Values and Values Education in Estonian Preschool Child Care Institutions

• Authors: Pärje Ülavere , Marika Veisson
• Languages of publication: EN

Abstracts

EN

The objective of the study was to provide an outline of the values that principals, teachers and parents of preschool child care institutions consider important to be taught to children, and which activities, in their estimation, should be used to implement values education in child care institutions. A total of 978 respondents from all 15 Estonian counties returned the quantitative questionnaire, including 163 principals, 425 teachers, and 390 parents of preschool child care institutions. The statistical data analysis was applied to process the quantitative data obtained. The values that are more important to be taught to children, according to principals, include sense of humour as well as pride and inventiveness, whereas teachers value patience as a significantly more important value to be taught. Compared to principals, parents consider confidence and commitment more important, while, compared to teachers, parents consider it more important that kindergartens teach the importance of a good education. Values education in child care institutions takes place primarily in adherence to the relevant group’s rules in the course of everyday communication and activities. Personal role models are considered to be very important in values education.

Keywords

EN

values; values education; preschool child care; preschool teachers; parents; preschool principals

• Publisher: Sciendo
• Journal: Journal of Teacher Education for Sustainability
• Year: 2015
• Volume: 17
• Issue: 2
• Pages: 108-124

Dates

published

2015-12-01

online

2015-11-26

Contributors

author

Pärje Ülavere

• Tallinn University, Estonia
• PhD student, School of Educational Sciences, University of Tallinn, 25 Narva mnt, 10120, Tallinn, Estonia

author

Marika Veisson

• Tallinn University, Estonia

References

• Bandura, A. (1977). Social learning theory. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
• Barni, D., Knafo, A., Ben-Arieh, A., & Haj-Yahia, M. M. (2014). Parent-child value similarity across and within cultures. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 45(6), 853-867.
• Buckler, C., & Creech, H. (2014). Shaping the future we want. UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (2005-2014) Final Report. France: United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.
• Estonian Ministry of Education and Research. (2012). Alushariduse pedagoogide kohta käiv statistika [Statistics concerning preschool teachers]. Retrieved July 4, 2015, from http://www.hm.ee/ehis/statistika.html
• Government of the Republic. (2008). Estonian National Curriculum for Pre-school Child Care Institutions. Riigi Teataja I, 23: 152.
• Hirsjärvi, S., & Huttunen, J. (1998). Sissejuhatus kasvatusteadusesse [Introduction to educational science]. Tallinn: Syner Arendusabi.
• Inglehart, R. (1997). Modernization and postmodernization. Cultural, economic and political change in 43 societies. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
• Johansson, E., Cobb-Moore, C., Lunn-Brownlee, J., Walker, S., Boulton-Lewis, G., & Ailwood, J. (2014). Children’s perspectives on values and rules in Australian early education. Australasian Journal of Early Childhood, 39(2), 12-20.
• Kera, S. (2004). Üheskoos teel. Lapse arengust ja kasvatusest [Together on the way. About child development and upbringing]. Tallinn: AS Kirjastus Ilo.
• Krull, E. (2000). Pedagoogilise psühholoogia käsiraamat [Handbook of educational psychology]. Tartu: Tartu Ülikooli kirjastus.
• Kulderknup, E. (2009). Õppe- ja kasvatustegevuse valdkonnad [Areas of learning and educational activities]. Tallinn: Riiklik Eksami- ja kvalifikatsioonikeskus.
• Long Bostrom, K. (1999). The value-able child. Teaching values at home and school. Culver City, CA: Good Year Books.
• Ministry of Education and Research. (2009). National programme "Values Development in Estonian Society 2009-2013". Retrieved May 23, 2015, from http://www.eetika.ee/sites/default/files/www_ut/eesti_uhiskonna_vaartusarendus_2009-2013_0.pdf
• Neeme, M. (2011). Väärtuskasvatus toimib läbi (kooli) elupraktika [Values education functions through (school) life practice]. In T. Kuurme (Eds.), Kõneldud ja elatud väärtused erinevates pedagoogilistes kultuurides [Spoken and lived values in different pedagogical cultures] (pp. 142-160). Tallinn: Vali Press.
• OECD (The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development). (2012). Starting strong III: A quality toolbox for early childhood education and care. OECD Publishing.
• Pew Research Center (2014, September). Teaching the children: Sharp ideological differences, some common ground. Retrieved June 25, 2015, from http://www.people-press.org/2014/09/18/teaching-the-children-sharp-ideological-differencessome-common-ground/
• Realo, A. (2013). Väärtused [Values]. In M. Heidmets (Ed.), Eesti Inimarengu aruanne 2012/2013 Eesti maailmas [Estonian Human Development Report 2012/2013 Estonia in the world] (pp. 43-53). Tallinn: Eesti Koostöö Kogu. Retrieved May 6, 2015, from http://www.kogu.ee/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/EIA_lowres.pdf
• Rokeach, M. (1973). The nature of human values. New York: Free Press.
• Sanderse, W. (2013). The meaning of role modelling in moral and character education. Journal of Moral Education, 42(1), 28-42.
• Schiller, P., & Bryant, T. (2009). Väärtuste raamat. Kuidas õpetada 16 põhiväärtust väikestele lastele? [The values book: Teaching 16 basic values to young children]. Tartu: Studium Publishing House.
• Schihalejev, O., & Jung, N. (2012). Erinevad väärtuskasvatuslikud lähenemised [Different approaches to values education]. In O. Schihalejev (Eds.), Õppemeetodid väärtuskasvatuse teenistuses-miks ja kuidas? [Study methods in the service of values education: Why and how?] (pp. 14-24). Tartu: University of Tartu Centre of Ethics.
• Schwartz, S. H. (1992). Universals in the content and structure of values: Theoretical advances and empirical tests in 20 countries. In M. Zanna (Ed.), Advances in experimental social psychology, 25 (pp. 1-65). San Diego, CA: Academic Press Inc.
• Schwartz, S. H. (2012). An overview of the Schwartz Theory of Basic Values. Online Readings in Psychology and Culture, 2(1). Retrieved August 4, 2015, from http://dx.doi.org/10.9707/2307-0919.1116
• Schwartz, S. H., Cieciuch, J., Vecchione, M., Davidov, E., Fischer, R., Beierlein, C., Ramos, A., Verkasalo, M., Lönnqvist, J.-E., Demirutku, K., Dirilen-Gumus, O., & Konty, M. (2012). Refining the Theory of Basic Individual Value. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 103(4), 663-688.
• Sutrop, M. (2009). Väärtused ja haridus ühiskondlikus kontekstis [Values and education in a social context]. In M. Sutrop, P. Valk, & K. Velbaum (Eds.), Väärtused ja väärtuskasvatus. Valikud ja võimalused 21. sajandil Eesti ja Soome koolis [Values and values education: Choices and opportunities in 21st century schools in Estonia and Finland] (pp. 50-67). Tartu: University of Tartu Centre of Ethics.
• Sutrop, M. (2010). Saatesõna [Introduction]. In M. Veisson (Ed.), Väärtused koolieelses eas. Väärtuskasvatus lasteaias [Values in pre-school children: Values education in kindergarten] (pp. 9-26). Tartu: University of Tartu Centre of Ethics.
• Sutrop, M., Harro-Loit, H., & Jung, N. (2013). Kooli väärtusarenduse hindamismudelmiks ja kuidas? [Values education assessment model for schools: Why and how?] In M. Sutrop, (Ed.), Väärtuspõhine kool. Eesti ja maailma kogemus [Values-based school: Experience from Estonia and the world] (pp. 199-215). Tartu: University of Tartu Centre of Ethics.
• Tart, I., Sõmer, M., & Lilleoja, L. (2012). Alusväärtused Eestis teise laine perioodil [Basic human values in Estonia during the second wave]. In A. Aarelaid-Tart (Ed.), Nullindate kultuur I: teise laine tulemine [Culture of zero-graders: Arrival of the second wave] (pp. 44-70). Tartu: Tartu University Press.
• Tulviste, T. (2013). Socialization values of mothers and fathers: Does the child's age matter? Trames, 17(2), 129-140.
• Tulviste, T., & Kikas, E. (2010). Qualities to be developed in Estonian children at home and at school. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 31(4), 315-321.
• UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation). (2014). Roadmap for implementing the Global Action Programme on Education for Sustainable Development. France: United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.
• Values Change the World (2012). World Values Survey. Retrieved May 23, 2015, from http://www.iffs.se/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/WVS-brochure-web.pdf
• Veisson, M. (2009). Values of Estonian students, teachers and parents. US-China Education Review, 5, 67-5.
• Veisson, M., & Kuurme, T. (2010). Ülevaade väärtustest, väärtuskasvatusest ja moraalist [Overview of values, values education, and morals]. In M. Veisson (Ed.), Väärtused koolieelses eas. Väärtuskasvatus lasteaias [Values in pre-school children: Values education in kindergarten] (pp. 9-26). Tartu: University of Tartu Centre of Ethics.
• Ülavere, P., & Veisson, M. (2015). The values of Estonian preschool childcare institutions' principals, teachers, and parents. The European Journal of Social and Behavioural Sciences, 13(2), 1791-1799. Retrieved July 22, 2015, from http://dx.doi.org/10.15405/ejsbs.160

Identifiers

DOI

10.1515/jtes-2015-0014