A critical analysis of the values clarification approach regarding moral values in the South African school context

M.Ed.According to the media, the South African society is experiencing an alarming increase of crime-related incidents like dishonesty, violence and injustice which shows the decline of morality. Schools have their own problems which show lack of discipline and respect for authority particularly by the learners. These problems characterise society in a time when the existing government introduced a progressive approach to education. One characteristic of the progressive education regarding moral values education is the right of the learner to a personal choice in moral matters. In this study, the educational justification of a values clarification approach is questioned in view of existing theories concerning moral development, as well as Graves' theory of human beings' levels of existence. From the moral development theories used in this study it was pointed out that the development of morality is structured in sequential stages ranging from an amoral to an autonomously moral stage. The educational implications are that the education of moral values in schools should be structured along the stages of the child's moral development. Children therefore have to be taught the content of moral values before they can be left on their own to choose and judge for themselves in moral matters. As indicated in the study, moral rules are learned in the process of growing up. According to Graves' theory of levels of existence, human beings are centred at different levels of existence which are characterised by different motivations, behaviours and value systems in their lifespan. Graves states that the difference in levels of existence, particularly in diverse societies like South Africa, necessitates different management and education approaches congruent with each level of existence. Most people in South Africa, like in the rest of Africa, lead a traditionally oriented existence which is characterised by an autocratic management style. This makes the values clarification approach in South African schools not accountable as an educational moral approach. The values clarification approach could on the other hand be used at institutions of higher learning where the majority of learners are in the postconventional phase of moral development. This study's recommendations as based on the findings are the following: that universal moral values be inculcated in schools given the existing moral development theories. that the values clarification approach be used at institutions of higher learning given the moral development theories and Graves' levels of existence theory