DOCUMENT RESUME ED 355 643 EA 024 747 AUTHOR Beck, Clive TITLE Better Schools: A Values Perspective. REPORT NO ISBN-1-85000-623-7 PUB DATE 90 NOTE 203p. AVAILABLE FROM Falmer Press, Taylor & Francis,Inc., 1900 Frost Road, Suite 101, Bristol, PA 19007($32.50 paperback--ISBN-1-85000-623-7; $65 hardcover--ISBN-1-85000-622-9; shipping andhandling 4 percent of orderover $50). PUB TYPE Books (010) EDRS PRICE MF01/PC09 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS Cultural Awareness; Ecology;Economics Education; *Educational Change; *EducationalObjectives; Elementary Secondary Education; *EthicalInstruction; Global Approach; Minority Groups;Politics; Racial Factors; Religious Education; *Roleof Education; *School Responsibility; SocialResponsibility; *Social Values; TheoryPractice Relationship ABSTRACT The purpose of this book isto identify schooling goals and suggest what form of schooling is needed to achievethem. Although schools manage tocare fcr children and give thema solid social, cultural, and intellectualgrounding they also massively deprive children of intellectualand cultural stimulation and enormously distort children'sperception of social and political reality. Reconciling theseassessments (schools' solid recordof achievement versus their scandalousperformance) hingeson recognizing the close link between school and society. Thisbook calls for a new vision of school and society's goal--to promotehuman well-being as equitably as possible throughout society and aroundthe world. While not neglecting traditional basics, schoolsmust stress personal and social education.Schools should advocate certain outlooks and attitudes and modelthem for students. Topursue equality and build community, students should studya largely common curriculum in nonselective schools and heterogeneous classes.fart 1 of the book focuses on selected key goals and pedagogicalissues and four major interestgroups (students, teachers, parents, and society). Part 2 concentrateson specific problem areas: compulsion, indoctrination, and questionsrelated to religion,race, ethnicity, and class. Part 3, presentingnew curriculum priorities, discusses moral and values education,religious and spiritual education, political education, and global education. The book containsnumerous chapter references andan index. (MLH) *********************************************************************** Reproductions supplied by EDRSare the best that can be made from the original document. *********************************************************************** U S DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Office of Echicalonat Research and isiocovement EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER tERICI This document has been reproduced at: f received from the person or organization originating it 10 Minor changes have been made to improve 1 reproduction Quaid), tiePoints of view o opinions stated in this COCu ment do not necessarily represent official 1 OE RI position Of 001,Cy rt I ' ' I "PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE THIS 6 1 MATERIAL HAS BEEN GRANTED BY ,y, TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC)" lig) The Faber PressBEST COPY A;AIADLE Better Schools: A Values Perspective It For Paul and Nicholas 4 "It Better Schools: A Values Perspective Clive Beck The Falmer Press (A member of the Taylor & Francis Group) New York Philadelphia London UK The Falmer Press, Falmer House, Barcombe, Lewes, East Sussex, BN8 5DL USA The Falmer Press, Taylor & Francis Inc., 1900 Frost Road, Suite 101, Bristol PA 19007 © C. Beck 1990 All rights reserved. No part of this publication w:y be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without permission in writing from the Publisher. First published 1990 British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data Beck, Clive Better schools: a values perspective 1. Schools. Role in society I. Title 370.19'3 ISBN 1-85000-622-9 ISBN 1-85000-623-7 pbk Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Beck, Clive Better schools: a values perspective on education/Clive Beck. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references. ISBN 1-85000-622-9. ISBN 1-85000-623-7. (pbk.) 1. Education Aims and objectives. 2. Social values. I. Title LB41.B39 1990 370.11 dc20 90-16835 C IP Jacket design by Caroline Archer Typeset in 101/2/13 point Bembo by Bramley Typesetting Limited, 12 Campbell Court, Bramley, Basingstoke. Hants. Printed in Great Britain by Taylor & Francis (Printers) Ltd, Basingstoke I Contents Introduction vii Part 1: Getting Our Bearings 1 1 The Purpose of Schooling 2What Kind of School? 15 3Students: Meeting Their Needs 27 4Teachers: What Can and Cannot be Expected of Them 41 5 Parental and Societal Rights 53 Part 2: Specific Value Issues 6Compulsion 65 7Indoctrination 73 8Religious Bias 85 9Racism 97 10Ethnic Bias 105 11 Sexism 117 12Class Bias 129 Part 3: New Directions for Schools 13 Moral and Values Education 143 14Religious and Spiritual Education 157 15 Political and Global Education 175 16 Conclusion 191 Index 195 Introduction Schools are of great concern to most of us, whether as parents,ordinary citizens or educators. We are often unsure, however, just whattheir role is and to what extent they are fulfilling it. We do not knowwhether to complain about them, or gratefully accept them as they are. The purpose of this book is (a) to identify the goals of schooling, and (b) to suggest what fimn of schooling is needed in order to achievethese goals. While schools are already doing a good job in many ways,lack of clarity about objectives hinders them in their task. As John Goodladhas said recently, unless the goals of schools are clearly set forth, 'the specifics designed to teach concepts, skills, and values become the ends rather than the means, obscuring the larger ends.' (John Goodlad. A PlaceCalled School, New York: McGraw-Hill, 1984, p. 290.) The form of schooling, however, must be examined as well as the goals, since the education we aim at and see as 'good' must be feasible. AsJohn Dewey said often, speaking of education and of life in general, our aims must be modified by our expel ience of reality.The values perspective on schools offered in this book, then, will be concerned with means as well as ends. A key theme of the book will be the relationship between school and society. Some writers have suggested that reform at the school level is impossible because schools are so strongly influenced by society. It has been said that schools 'reproduce' society, and even that education is socialization. While not taking such an extreme position, I will attempt to show that society is one of the major realities that schools must take into account, and that school and societal reform must go hand in hand if significant improvement is to he achieved. From one point of view, schools deserve much more credit than they currently receive. Their accomplishments are many. They provide a relatively sate, humane and pleasant environment for vast numbers of children. They teach most children to read, write and calculate, and give them an introduction vii Better Schools: A Values Perspective to our intellectual traditions not otherwise available. They reinforcemany of the values learned in the home, and fosternew outlooks and behaviour needed in the work place and other public settings ofpluralistic societies. They offer a range of artistic, cultural and sporting activities,and initiate children into pastimes which bring them pleasure for therest of their lives. With a minimum of pomp and corruption (contrastthem with business and political institutions), schools manage bothto care for our children and to give them a solid social, cultural and intellectual grounding.School teachers and other school personnel havereason to feel proud of what they do. Paradoxically, however, from another point of view theperformance of schools might well be describedas scandalous. Some of the shortcomings of schooling will be documented in the chapters thatfollow. But here we might note the two central scandals: first, schools massivelydeprive children of intellectual and cultural stimulation, teaching witha scope and efficiency considerably less than what is needed; and secondly, schoolsenormously distort children's perception of social and politicalreality and of what is ultimately important in life. The first problem is widelyrecognized: parents and citizens constantly ask, Why aren'tour schools more effective? The second problem is less commonly noted, partly becauseadults share many of the distorted ideas about society and life which schoolstransmit. How can one reconcile these two assessments, thatschools have a solid record of achievement of which educatorscan be proud, and that their performance is scandalous? Theanswer, I believe, lies largely in the close connection between school and society already alludedto. Schools are doing quite well, under the circumstances. The resultsarc indeed scandalous in many ways, as indicated, but the causes arc embedded in long-standing social and cultural conditions. The problem is largelya societal one; and a broad societal effort is required, with the schoolas just one of several players. Thus, schools can be proud of what they arc doing in the present societalcontext, but should be spurred on to work with othersin bringing about major improvements. On what basis do we make value judgments of thiskind about the ways in which schools arc doing wellor badly? By what criteria do we establish goals and standards for schools and arriveat directions for change? The approach to values