Links

There are many websites that link to values education themes and resources. The following sites have been chosen as they present a variety of approaches to values education and values-related content. Those marked NEW are the most recently added resources.

Accepting Diversity: An Interactive Handbook in Progress is a manual directed at teachers and others who intend to educate young people to accept diversity. The handbook currently has chapters on difference, religion and place. Promoted by the Académie Universelle des Cultures, Accepting Diversity stems from an idea by Académie members Umberto Eco, Furio Colombo and Jacques Le Goff.

ACSA: Australian Curriculum Studies Association was established in 1983 as a broadly based educational association supporting the professional interests of educators in curriculum work from all levels and sectors within and beyond Australia. ACSA managed the Values Education Conference and has published values education-related materials including:

• IDEAS (Innovative and Dynamic Educational Activities for Schools), a set of free downloadable resources for Australian classrooms;
• ‘Is it alright to steal if it makes you feel good?’ from Philosophy With Young Children – A classroom handbook, Australian Curriculum Studies Association, 2007;
• ‘Who Cares?’ from Teaching Values, Primary English Teaching Association, 2007.

Australian Screen Online is a promotional and educational resource providing online access to information about the Australian film and television industry and includes film and television clips from the last 100 years. Clips in the education collection have been selected for their educational value and are accompanied by teachers’ notes created by specialist curriculum writers. Values and citizenship is one of the educational themes.

All Kinds of Minds: Understanding Differences in Learning is a non-profit institute in the United States that helps students who struggle with learning measurably to improve their success in school and life by providing programs that integrate educational, scientific and clinical expertise.

The Assessment for Learning Project provides professional advice and activity related to formative assessment.

The Australian Human Rights Commission has specific sections on human rights for students and teachers with many useful resources such as education modules, posters, and FAQs. Voices of Australia is an education module for upper primary to post-compulsory students to increase awareness about experiences of diversity, discrimination, race relations, friendship and respect.

BeCAL, The Belief, Learning and Culture Information Gateway, provides articles and synopses of a variety of values education programs. Follow the links to the database to research specific values education projects from Australia and internationally.

Behind the News is an ABC news and current affairs program for children aged between 9 and 14. There are different stories and issues covered each week and backed up with teacher resources.

Body Image This website from the Australian Government provides information and resources on how to create a body image friendly school.

Building Character through Cornerstone Values is a New Zealand based approach to the development of character. There are eight cornerstone values: honesty and truthfulness, kindness, consideration and concern for others, compassion, obedience, responsibility, respect and duty.

Bullying among Young Children: a guide for parents and Bullying among Young Children: a guide for teachers and carers are guides from the National Community Crime Prevention Program. The guides provide useful advice to parents, teachers and other carers of children aged 4–8 years on recognising bullying behaviours and their effects, with practical strategies to help children who bully and those who are bullied.

NEW Bullying. No way! is created by Australia's educational communities who are working together to create learning environments where every student and school community member is safe, supported, respected, valued — and free from bullying, violence, harassment and discrimination. 'Bullying No Way!' entry point for students includes the Take A Stand Together mobile app, which shows students and parents how to identify and deal with bullying, and includes educational games and videos.

CEP (Character Education Partnership) is an American organisation ‘dedicated to developing young people of good character who become responsible and caring citizens’.

Choose Respect is a program that aims to encourage school communities to work together to explicitly develop and then maintain a culture of respect.

Curriculum Press Catalogue: Values is a listing of values-related books.

Curriculum Leadership Journal is an electronic journal for leaders in education. The journal takes up issues and trends relating to primary and secondary education. Core subject areas are curriculum policy, leadership and management, technology, pedagogy, the teaching profession and assessment.

Cybersmart provides activities, resources and practical advice to help children, teenagers and parents safely enjoy the online world. Cybersmart also offers training and resources for schools and materials for library staff.

Dialogue Australasia Network brings the values education experiences of 220 Australian schools to the Internet. The site has links to world religions, education links, links in languages other than English, and links to history, literature, myths and fables and interfaith communities. It also contains teaching units on a variety of topics including: ‘Ethics in Judaism, Islam and Christianity’, ‘Tolerance’, ‘Racism’ and 'Philosophy of Technology’.

Earth Charter is a declaration of fundamental principles for building a just, sustainable and peaceful global society for the 21st century. Developed over a period of ten years, the Earth Charter is a global consensus statement on ethics and values for a sustainable future and has been formally endorsed by over 2,500 organisations, including global institutions such as the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) and the World Conservation Union (IUCN). The principles and values of the Earth Charter are being addressed in a new values framework for Queensland state schools.

The EdRugby: Promoting Values in Sport Forum is an EdRugby program that aims to encourage students to think about the importance of values in sport and life. The Spirit of Rugby stimulus materials include suggested learning activities and related resources.

Ethical Literacy® Learning Community is a website of the Institute for Global Ethics which is dedicated to building school cultures of integrity.

The Foundation for Young Australians is an independent national grant-making organisation, funding and working in partnership with youth-led initiatives, which aims to positively contribute to young people and their communities.

The Global Education website is funded by AusAID as part of its Global Education Program. As well as country profiles and information about global issues, the site contains teaching and learning support materials linked to the Australian Curriculum, images and videos, case studies, professional development opportunities, a regular enewsletter and links to AusAID resources.

Global Peace Index Produced by the Institute for Economics and Peace, is the world’s leading measure of global peacefulness. It gauges ongoing domestic and international conflict, safety and security in society, and militarisation in 153 countries, by taking into account 23 separate indicators.

The Good Childhood Inquiry was commissioned by The Children’s Society in the UK and launched in September 2006 as the UK’s first independent national inquiry into childhood. Its aims were to renew society's understanding of modern childhood and to inform, improve and inspire relationships with children. With the launch of the report A Good Childhood: Searching for Values in a Competitive Age on 5 February 2009, The Children’s Society collected together the evidence used to inform the report, the recommendations and summaries of the themes discussed in the report, as well as their response.

Harmony Day is celebrated around Australia on 21 March each year. It's a day when all Australians celebrate our cultural diversity. The day is also the United Nation's International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. Harmony Day is managed by the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) and gives people the opportunity to celebrate what makes each Australian unique and share what we have in common.

Human Rights in Education: The Evidence – Hampshire case study - one of the most comprehensive approaches to human rights-based education (based on the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child) has been activated by Hampshire County Council in the United Kingdom. Piloted and then rolled out in all primary schools as ‘Rights, Respect, Responsibilities’, it is now being introduced county-wide for all schools.

NEW Human Values Foundation offers two comprehensive, non-denominational values education programs: 'Education in Human Values' (for ages 4 to 12) and 'Social and Emotional Education' (for ages 12 to 14+). These resources are used worldwide to give children and young people a modern, holistic education. Using familiar teaching techniques, including forums, stories, songs and real-life activities, each program enables participants to explore and put into practice, over 80 different values.

Hungry Planet: What the World Eats: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 are photographs from the book by Peter Menzel and Faith D'Aluisio reproduced on the Time magazine website. Parts 1 and 2 show the food bought in one week by 30 different families around the world, and lists expenditure and favourite foods. Part 3 shows families shopping and preparing meals.

The Institute for Global Ethics seeks ‘to promote ethical behavior in individuals, institutions, and nations through research, public discourse, and practical action’.

In Teachers’ Hands: Effective Literacy Teaching Practices in the Early Years of Schooling website presents the results of the research project In Teachers’ Hands: Effective Literacy Teaching Practices in the Early Years of Schooling, which was funded by the Department of Education, Science and Training. Here you will find a copy of the report and video clips of effective early years’ literacy teaching.

The International Educational Foundation Character Education Worldwidesupports a multi-dimensional approach to emphasise universal values: ‘Character Education’, ‘Marriage and Family Education’, ‘Service Learning’ and ‘Character-based Prevention Education’.

Kids Help Line is a free, confidential and anonymous, telephone and online counselling service specifically for young people aged between 5 and 25.

KidsMatter is a primary school mental health promotion, prevention and early intervention initiative developed in collaboration with the Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing, beyondblue: the national depression initiative, the Australian Psychological Society and the Australian Principals Associations Professional Development Council (APAPDC).

The Learning Place: Travel Buddies Travel Buddies are artefacts, hand puppets or stuffed toys that travel from school to school or to places in the community. The buddies learn about life in other schools or meet people in the community and gather information for projects and investigations. Viktor the kangaroo joey is helping students to clarify their understanding of values in the lead-up to the school values forum in May 2008.

The Line campaign is managed by the Australian Government Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs (FaHCSIA). It provides a website and Facebook site for young people to have dialogue about healthy and unhealthy relationship behaviours and how to have and maintain a respectful relationship.

Living Values: An Education Program is a values education program which enables children and young adults to develop 12 key values: cooperation, freedom, happiness, honesty, humility, love, peace, respect, responsibility, simplicity, tolerance, and unity. LVEP is currently in use in 66 countries.  

Making Multicultural Australia was established to assist teachers to find quality resources on multiculturalism and explore new strategies to promote cultural diversity and tolerance.

MCEEDYA is the website of the Ministerial Council for Education, Early Childhood Development and Youth Affairs. There are a number of useful publications such as the reports on national goals for schooling, statements of learning and safe school environments that are relevant to values education.

MindMatters is a resource and professional development program to support Australian secondary schools in promoting and protecting the social and emotional wellbeing of members of school communities.

Mission Australia produces a number of reports on social policy. One of the areas covered is youth issues and includes National Youth Survey, an annual survey that reviews young people’s concerns, what they value and how they seek advice and support. 

National Service-Learning Clearinghouse Learn and Serve, America's National Service-Learning Clearinghouse (NSLC), supports the service-learning community as well as all others interested in strengthening schools and communities using service-learning techniques and methodologies.

Peer Support Foundation is dedicated to providing dynamic peer-led programs which foster the physical, social and mental wellbeing of young people and their community. The Peer Support Program is integrated into curriculums and sustained from Kindergarten to Year 12.  ‘Promoting Harmony: A module which focuses on values’is a module for Kindergarten–Year 6 students written to support values education.

Philosophy Bites: podcasts of top philosophers interviewed on bite-sized topics ... Podcasts of past interviews can be downloaded from this site. Includes such topics as Anne Phillips on Multiculturalism: Should members of a minority group be left to lead their lives as they see fit, even where their values differ from those of the majority? A related series, Ethics Bites, commissioned by the Open University/BBC is available with podcasts, transcripts and a short video about the series.

Picture Books that Explore the Values of Education is a Tasmanian Department of Education resource that lists books that may be used by older and younger students in values education. It contains book titles under the headings of: connectedness, resilience, achievement, creativity, integrity, responsibilty and equity.

Racism. No way! is an Australian anti-racism education initiative managed by the Department of Education and Training in New South Wales on behalf of education systems nationally. There are various teaching and learning activities targeting students in the upper primary and secondary years, interviews with Australians concerning their thoughts and experiences of racism, current articles from the media, an interactive games room, a library and details on the various anti-racism education programs and strategies in place in education systems across Australia.

Reading Enriches Learning: Values provides online student-centred activities based on engaging texts. The activities are designed to promote understanding of the nine values for Australian schooling. The books have been carefully selected for a range of interests and abilities: for younger readers (years 2-4) and older readers (years 5-8).

Red Cross: After the Emergency Resources to help children cope after an emergency.

Resilience Education and Drug Information (REDI) is a drug information resource for Australian school communities. The website contains a comprehensive database of information about resources, policies and materials for drug education and incident management. There are specific sections: REDI for Parents; REDI for Tertiary Educators of Pre-service Teachers; and REDI resources for students, teachers and other members of the school community.

Roots of Empathy is a Canadian evidence-based classroom program that focuses on raising levels of empathy, resulting in more respectful and caring relationships and reduced levels of bullying and aggression. The program is for children from kindergarten to Year 8 and involves interaction with parents and babies from the local community.

r.u.MAD? Program (aRe yoU Making A Difference?), is an initiative of the Education Foundation, helping children change their world. By identifying problems and challenges in their school, local or global community, students and teachers set out to ‘Make a Difference’ in realistic and achievable ways.

Sathya Sai Education in Human Values is a universal, values-based teaching program for children of all cultures and faiths. Its intent is to help children to explore concepts of right and wrong through the use of storytelling, role-play, songs, games and drama.

School Aid is a student led philanthropy program that assists children to help other children in need. The School Aid website allows Australian school students to respond to urgent humanitarian situations affecting their peers.

Schooldays Magazine: positive information and resources for parents is an Australian national quarterly magazine for parents. 

The Shap Working Party on Education in Religions The Shap annual journal is a teaching resource providing insights from a variety of perspectives. Each year the editorial team selects an issue of importance for those teaching world religions or working in other educational sectors or in public services.The journal includes practical suggestions for classroom application, reviews of books and other resources.

Statement of values by the National Forum for Values in Education and the Community (UK) pp 219–221 includes an extract from the preamble to the statement which states that the Forum was to decide ‘whether there are any values that are commonly agreed upon across society, not whether there are any values that should be agreed upon across society’. Teachers ‘can therefore expect the support and encouragement of society if they base their teaching and the school ethos on these values’. The statement of values is also included. 

Success for Boys is an initiative by the Australian Government to improve boy’s educational and social outcomes. A number of schools have been funded to implement the Success for Boys Professional Learning program and to incorporate activities and projects that will help embed the professional learning in their curriculum.

The Learning Federation: ‘I Think …’ series Twenty four clips from the I think ... video anthology together with descriptive information and education value interpretation, are currently available from the Australian Children's Television Foundation (ACTF) through The Le@rning Federation. A group of 5-9 year old children discuss important and puzzling big ideas and wonder about solutions to complex environmental and personal issues. Teacher support materials for the series are available on the ACTF website.

The source, an Australian Government initiative, is a gateway to youth information, programs, services, resources and entertainment for young people between the ages of 12 and 25.

Together for Humanity is an Australian multi-faith-based, inclusive organisation to teach children and adults to replace prejudice, largely religious and cultural, with mutual respect and cooperation.

Uncommon lives is a series on famous and not so famous Australians as revealed in records held by the National Archives.

UNESCO APNIEVE The Asia Pacific Network for International Education and Values Education (APNIEVE),  was established by UNESCO in 1995 to form a network of regional experts in education for peace, human rights and democracy. The site features articles and links to teacher training workshops.

UNESCO: Human Rights Education website contains frameworks for the realisation of children’s right to education and rights within education and guidelines on intercultural education. There are also collections of good practices and policies to assist in integrating human rights education in school systems.

UNESCO: Inclusive education Inclusive education is based on the right of all learners to a quality education that meets basic learning needs and enriches lives. Focusing particularly on vulnerable and marginalized groups, it seeks to develop the full potential of every individual. This website provides key documents on quality inclusive education, guidelines and toolkits.

UNESCO Teaching and Learning for a Sustainable Future: a Multimedia Teacher Education program, is a resource to support the United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (2005-2014), the aim of which is to promote and improve the integration of Education for Sustainable Development into the educational strategies and action plans at all levels and sectors of education in all countries. The Elephant Dilemma is an online unit of work that invites students and teachers to develop an understanding of values education through environmental sustainability. 

UNICEF: Australia UNICEF is the United Nation's Children's Fund, the world’s leading advocate for children. UNICEF is non-political and works in 158 countries on behalf of children and women to make a lasting difference to their lives. The Australian UNICEF site has a schoolroom with information and activities for students.

United Nations: Cyberschoolbus Global Teaching and Learning Project produces teaching materials and activities designed for educational use (at primary and secondary school levels) and for training teachers. The vision of this Project is to provide exceptional educational resources to students growing up in a world undergoing increased globalisation. There are resources for areas such as Peace Education, Poverty, Human Rights, Cities of the World, World Hunger and Indigenous People.

Values Education Learning Object: Refugees is a joint project of the Queensland Catholic Education Commission and Discovering Democracy Queensland. The learning object uses a scenario and different characters to explore different viewpoints on the issue of refugees.

Values education Partnership projects
There were a number of national partnership projects funded by the Australian Government initiative in Values Education. Following are links to the values education partnership projects websites. 

• Australian Council for State Schools Organisations (ACSSO): Values. Alive and Well! 
• Australian Parents Council
• Australian Professional Teachers Association
• Principals Australia Institute: Principals and Values Education Strategy (PAVES)

Values for Life has a range of welfare books, activity sheets, posters, stickers and certificates based on pro-social, pro-active values which aim to develop welfare, resiliency and early literacy in students.

ViTaL Hub - ViTAL stands for ‘values in teaching and learning’. It is a site from the United Kingdom that provides reports on experiments in values education, a strategy for developing values education in your class or school, and other resource materials.

The Virtues Project uses five strategies to build foundations for safe and caring communities. These are: ‘Speak the language of the Virtues’, ‘Recognize Teachable Moments’, ‘Set Clear Boundaries’, ‘Honor the Spirit’ and ‘Offer Spiritual Companioning’. The program also uses 52 virtues as a way of creating a culture of character.

Whitelion opens doors to opportunities, relationships and community for young people involved in the juvenile justice system or at risk of involvement. This is achieved through role modelling, mentoring, employment and indigenous programs, outreach services, and through prevention programs run in rural and metropolitan communities.