values education at the heart of the classroom and is recommended reading for all Australian teachers.

Lovat, Professor Terence, Toomey, Professor Ron, Dally, Dr Kerry, Clement, Dr Neville 2009, ‘Project to Test and Measure the Impact of Values Education on Student Effects and School Ambience’, (PDF). Final Report for the Australian Government Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (DEEWR) by the University of Newcastle.
The study aimed to provide quantifiable and defensible data about links between values education practices and quality teaching outcomes. The research built on previous work, the Australian Council of Deans of Education Values Education Partnerships Project, in order to elaborate and strengthen, in an empirical sense, the findings of this study that argued that values education and quality teaching are closely linked. Its sites and case studies were drawn principally from schools that had engaged in the DEEWR-funded project, Values Education Good Practice Schools Project—Stage 2 (DEEWR, 2008). The research reviews and reports on how the explicit teaching of values impacted on a number of areas in school education. The research provides empirical evidence that values education had a positive impact on developing student-teacher relationships and improving school and classroom ambience, which led to more settled and productive classrooms. The report also documents the positive impact that values education can have on student and teacher wellbeing.  

Lovell, Philippa November 2006, ‘Assessing values education – is it possible?’ (PDF) Independent Education, Vol 36 No 3.
Philippa Lovell of the Melbourne Catholic Education Office writes that it is not only possible but necessary to measure values in the school setting. She discusses a number of tools that allow educators to examine and assess the social domain in schools. She also mentions that clusters of schools involved in the Values Education Good Practice Schools Project – Stage 1 have noticed improvements in understanding, behaviour and expectations.

Mansouri, Fethi, Jenkins, Louise, Morgan, Les and Taouk, Mona 2009, The impact of racism upon the health and wellbeing of young Australians (website), a research project by the Institute of Citizenship and Globalisation, Faculty of Arts and Education, Deakin University for the Foundation for Young Australians.
The research findings from this report show clearly that the majority of racist incidents take place within school settings and that students are more likely to report these to school staff. Female students in Years 11 and 12 were identified as a group whose wellbeing appears to be most affected by racism.

Mason, M, Webber, R, Singleton, A  & Hughes, P 2006, The Spirit of Generation Y: Young People, Spirituality and Society: Summary of the final report of a three year study, (website), Australian Catholic University, .
The Spirit of Generation Y project (2003–2006), is a national study of spirituality among Australian young people in their teens and twenties conducted by researchers from Australian Catholic University, Monash University and the Christian Research Association. The project explored Generation Y’s spirituality in comparison with Generation X’s and the Baby Boomers’.

Noddings, Nel, 'Caring in education' 2005, (website), the encyclopedia of informal education. Last updated: April 04, 2005.
Nel Noddings, a philosopher of education, explores ethical and moral foundations of teaching, schooling and education, in particular that caring should be a foundation for ethical decision making. In this article Noddings explores the nature of caring relations and encounters in education and some of the difficulties educators have with them. She also looks at caring relations as the foundation for pedagogical activity.

Noonan, Gerard 4 October 2002, ‘Social resentment simmers in schools’ (PDF), Education Editor, Sydney Morning Herald.
Schoolyards in some country towns have become the focus of Australia's deepening socioeconomic divide as displaced ‘city poor’ children have rubbed up against resentful children of the rural working poor. In a bleak presentation to a recent Adelaide conference of a three-month study of three country towns, educational sociologist Jane Kenway said such resentment created a volatile situation that threatened to poison future generations.

Notman, Dr Ross 2007, ‘Connecting with the Self: How we might assist the personal development of school leaders’ (website) A paper presented at the Australian Council for Educational Leaders International Conference on New Imagery for Schools and Schooling.
Dr Notman, Senior Lecturer in Education, University of Otago College of Education, reports on a research study that looked at the personal values systems of two principals and the influence of values processes on their leadership behaviour. The paper explores the concept of principal self-development from a values perspective and affirms the merits of values-based leadership.

Nurturing our young for the future: Competencies for the 21st Century 2009 (PDF), Ministry of Education, Singapore. Values at the core of 21st Century Competencies in the Singaporean education system are respect, responsibility, integrity, care, resilience and harmony.

Pascoe, Susan May 2005, 'Values Education: Setting the context' (PDF),  Keynote address to National Values Education Forum.
Ms Susan Pascoe, Director of the Catholic Education Commission of Victoria, was the keynote speaker for the National Values Education Forum in May 2005. She began her address by stating that we cannot afford the narrow comfort of focusing solely on the values we developed ourselves for Australian schools – as good as they are. Instead we need to consider them in the light of local and global realities and the social, geopolitical and technological environments in which we live. How does an Australian experience these realities?

Porter, Abbey J, ‘Restorative Practices in Schools: Research Reveals Power of Restorative Approach, Part I’ 21March 2007; ‘Restorative Practices in Schools: Research Reveals Power of Restorative Approach, Part II’ 6 June 2007, (website), International Institute for Restorative Practices, 2007.
In Part I of this two-part article interviews with educators from around the world who are implementing restorative practices in schools indicate the positive benefits of this approach. Part II provides information on several evaluations of restorative practices in schools. Findings include a drop in disciplinary problems, decreased reliance on detention and suspension, and an improvement in student attitudes. 

Promoting Respectful Schools September 2011, Educational Leadership, (website) ASCD Volume 69, Number 1
The September 2011 edition of Educational Leadership is devoted to respectful schools. A number of the articles are available to read online.

Ribbon, Alison 31 August, 2002, 'Putting on the gloves against bullies’ (PDF), Education Writer, Hobart Mercury.
A Tasmanian school is picking a fight with bullying. Brent St Primary School in Glenorchy has set up a health and wellbeing committee to tackle the issue.

Roffey, Dr Sue 2007, ‘From Vision to Practice: The role of the school leader in developing wellbeing' (website) A paper presented at the Australian Council for Educational Leaders International Conference on New Imagery for Schools and Schooling.
Includes a PowerPoint and paper ‘Transformation and Emotional Literacy: The role of school leaders in developing a caring community’ Leading & Managing, Vol. 13, No.1, 2007, pp. 16-30 by Dr Sue Roffey from the Centre for Educational Research, University of Western Sydney. This paper is based on an investigation into the process of developing emotional literacy in Australian schools and reports on the specific aspects of the study related to school leaders. It looks at, ‘What are the values, vision, role, style and skills of principals who are intent on establishing a caring and inclusive school community?’

San Antonio, Donna M., Salzfass, Elizabeth A. May 2007, 'How we treat one another in school', (website), Educational Leadership, Volume 64, Number 8.
A survey in New England, USA, of middle school students’ experiences with bullying discovered that students were not confident that adults could protect them from bullying. The authors recommend a school-wide approach to bullying prevention and that it is not just treated as an issue of behaviour. They say ‘…we have found that when educators take students' concerns seriously, teach them alternative ways to communicate their needs assertively but not violently, and provide adult guidance, vigilance, safety, good role models, and support, students are more likely to interact positively with their peers’.

Scalfino, Lina October 2005, ‘Engagement with Values: A Lens for Whole School Change’, (PDF).
Lina Scalfino, Principal of Modbury School Preschool – Year 7, has written a paper which was presented at the 10th Annual Values and Leadership Conference at Pennsylvania State University in October 2005. The paper is presented as a case study of the school’s ‘... learning journey using an integrated values approach to whole school change to transform the school’s culture within the context of major national initiatives and developments in values education’. 

Seif, Elliott July 2009, 'A School for Peace and Justice'  Educational Leadership, (website) ASCD, Online, Volume 66, Revisiting Social Responsibility.
In 2005, a high school in Philadelphia chose to focus on fostering peaceful, responsible learners. They committed themselves to building a program that would help students learn ‘how to decrease violence, advance justice, work with people of different backgrounds, and help create a culture of peace’. Parkway High School for Peace and Social Justice has developed social responsibility through: enhancing the culture of the school; giving students opportunities to reflect on their own values, beliefs, and behaviours; offering enriched academic learning experiences; and encouraging students to serve others.

'Service Learning: What is it and why should schools consider it?' May 2009, (website) Independent Schools Queensland Briefings, Volume 13, Issue 4.
A brief overview of service learning and why many schools believe, if it is implemented in a thoughtful, coherent way, it is of great benefit to their school and community. ‘Early research on service-learning suggests it is a powerful strategy to foster young people’s commitment to participation in the community, promote engagement in schooling, and develop skills for employment and lifelong learning. However, for it to be effective, it must be high-quality, well-planned, sustainable, take regard of health and safety issues, and be related to academic outcomes.’

Shaw, Gary September 2005, ‘Mapping the terrain – values education and geography’, (PDF), Interaction (Journal of Geography Teachers’ Association of Victoria) , Volume 33, Number 3.
Gary Shaw, Senior Project Officer, Department of Education and Training, discusses how a focus on values education for geography educators provides a way to participate in the broader conversation about values. Although this article has an emphasis on the Victorian curriculum, it is a valuable discussion for all geography teachers.

Shaw, Gary August 2007, 'Values, a hot topic in a changing environment’,(PDF) Eingana, The Journal of the Victorian Association for Environmental Education, Volume 30, Number 2.
In this article, Shaw clarifies ‘the usefulness of values education in framing actions for schools, particularly in relation to environmental perspectives’.

Snook, Emeritus Professor Ivan 2005, 'Values Education in perspective: The New Zealand experience', (PDF).
Ivan Snook, Emeritus Professor of Education, Massey University provided a New Zealand perspective at the National Values Education Forum on 2 May 2005. Professor Snook has helped develop a code of ethics for teachers for the Teachers Council of New Zealand. His paper traces the history of New Zealand education from the 1877 Education Act through to the developments in the 1970s and 1980s to more recent developments in the 1990s. In March 1998, the NZ Commission for UNESCO organised a Values in Education Summit attended by more than 100 participants across many sectors. In this paper Professor Snook gives his views on some of the issues that have arisen since this time and suggests some lessons that the Australian values education journey might learn from the New Zealand experience.

Spears, Dr Barbara, Slee, Professor Phillip, Owens, Professor Laurence, Johnson, Professor Bruce December 2008, Behind the Scenes: Insight into the Human Dimension of Covert Bullying (website), Hawke Research Institute for Sustainable Societies – University of South Australia, Centre for the Analysis of Educational Futures – Flinders University, SA.
The second of two research projects into covert bullying commissioned by the Australian Government, this project explored real-life experiences of individuals exposed to covert bullying, including victims, perpetrators, bystanders, teachers and parents. Their stories are on the Cyber Bullying Stories' website via podcasts. The site also provides resources for teachers, students and parents.

'Taking the Temperature' 4 February 2007, (website), Encounter, ABC Radio National. ‘Taking the Temperature’ is the transcript of a discussion between four Australians – an artist, a Muslim scholar and two Christians – on a number of issues, including values for Australians and multiculturalism.

Thomas, Professor Trang and Witenberg, Dr Rivka 2004, ‘Love Thy Neighbours: Racial Tolerance among Young Australians’,  (website), Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology - A report for the Australian Multicultural Foundation, Melbourne. 
The Australian Research Council and the Australian Multicultural Foundation funded this project, which aimed to study racial tolerance among young Australians. The value of the study was its focus on the positive aspects of social perceptions and behaviours in contrast to the large body of research into the negative aspects of prejudice. The outcomes of the project examine how age, gender and situational and behavioural contexts influence racial tolerant judgements. It also examines the kind of justifications young people used to support tolerance and intolerance. 

Toomey, Dr Ron 2006, ‘Values as the centrepiece of the school’s work: A discussion on learnings from VEGPSP – Stage 1', (PDF), Curriculum Corporation.
This discussion paper is a summary of what has been learned from the Values Education Good Practice Schools Project – Stage 1 (VEGPS – Stage 1), which was funded by the Australian Government through the Department of Education, Science and Training (DEST) as one of the Values Education program initiatives. It pulls together the ‘good practices’ of the schools involved in the project as they tried to make values education a central part of their work.

‘Towards Student-Centric, Values-Driven Education’ Opening address by Mr Heng Swee Keat, Minister for Education, at the Ministry of Education (MOE) Work Plan Seminar, 22 September 2011 at Ngee Ann Polytechnic Convention Centre. The Singapore Minister for Education discusses that to be prepared for an uncertain future Singaporeans will need to be equipped with both values and competencies. 

‘Values and Other Issues in the Education of Young Australians: A study among parents with children at non-government schools’ 2008, (PDF). A paper prepared for the Australian Parents Council and the former Department of Education, Science and Training.
The objective of this study was to explore attitudes to a range of issues among parents with children in non-government schools across Australia. The main focus of the study was on their perspectives on values education, the values parents wished to see inculcated in their children, and the role they expected school to play in that process. In addition to this, the study explored parents’ attitudes to choice of school, the concept of family–school partnerships, and school funding. The study found parents considered the Nine Values for Australian Schooling list to cover all the important values that young people should learn. It also found that when parents choose a primary school it is often based on religious and cultural affiliations and the school’s capacity to offer the right balance between academic standards and personal development, whereas parents choosing a secondary school are more likely to put the right balance between academic achievement and personal development at the top of the list.

‘Values Education: A Student Action Teams approach: Our values education journey…so far…’ June 2006,  (PDF), Connect, Number 159.
Students from the Manningham cluster of six Catholic primary schools in Melbourne’s north-eastern suburbs have been exploring the application of values in their schools and communities in 2005-06 using a student action teams approach. An article in Connect 157 (February 2006 – see article by Sue Cahill on this page) introduced the project and reported on the research phase. This article contains reports from students from the six schools.

'Values Education - classroom experiences from across Australia' February 2005, (PDF) from Education News (The Education Newsletter of the Australian Children's Television Foundation, Issue No. 41).
The Australian Children’s Television Foundation Education Advisory Schools’ panel met in 2004 to share their experiences about using media. Teachers were especially interested in incorporating values education into their curriculum using television, film and multimedia. In Values Education - classroom experiences from across Australia teachers from three schools in South Australia, New South Wales and Victoria discuss how they used media to teach students about ‘being friends’, anti-bullying, families, siblings, conflict and civics.

Varlas, Laura April 2006, ‘Fights like a girl: how changing what we expect from girls can reduce girl fighting,’(website), Education Update, Volume 48, Number 4.
Headlines and crime statistics in the United States appear to indicate that violence among girls is increasing. This article looks at possible causes for relational aggression in girls and structured intervention strategies, such as ‘girl coalitions’ that schools can implement to reduce incidences of violence.  

Weissbourd, Rick March 2003, ‘Moral teachers, moral students’(PDF), The Best of Educational Leadership 2002-2003, Vol. 60, No. 6, Creating Caring Schools, pp 6-11.
Rick Weissbourd is a lecturer on education at the Harvard University Graduate School of Education and the Kennedy School of Government. In this article Weissbourd argues that 'being an adult in a school is a profound moral challenge' and that teachers need peer support and wider opportunities to support their own ethical growth both as people and as educators.

Wilce, Hilary 16 February 2006, ‘The school where pupils rate their teachers’ (website), The Independent.
At George Mitchell School in east London, in a multi-ethnic, low-income neighbourhood students are deeply involved in the conduct of the school. Student ‘consultants’ observe and criticise lessons, make suggestions to teachers about how they could teach better and interview candidates for teaching posts. As a result of the Making Learning Better program, test scores at the school are improving, and relationships between staff and students seem better.

Whishaw, Iona, 2010, 'A ROARing Success' (website), Educational Leadership, October 2010, Volume 68, Number 2), pp. 7073, ASCD.
A school in Vancouver, Canada, gets students to buy into its code of conduct of behaviours and values called ROARS (Respect, Ownership, Attitude, Responsibility, and Safety), which has an enormously positive impact on the school’s culture.