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Annotated Values Education Resources Directory
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Building Values Across the Whole School: A Resource Package
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Parents

This section of the website is devoted to resources and information about values education for parents. It contains information about the values education projects, links to parent partnership programs, and other resources.

Values education

All key stakeholders in the Australian education context have a strong commitment to values education. This is reflected in the 'National Goals for Schooling in the Twenty-First Century', the Adelaide Declaration by all education ministers in 1999. The national goals recognise that: Australia’s future depends upon each citizen having the necessary knowledge, understanding, skills and values for a productive and rewarding life in an educated, just and open society. High quality schooling is central to achieving this vision . . . Schooling provides a foundation for young Australians’ intellectual, physical, social, moral, spiritual and aesthetic development.

The Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs (MCEETYA), at its meeting on 19 July 2002, unanimously supported the national Values Education Study commissioned by the Australian Government to inform the development of a framework and set of principles for values education in Australian schools. MCEETYA also:

  • acknowledged that education is as much about building character as it is about equipping students with specific skills;
  • noted that values-based education can strengthen students’ self-esteem, optimism and commitment to personal fulfilment; and help them to exercise ethical judgement and social responsibility; and
  • recognised that parents expect schools to help students understand and develop personal and social responsibilities.

 

The national goals include the goals that students, when they leave school, should:

  • have qualities of self-confidence, optimism, high self-esteem and a commitment to personal excellence as a basis for their potential life roles as family, community and workforce members, (Goal 1.2) and
  • have the capacity to exercise judgement and responsibility in matters of morality, ethics and social justice, and the capacity to make sense of their world, to think about how things got to be the way they are, to make rational and informed decisions about their own lives, and to accept responsibility for their own actions (Goal 1.3).

 

Within the community at large there is growing discussion about how our children acquire their values and how they make sense of values promoted by the media and their peers. Parents, caregivers and families are the primary source of values education for their children, but they expect support from schools in this endeavour. Values education is an essential part of effective schooling.

National Framework for Values Education in Australian Schools

The National Framework for Values Education in Australian Schools was developed from the 'Values Education Study' (2003) and national consultation of a draft framework. The national framework was agreed to and endorsed by all the State and Territory Ministers of Education and distributed to all Australian schools in February 2005.  

The framework recognises the values education policies and programs already in place in education authorities and Australian schools. It also recognises that there is a significant history of values education in government and non-government schools drawing on a range of philosophies, beliefs and traditions.

Findings from the 'Values Education Study' (2003) indicated that while many state and non-government schools were working well in this area, comprehensive values education across Australia was still at an early stage.

The 'National Framework for Values Education in Australian Schools' sets out:

  • a context;
  • an underpinning vision for improved values education in Australian schools;
  • eight guiding principles to support schools in implementing values education;
  • key elements and approaches providing practical guidance to schools in implementing values education; and
  • nine Values for Australian Schooling that emerged from Australian school communities and from the 'National Goals for Schooling in Australia in the Twenty-First Century'.  

 

The guiding principles recognise that in all contexts schools promote, foster and transmit values to all students and that education is as much about building character as it is about equipping students with specific skills. They also recognise that schools are not value-free or value-neutral zones of social and educational engagement.

Three of the guiding principles (see the framework for the other principles) specifically related to the wider school community say that effective values education:

  • articulates the values of the school community and applies these consistently in the practices of the school;
  • occurs in partnership with students, staff, families and the school community as part of a whole-school approach to educating students, enabling them to exercise responsibility and strengthening their resilience;
  • is presented in a safe and supportive learning environment in which students are encouraged to explore their own, their school’s and their communities’ values; and
  • regularly reviews the approaches used to check that they are meeting the intended outcomes. 

 

Two of the key elements and suggested approaches (see the framework for other key elements and approaches) stemming from these guiding principles are:

  • Partnerships within the school community
    • Schools consult parents, caregivers and families within their communities on values to be fostered and approaches to be adopted (eg through school values forums).
    • Values education involves the local school community in the development and teaching of values, drawing on the shared values that underpin Australia’s democratic way of life in the context of the local community and its values.
    • Schools involve the school community in the implementation and monitoring of values education programs.
  • Safe and supportive learning environment
    • Students, staff and parents are encouraged to explore their own values. 

 

National partnership projects

There are a number of national partnership projects funded by the Australian Government initiative in values education. Parents are represented by the Australian Council for State School Organisations and the Australian Parents’ Council. 

Good Practice Schools and School Forums

Two major values education grants projects funded by the Australian Government and involving schools on a national basis are the Values Education Good Practice Schools Project: Stages 1 and 2, which is a program designed to foster and support improved values education practice in Australian schools and Values Education School Forums, which offers schools an opportunity to consider values education in relation to their own policies and practices.

Resources

Following are some values-related resources that may be of specific interest to parents.

NEW The Australian Institute of Family Studies is an Australian Government statutory agency that conducts and coordinates research around matters affecting the family as the fundamental group unit in society. A recent briefing from the Australian Family Relationships Clearinghouse is ‘Working with families concerned with school-based bullying’ by Dr Jodie Lodge, AFRC Briefing No. 11, 2008.

Books for Life are a selection of titles from Finch Publishing, an independent Australian publisher of books on family, health, relationships and society. The titles have been chosen to support teachers as they share with parents and the wider community the responsibility to meet children’s social and emotional needs. 

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

There is also a separate guide for teachers and a DVD and video: 'Very Mixed Emotions – A Discussion Starter on Bullying in Childhood'.

Every child needs a hero: A report tracking Australian children’s concerns and attitudes about childhood by Joe Tucci, Janise Mitchell and Chris Goddard, Australian Childhood Foundation, July 2006.

Mission Australia: Social Policy Reports – youth issues. 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.

NetAlert is Australia's Internet safety advisory body. NetAlert aims to provide a safer Internet experience for young people and their families. There is a Parent’s Internet Safety Toolkit, interactive advice by age, such as Netty’s World and CyberQuoll, and advice by issue, such as the current problem of cyberbullying.

The Parents Jury is a web-based network of parents who wish to improve nutrition and physical activity environments for children throughout Australia.

Raising Children Network: the Australian Parenting website, is a website supporting parents of children from birth to eight years old by providing them with information that can help with day-to-day decisions on raising children and looking after their own needs. There is information on connecting and communicating with your child and, in the ‘grown-ups’ section, there are case studies of ‘Parents like me’, such as parents of different cultures, Indigenous parents and parents of children with a disability.

Reach Out! is a web-based service that aims to improve young people’s mental health and well being by providing support information and referrals in a format that appeals to young people.

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.

TeenMatters is a quarterly magazine dedicated to the parents of teenagers. It is published by Youth Off The Streets (a community organisation working for homeless and disadvantaged young people) and is for families from all backgrounds. Content covers a wide range of issues, including mental health, nutrition, cyber bullying and Internet technology, body image, shyness, friendships and relationships.