Kazakhstan is in the process of launching a national value education program Mangilik El, but it is too early to draw conclusions about its implementation. In this thesis study, I drew evidence from an international private school in Kazakhstan that implements a values education program. Two research questions guided the study: (1) What are the primary teachers' perspectives on a values education program.
The findings of the study revealed that teachers consider value education as an important aspect of education. There were unexpected findings that revealed some controversial issues in the landscape of value education at the research site.
Introduction
A number of schools in the region operate using educational programs with unique values such as Turkish Kazakh Lyceum (Kazakhstan); In this qualitative research study, I studied the values education program in an international school in Kazakhstan. This study will shed light on the perspectives and approaches of primary teachers within a values education program in one of the international schools in Central Asia.
This first chapter described the importance of value education in the world and in Kazakhstan in particular. The purpose of the study was stated as understanding primary school teachers' perspectives and approaches within a values education program in an international school in Central Asia.
Literature Review
This section explored the historical background of the 'values education' phenomenon. through the development of different concepts. In this section I have examined the complexity of values and their choice within values education in schools. Modern educational theory offers a considerable amount of research on the benefits of values education in schools.
Another group of educational researchers reported on the effects of values education on the well-being of students or teachers (Farrer as cited in Lovat & Hawkes, 2013; Shobha & Kala, 2015; Dasoo as cited in Lovat, 2011; Hawkes & Heppenstall, 2002) . Dasoo (as cited in Lovat, 2011) was able to do this in his report on a values education program in South Africa.
Methodology
The school is known for its values education program and at the same time made it easy to access as I am a member of the teaching staff. The following week I personally contacted the principal of the school to receive. At the end of the meeting, the gatekeeper of the site, the director of this international school, issued permission to conduct the study.
After the participants were recruited for this research, I provided them with the electronic version of the consent form before the interview. However, as I was faced with the time constraint of my studies and my work schedule, I decided to drop the focus. First, I read all transcripts, observations, and reflective notes to determine the overall meaning of the data (Creswell, 2012).
In order to address potential risks to the research site and study participants, I have taken measures to minimize potential harm, all of which have been approved by Nazarbayev University. Ethical issues in the proposed research included the non-discretion of the name of the international school under investigation, as well as maintaining the confidentiality of the participants' names. Therefore, we have tried to maintain the confidentiality of the school in order to minimize possible damage to the image of the school.
To ensure participant confidentiality, poster photos were kept private and not included in the Findings section. The goal of the research was achieved, as the central phenomenon of 'values education' was investigated "in depth and within its real context" (Leavy, 2017, p. 129) through the perspectives of teachers engaged in values education at school. research site. In the next chapter, I will explain the detailed steps of the data analysis process and present the main findings of the study.
Analysis and Findings
Next, I exported the document with all the codes to an Excel spreadsheet, printed all the codes and cut them up in order to categorize them into sub-categories and categories (See Figure 2). Coding and categorization of data was done by applying the "constant comparison" method (Bloomberg & Volpe, 2012, p.137). All identified sub-categories fell into two categories that emerged from my research questions: perspectives and approaches.
Five sub-categories formed the category of approaches: 'approaches implemented by teachers in their classrooms', 'what is done in values education at the school level', 'results of values education observed by teachers in their classrooms', 'challenges. in the education of values' and. The software provided me with a useful table which listed all coded segments with their codes (See Figure 3). First, I put all the codes in alphabetical order in order to simplify my search for the necessary codes.
Second, I printed out the entire excel spreadsheet on 27 pages so that I could use coded segments when describing the consolidated themes and sub-themes and find the quotes as my goal was to provide a "thick description" as suggested by Denzin (2001). To describe the findings, I organized the section based on the research questions: (1) What are elementary teachers' perspectives toward a values education program? 2) How are elementary teachers' approaches implemented within a values education program.
What are Elementary Teachers’ Perspectives towards a Values Education Program?
Whereas all teachers in their teaching career were involved in values education in other schools. I discovered during the data analysis that teachers participating in this research have. versatile experience with values education. All the participants gave me a comprehensive explanation of what values education is based on their understanding.
While all participants believed that values education was important, all had different focuses when defining values education. The last two quotes demonstrate the explanation of value education as related to 'character education.'. The values taught in this values education program are considered by teachers to cover all areas of life.
Most of the teachers indicated that all the values taught in this values education program are equally important, as explained by Participant 4. Based on the responses of the participants, one of the most powerful tools in implementing values education is the inclusion of the whole community. For example, Participant 2 commented: “I think the values of education should be determined by the members or by.
Another suggestion that teachers made is that they would like to see more support from the administration in implementing values education at the school level. In addition, teachers would like to see more leadership and support in values education from the administration. The importance of school-wide community and school involvement supported by PQ administration 2: How elementary school teachers' approaches are implemented within a values education program.
How are elementary teachers’ approaches implemented within a values education
First, all teachers explained that having a values education program in school is a positive asset, but simply having a program is not enough. Approaches implemented by teachers within this school's value education program VE Approaches Participant 1 Participant 2 Participant 3 Participant 4 Participant 5 Setting boundaries and. This participant notes that students in his class become more considerate of others when taught within this values education program.
This section describes the results of this values education program that teachers are seeing in their classrooms. First, teachers found that values education is often overlooked and does not receive adequate recognition. Teachers explain that some of the reasons why parents may not support the school in instilling values are cultural differences.
This quote highlights that the reason why parents may not support the values taught in this values education program is because of their cultural differences. Teachers believe that values education is often overlooked and does not receive adequate attention. This quote shows how a values education program is an integral part of a student's education.
This quote highlights that one participant does not believe that values education is successfully implemented in this school. One of the most significant findings in this study is that while all teachers agree that having a values education program in school is a positive asset, simply having a program is not. Teachers apply different approaches to values education and benefit from collaboration within grade-level teams.
Discussion and Conclusion
Furthermore, one of the most important findings in the study is that while all participants agree that a values education program is an asset, they are not sure that it is being implemented. This finding is in line with the literature, which claims the importance of the whole community in the implementation of values education and the need for an institutional change. Additionally, a significant amount of research is available from the UK where a national values education program is implemented.
In comparison, discussion of values was the second most common approach used by teachers in this values education program. I found that the teachers at this school have established a culture of cooperation in the education of values at the class level. The key points of the findings can be described as the fact that the teachers believe that the values education program implemented at the school is "good in theory" but lacking in practice.
Furthermore, the teachers commented on the lack of an appropriate pathway for parental involvement in values education. However, the teachers expressed their desire to see more leadership and support from the administration in values education. In addition, participants employed at the research site would like to see more values education at the whole school level.
In addition, teachers at the school level established a collaborative culture to support values education. However, one of the most important findings of the study is that although all participants agree that a values education program is an asset, they are not sure that it will be. In addition, they commented that they could use better definition and support for values education from the administration.
Overall, collaboration is seen as a key to the successful implementation of values education: teaching and working with it. This study examined teachers' perspectives and the approaches they implemented within a values education program in an international school in Central Asia.
