CAN VALUES BE TAUGHT? THE MYTH OF VALUE-FREE EDUCATION

Abstract

1. Introduction Many of the choices we make in education depend on what we consider to be its goals. The British philosopher Harry Brighouse divides accounts of educational goals into four categories. According to the theory of human autonomy, the goal of education is to increase a person's freedom, options, and right to self-determination. The theory of human capital, by contrast, takes the goal of education to be providing a guarantee for economic growth: the more educated the work force, the greater the productivity. The theory of human development considers it important to use education as a way to create the conditions for the good life and the development of personality. Finally, the theory of civic education claims that the goal of education is to prepare the individual for living together with others in society (Brighouse 2006). For the last few decades the human capital theory of education has prevailed. We have been inclined to believe that economic growth will help to solve all our problems. If we have difficulties with productivity, or we find ourselves lacking a highly skilled work force, we conclude that we should definitely make improvements in the area of human capital! Granted, the greater people's knowledge and skills, and the more fully developed their values, the better work they will do, and the more they will contribute to economic growth. However, there is also a danger that talking about 'human capital' will turn out to be dehumanizing. If a human being is regarded only as a medium for achieving economic growth, things are turned upside down. Surely we desire economic growth not as an end in itself, but as a means for people to be able to live a better life. Thus it seems most reasonable to take the theory of human development as a starting point, since it focuses on the importance of using education to facilitate the conditions for a good life and the development of the individual. Then again, it is important to shape a person's ability to find the model of the good life that suits them best. This illustrates the crucial point made by the theory of human self-determination: the goal of education is to increase human freedom and the ability to make reasonable choices. And since it is clear that one cannot live the good life without other people, we also have to agree to the theory of civic education, according to which it is essential that education prepare individuals to live together. As we can see, the educational goals articulated by the four theories are densely interwoven. Education has personal, cultural as well as social value. To my mind the nature of education is deeply ethical, since it is founded on an understanding of what a human being is and how he or she should live. According to the humanistic understanding of education, an educated person is someone who strives to understand the surrounding world as completely as possible, and to make as close a connection to it as possible. Let us try to interpret this claim. How can education help us to establish contact with the surrounding world? Obviously, we must not only gain knowledge about the surrounding physical, social, and cultural world, but also about oneself. Education should provide road signs as well as the ability of self-orientation; it should equip people to make conscious choices. Further, self-actualization is not limited to the realm of work, but more adequately refers to managing three different but simultaneous roles in the working world, public life, and personal life. Our present school curricula are content-based, aimed at developing students' knowledge of different aspects of the world: biological, cultural, social, and technological realms. The school provides far less support for students to become aware of themselves, their abilities, wishes, values, and emotions. Marks may give students some idea of how their knowledge measures up to a predetermined standard. However, in order to establish a connection with the world, students must also understand what kinds of activities give them pleasure, their strengths and weaknesses, and what they need to do to achieve their desired goals. …