| Posted: May 08 2010,15:13 |
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Postal address of organization/institution
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3, Avenue de Miremont, 1211 Genčve 21, Switzerland
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E-mail address of organization/institution
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lve@livingvalues.net;
content@livingvalues.net
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Website address of organization/institution
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www.livingvalues.net
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Telephone of organization/institution
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PRIORITIES: All of the organization's domains of culture of peace activity |
EDUCATION FOR PEACE
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
HUMAN RIGHTS
UNDERSTANDING, TOLERANCE AND SOLIDARITY
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TOP PRIORITY: The organization's most important culture of peace activity |
EDUCATION FOR PEACE
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PARTNERSHIPS AND NETWORKS: What
partnerships and networks does your organization participate in, thus
strengthening the global movement for a culture of peace? |
The
Association for Living Values Education International (“ALIVE”) is a
worldwide community of values educators. As a non-governmental
organisation, it takes the form of an international association of
independent, locally-run, non-profit organisations committed to
promoting values in education. ALIVE aims to further the
objectives of its member organisations (each of which is called an
“Associate”) and facilitate their activities in the field of values
education while enhancing and maintaining the integrity, identity and
standing of the educational approach, philosophy and practice known as
Living Values Education (“LVE”).
While most of the ALIVE
Associates are national LVE associations, there are some that are
non-governmental organizations in their own right. This includes
Club Avenir des Enfants de Guniee in Guinea Conakry, the National
Children’s Council in the Seychelles, Yayasan Karuna Bali in Indonesia,
New Generation Vibe in New Zealand, Bond zonder Naam in Belgium and
Hand in Hand in the Maldives. Jesuit and Brothers Association for
Development coordinate LVE training and events in Egypt.
While
ALIVE does not have any international partnerships, some of the
national ALIVE Associates and Focal Points for LVE do have
country-by-country partnerships. For example, in Vietnam LVE has
partnerships with the Hanoi Psychological Association, Plan
International, World Vision International and the Ministry of Labor,
Invalids & Social Affairs, Drug Rehabilitation Department, among
others. Some of the national LVE entities have received cooperation
from national UNICEF committees and some from Rotary Clubs. The Braham
Kumaris World Spiritual University, which made significant
contributions to the establishment and formative dissemination of the
LVE endeavor, continues to provide country by country support or
partnership when such is desired by both the national LVE and national
BKWSU entities. The Swiss Association for Living Values
Education, has received collaboration from UNESCO/BREDA (Regional
Office for Education in Africa); with sponsorship from ACCENTUS
Charitable Foundation, the Karl Popper Foundation, Service Industriel
Geneve (SIG), Jersey (UK) Rotary Club, West African Cement (Togo) along
with the cooperation of other organizations and individuals when doing
a several year project with countries in West and Central Africa. The
ALIVE Associate in Paraguay has an agreement with the Ministry of
Education and Colegio Aula Viva. There are many organizations and
individuals that cooperate in this global values education endeavor.
Each national LVE entity has the right to form its own partnerships as
long as it adheres to the values promoted by ALIVE and set forth in its
articles of association and code of conduct.
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ACTIONS: What activities have
been undertaken by your organization to promote a culture of peace and
nonviolence during the ten years of the Decade? If you already made a
report in 2005, your information from 2005 will be included in the 2010
report.
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The
Association for Living Values Education International (ALIVE) has seen
progress toward a culture of peace and nonviolence in the last half of
this decade. From 2005 to 2010, we have:
1. further defined the Living Values Education Approach;
2. developed more Living Values Education (LVE) educational resource materials;
3.
provided LVE professional development workshops, seminars and courses
to a greater number of educators in schools, organizations and agencies
dealing with young people in both formal and informal settings, and to
a greater number of parents and communities, through ALIVE Associates
and Focal Points for Living Values Education in 65 countries around the
world; and
4. broadened the scope of LVE to communities in several countries.
Information about each one of the above items is detailed below.
1. The Living Values Education Approach
The
following statement of vision and core principles was elaborated,
primarily from mid-2005 to mid-2006, on the basis of extensive
consultations with Living Values Education practitioners around the
world.
The Vision
Living Values Education is a way of
conceptualizing education that promotes the development of values-based
learning communities and places the search for meaning and purpose at
the heart of education. LVE emphasizes the worth and integrity of
each person involved in the provision of education, in the home, school
and community. In fostering quality education, LVE supports the
overall development of the individual and a culture of positive values
in each society and throughout the world, believing that education is a
purposeful activity designed to help humanity flourish.
To see the entire statement, please go to: http://www.livingvalues.net/news/pdf/The_LVE_Approach_2008.pdf
2. More LVE Educational Resource Materials
In
pursuing its mission and implementing its core principles, the
Association for Living Values Education International and its
Associates and Focal Points provide a range of educational resource
materials.
Prior to 2005: Classroom teaching material and
other educational resources, in particular an award-winning series of
five resource books containing practical values activities and a range
of methods are offered for use to educators, facilitators, parents and
caregivers to help children and young adults to explore and develop
twelve widely-shared human values (Living Values Activities for
Children Ages 3-7, Living Values Activities for Children Ages 8-14,
Living Values Activities for Young Adults, Living Values Parent Groups:
A Facilitator Guide and LVEP Educator Training Guide). There are
also resource books for children in difficult circumstances (street
children), children affected by earthquakes and children affected by
war. The approach and lesson content are experiential,
participatory and flexible, allowing – and encouraging – the materials
to be adapted and supplemented according to varying cultural, social
and other circumstances.
Actions in the form of continued
implementation since 2005: Through these materials, educators,
parents and facilitators around the world have continued to promote a
culture of peace in schools and education settings in both formal and
informal settings, with parents and families through parent groups, and
with children in difficult circumstances (street children). It
has been observed that the more years the staff of a whole school is
implementing LVE, the greater the atmosphere of peace, respect and
care, and the more they naturally use a language of values to solve any
conflicts in a mutually beneficial way. Further information about
this is provided in point 5 below.
From 2005 to 2010:
Living
Values Activities for Drug Rehabilitation: This manual was developed in
2005. It is being used in drug rehabilitation clinics in Vietnam and
Brazil and has been used in Estonia in prisons. For further
information, please see: http://www.livingvalues.net/LVADR.html.
Living
Values Activities for Young Offenders: This manual was developed in
2008. This was successfully piloted in Singapore. For further
information, please see: http://www.livingvalues.net/LVAYO.html.
Songs:
In 2009, 20 songs about peace and other values for children from
three- to seven-years old were made available for free download on
ALIVE’s website.
LVE Home Study Course: LVE Focal Points in New
Zealand and Australia have developed and are piloting a based on Living
Values Activities for Young Adults. This is being made available
to adults in an effort to raise awareness about the effect of values in
life, and to encourage adults to use values in their own inner work, in
their relationships and in the workplace. When it is complete it
will be made available to all ALIVE Associates and LVE Focal Points.
Television
shows: Another educational resource that was developed during this
period was a series of 52 LVE television shows in Vietnam. In
these programmes, people on the street are asked questions about a
value and then six teens do an LVE activity on the show. This
programme is very popular in Vietnam and is currently running six times
a week on two different major channels. Teens and adults write in
to share how the programme has changed their life in a positive way,
allowing them to have more understanding, peace, respect or compassion.
Short
films and ads: Several other ALIVE Associates or Focal Points for LVE
have developed short films and even advertisements promoting living our
values. For example, in the Seychelles, the ALIVE Associate is the
National Children’s Council. They have developed ads promoting
awareness about the importance of adults modeling values. In
Zimbabwe, a private girls’ high school developed a film that
beautifully depicts the grace, peace and intelligence of hundreds of
young women involved in LVE.
Volunteer City Programme: In
Israel, the ALIVE Associate has worked with the Informal Education
Department within the Ministry of Education to develop a project to
implement values in communities. Both LVE and Ministry materials
are being used. The first “Volunteer City” training was carried
out in 2007 very successfully; the materials were finalized in early
2010 in preparation for wider dissemination.
3. LVE Professional Development Workshops, Seminars and Courses
Professional
development workshops, seminars and courses for teachers and others
involved in the provision of education have been provided to a greater
number of educators in schools, organizations and agencies dealing with
young people in both formal and informal settings through ALIVE
Associates and Focal Points for Living Values Education in 65 countries
around the world.
For example, in Brazil, the ALIVE
Associate, Instituto Vivendo Valores, has provided training to
thousands of teachers, including street educators who work with
children in difficult circumstances. These educators have
facilitated the exploration and development of values with more than
500,000 young people in normal schools and 75,000 street children.
In West and Central Africa, from 2003 to 2008, the Swiss
Association for Living Values Education, in collaboration with
UNESCO/BREDA (Regional Office for Education in Africa); with generous
sponsorship from ACCENTUS Charitable Foundation, the Karl Popper
Foundation, Service Industriel Geneve (SIG), Jersey (UK) Rotary Club,
West African Cement (Togo); and with the cooperation of other
organizations and individuals, has succeeded in an endeavor to provide
basic values education training for educators and develop teams of
trainers in several countries. School teachers and educators that
serve children in difficult circumstances were trained in the Living
Values Education (LVE) approach and immediately began implementing LVE
in their workplaces. This began in Senegal in 2003 with a training
workshop for educators of street children and early childhood
education, and later expanding to Burundi, Rwanda, Nigeria, Togo,
Ghana, Cameroon and The Gambia.
In Vietnam, several thousand
educators have been trained from 2005 to 2010. Some of these
educators work in drug rehabilitation clinics, others with street
children (children in difficult circumstances), others with parents, in
schools and with universities. In Vietnam, PLAN and World Vision
have developed partnerships with the LVE Focal Point and are actively
training educators. It has been noted in Vietnam that social
skills development is not sufficient as often the students develop
arrogance about their abilities. The educators have found that
teaching values eliminates this problem, while promoting the values of
peace and respect for all.
In Spain, the ALIVE Associate there
has been working with Fundación Cultura de Paz. From 2002 through
2009 they have carried out seminars with professionals and families,
sensitizing them to the Culture of Peace. Two annual meetings
have been held with teams of professionals in Spain in the cities of
Bilbao, Barcelona, Valencia, Tenerife, Sevilla, Alicante.
All
but one of the ALIVE Associates or Focal Points for LVE in 65 countries
around the world has carried out LVE workshops or seminars with
educators. In many countries, LVE is implemented mostly with
educators in schools and day-care centres. In some countries,
Associates or Focal Points also facilitate a LVE process with parents
in parent groups. In other countries, they also implement it in
centres for street children, health centres, universities, youth camps,
hospitals, prisons and drug rehabilitation clinics. For further
details, please see individual Country Reports at www.livingvalues.net.
4. Broadened the Scope of LVE to Communities
As
mentioned in section 2 above, some of the new LVE educational resource
developments are bringing LVE to communities, specifically, the Home
Study Course in New Zealand and Australia, the Volunteer Cities project
in Israel and the television programmes in Vietnam. The awareness
of values, including the values of peace, respect, honest and
tolerance, is usually coupled with information about psycho-social
skills to promote better intra- and interpersonal functioning.
However,
as LVE helps young people live their values both inside and outside the
classroom, we have found that values awareness automatically increases
in families and communities. This also occurs as LVE educators do
activities outside traditional settings. For example, in South
Africa an LVE educator does LVE activities with children in a hospital
while educators in Brazil have held LVE parades.
The Instituto
Vivendo Valores in Brazil is just about to implement a large-scale LVE
project in one of the most challenging neighbourhoods of Sao Paulo with
thousands of children and adults. This will be a two-year project
of implementation and research with both LVE Formal Education and LVE
for At-Risk Youth. The project will take place in Jardim Angela,
in Sao Paulo, at both local schools and social institutes, particularly
with the Santos Martires Society. It is hoped that this project
will dramatically reduce the culture of violence in this neighbourhood.
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PROGRESS: Has your organization
seen progress toward a culture of peace and nonviolence in your domain
of action and in your constituency during the second half of the
Decade? |
While
our world continues to need considerable progress toward a culture of
peace, yes, we have seen progress toward a culture of peace and
nonviolence in the last half of this decade.
Below we
have noted just a few of the positive results of LVE and values
education research. There are tens of thousands of LVE educators
around the world in 65 countries who help young people, educators,
parents and communities grow toward their potential.
Living
Values Educators continue to report an increase in respect, caring,
cooperation, motivation and the ability to solve peer conflicts on the
part of the young people. Aggressive behaviour is seen to decline
as positive social skills and respect increase. Interviews with
educators implementing Living Values Education reveal that over time
there is a change in how the children, youth and adults involved
perceive and deal with challenges. As they learn to dialogue and
resolve new situations in an open atmosphere of respect and caring,
their comprehension and acceptance of differences grows together with
their ability to create positive outcomes; they become creators of
peace. Educators assume more direct responsibility and create
safe, caring, values-based environments for quality learning and
quality education.
Specific examples:
Living Values
Activities for Drug Rehabilitation (LVADR) is being used in 25% of the
government's drug rehabilitation centres in Vietnam. In March
2008, the Vietnamese Ministry of Labour disclosed results about the
programme's implementation, reporting that while there were various
other programmes used in the centres they have found LVADR produces the
most positive results.
In Bermuda, the Ministry of Education and
Development reported that the staff of three primary schools had begun
to make the connections between role-modelling for students as they
practised non-confrontational approaches. Each school recorded an
80 percent drop in student office referrals within the first year of
implementing LVE.
Dr. Walters Samah, Focal Point for LVE
for Cameroon reported, “Many have expressed how positively the training
has improved their teaching. For me, it's become an integral part of my
daily teaching, both in secondary schools and in higher education. I
apply LVE methodology, practices and use the cards very often,
especially in the two courses I handle: Citizenship & Moral
Instruction, and Human Rights & Gender. The students respond well
and already I have seen a big difference in their behaviour, their
interest in their studies, and in their results.”
The LVE
programme for Street Children considerably reduces violence and
increases self-confidence, self protective skills and values-based
behaviour. Educators trained in LVE have served over 75,000
street children.
In Paraguay, results for 3243 students,
from 4- to 22-years of age, who were engaged in LVE are summarized from
teacher ratings. Despite being from many different schools with a
variance in adherence to the LVE Model, the educators rated 86% to 100%
of the students as having improved somewhat or considerably in each of
the following:
Self-confidence: 100%
Respect for adults: 96%
Respect for peers: 89%
Cooperation: 100%
Honesty: 89%
Responsibility: 87%
Ability to concentrate: 86%
Relating socially: 92%
Interest in school/motivation: 94%
Please see the www.livingvalues.net website for more specific results.
The following is an excerpt from a report by Dr. Neil Hawkes:
In
Australia, a number of studies have been conducted that show the
positive effects of values education on school relationships, ambience,
student well-being and improved academic diligence. Living Values
Education is acknowledged as being one of the inspirational forces
behind these studies (Lovat et al., 2009, p. 18). Professor Terry
Lovat and his colleagues at Newcastle University in Australia have been
monitoring and researching the effects of the Australian Government’s
Values Education Initiative. The University published its final
report for the Australian Government, which looks at the evidence
concerning the impact of introducing and developing Values Education in
schools (Lovat, 2009).
The research describes how
values-based schools give increasing curriculum and teaching emphasis
to Values Education. As a consequence, students become more
academically diligent, the school assumes a calmer, more peaceful
ambience, better student-teacher relationships are forged, student and
teacher well-being improves and parents are more engaged with the
school – all claims made for LVE too!
Explicit teaching of
values provides a common ethical language for talking about
interpersonal behaviour. It also provides a mechanism for
self-regulated behaviour. An important outcome is a more settled
school which enhances quality teaching and enables teachers to raise
expectations for student performance.
The effective implementation of Values Education was characterized by a number of common elements:
•
Values Education was regarded as a school’s “core business”, given
equal status with other areas and embedded in policies and student
welfare practices;
• A “common language” was developed among
staff, students and families to describe values and the school’s
expectations of student behaviour;
• Staff endeavoured to “model” and demonstrate the values in everyday interactions with students;
•
Values were scaffolded by supportive school-wide practices including
teacher facilitation of student reflection and self-regulation of
behaviour;
• Values were taught in an explicit way in and out of
the classroom and through other media (e.g. assemblies, sport and
cooperative games, drama and songs);
• Values education was allied
to “real world learning” involving deep personal learning and imbued
both planned and unplanned learning opportunities;
• Values
education was reinforced through positive visual media as well as
consistent, verbal encouragement and acknowledgement;
• Values education was allied to expressed high standards for overall participation, performance and achievement; and
• Values education was optimally introduced under the guidance of the principal and/or a team of committed staff.
The research also revealed that Values Education had an impact in the following areas:
a. Student academic diligence was enhanced. Students:
• showed increased attentiveness in class and a greater capacity to work independently;
• assumed more responsibility for their own learning;
• asked questions and worked together more cooperatively;
• took greater care and effort in their schoolwork; and
• took more pride in their efforts.
b. The improvements in School ambience included:
• conflict among students decreased or was managed more constructively;
• students demonstrated greater empathy, honesty and integrity;
• more tolerant and cooperative student interactions;
• safer and more harmonious classrooms and playgrounds;
• greater kindness and tolerance among students;
• students actively seeking to include peers without friends;
• students taking greater responsibility with school equipment and routine tasks; and
• students treating the school buildings and grounds “with respect”.
c) The impact on student-teacher relationships was evidenced by:
• “more trusting” relationships between staff and students;
• the establishment of more “democratic” classrooms;
• teachers giving students more “power” by allowing them choices in learning activities;
• teachers being more conscious of scaffolding students to manage their own behaviour or resolve conflict with others;
• teachers seeking opportunities to acknowledge and reinforce appropriate behaviour;
• teachers “listening” to students and responding to their concerns and opinions;
• students perceiving that teachers treat them fairly;
• students behaving “more respectfully” towards teachers; and
• students showing greater politeness and courtesy to teachers.
d) The positive impacts on student and teacher wellbeing included:
• students feeling a greater sense of connectedness and belonging;
• students gaining a greater capacity for self-reflection and self-appraisal;
• students developing a greater capacity for regulating their own and their peers’ behaviour;
• teachers receiving collegial support and strong leadership;
•
teachers obtaining confidence and knowledge through opportunities for
professional development and through staff collaboration;
• teachers re-examining their practices and role; and
• the fostering of relational trust among staff and between teachers and families.
Other research evidence:
When
Values Education was explicit, a common language was established among
students, staff and families. This not only led to greater
understanding of the targeted values but also provided a positive focus
for redirecting children’s inappropriate behaviour. Teachers
perceived that explicitly teaching values and developing empathy in
students resulted in more responsible, focused and cooperative
classrooms and equipped students to strive for better learning and
social outcomes. When values are explicitly endorsed,
acknowledged and “valued” within a school culture, it becomes incumbent
on schools to ensure that staff, as well as students, are both
benefactors and recipients in respectful and caring interactions.
The common focus draws teachers together to create a
collaborative and cohesive school community which supports teachers in
doing their job more effectively. This has important
ramifications for students’ academic progress and well-being.
Many
thanks to Newcastle University’s research programme which has produced
such excellent evidence on the impact of Values Education.
Reference
Lovat,
T., Toomey, R., Dally, K. & Clement, N. (2009). Project to
test and measure the impact of values education on student effects and
school ambience. Final Report for the Australian Government
Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (DEEWR) by
The University of Newcastle. Canberra: DEEWR. Available at:
http://www.curriculum.edu.au/verve/_resources/Project_to_Test_and_Measure_the_Impact_of_Values_Education.pdf
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OBSTACLES: Has your organization faced any obstacles to implementing the culture of peace and nonviolence? If so, what were they?
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There are time and financial constraints, especially as most LVE trainers volunteer their time.
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PLANS: What new engagements are
planned by your organization in the short, medium and long term to
promote a culture of peace and nonviolence? |
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GLOBAL MOVEMENT: How do you think the culture of peace and nonviolence could be strengthened and supported at the world level??
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