Values And Knowledge Education Research Articles

Challenging preservice teachers thinking about school science education with a values and knowledge education (VaKE) experience

AbstractScience preservice teachers (PSTs), as successes of the school system, often mimic what they experienced as a student when they start teaching, which can be problematic if they never experienced science taught in contextualized ways. Since not all school students report that they find school science relevant, it is important to provide opportunities for PSTs to consider ways to connect science teaching and learning in more relevant ways for their students' lives. Values and knowledge education (VaKE), is a student‐centered pedagogical approach, that uses dilemma stories and a series of purposeful steps to combine values education with knowledge education, provides such an opportunity. This qualitative study investigated secondary science PSTs views on the ways a VaKE experience challenged their assumptions about school science to support their future development as quality teachers of science, and the extent to which PSTs feel confident, able and likely to use VaKE as a teaching strategy in their future teaching of science. VaKE, an innovative pedagogy, provided a powerful and novel learning experience for almost all PSTs, by challenging and inspiring them to critically reflect on their own schooling and expand their pedagogical knowledge for teaching science in the future.

Facilitating intercultural education in majority student groups in higher education

ABSTRACTThe present article critically analyses the pedagogical efforts of two teachers to promote values education and intercultural reflection in their own educational practice. They teach in higher education in Norway and most of their students have majority backgrounds. Based on their teaching experiences with VaKE (Values and Knowledge education), the article discusses opportunities and challenges when working with values education in majority student groups. It concludes that discussing values is difficult but can be eye opening. It also raises the question of which dilemmas can prevent stereotyping and foster more complex intercultural thinking and shows that intercultural education requires a discussion of one’s own cultural position. The article highlights the teacher’s crucial role in the VaKE-process regarding the aims of intercultural values education.

Promoting critical thinking in higher education through the values and knowledge education (VaKE) method

ABSTRACTAn effective instructional approach for promoting critical thinking is a challenge not only for Higher Education but also for lower educational levels. In this paper, we argue that values and knowledge education (VaKE) is an instructional approach, which could be implemented in Higher Education to promote students’ critical thinking skills and dispositions. To examine our claim, we implemented the VaKE method in an undergraduate Psychology course in a group of 27 students. During the course, students were asked to suggest a solution in a value-laden situation (dilemma) in which multiple solutions were possible. Structured diaries which followed Facione’s definition of critical thinking, including critical thinking skills and dispositions, were used to record students’ experiences. A theory-driven content analysis was carried out and results revealed that students experienced the activation of critical thinking skills and dispositions during the different steps of VaKE. This study is the first step of our work in progress showing that during the VaKE course students activated and implied critical thinking skills and dispositions.

Developing critical and empathic capabilities in intercultural education through the VaKE approach

ABSTRACTOne of the core goals of intercultural education is to develop critical and empathic reflection on social justice, particularly as related to humanistic choices and how individuals can counteract exclusion. The present article analyses the Values and Knowledge Education (VaKE) approach, which is aimed at raising awareness about implicit value-oriented priorities in decision-making. Through the Human Development and Capability Approach, the applicability of VaKE’s didactic principles is analysed in relation to young people’s perspectives on resettlement in Europe. The VaKE method was used at a 2013 summer camp in Austria with a culturally diverse group of young Europeans who were presented with a dilemma story that highlighted the complex issue of providing assistance to asylum seekers. The participants engaged in various knowledge and moral viability checks that enabled them to engage with opposing arguments. The participants evidenced critical reflection and self-scrutiny, as well as affiliation and empathic imagination, regarding problems that are encountered by asylum seekers.

Improving Professional Practice through Practice-Based Research: VaKE (Values and Knowledge Education) in University-Based Teacher Education

Evidence suggests that in the professional education of teachers the moral goals are currently a neglected topic in favor of the subject matter and knowledge. The constructivist instructional approach VaKE (Values and Knowledge Education) addresses this problem by combining the moral and epistemic goals through the discussion of moral dilemmas. The main research question of this practice-based study was whether teacher educators can improve their instructional practice by using VaKE. We describe an empirical study of a teacher educator who used VaKE in order to (i) facilitate pre-service teachers to solve moral conflicts which they are faced with in their workplace learning and to (ii) increase the moral climate in his course. 58 pre-service teachers who formed two classes participated in the study. The study consisted of three research phases: In the first research phase the types of the pre-service teachers’ moral conflicts were examined. In the second research phase the most frequent types of moral conflicts were used as a basis for an explorative quasi-experimental pre-posttest study. This study investigated the effects of VaKE compared to a traditional case-analysis approach with regard to the pre-service teachers’ application of discourse-oriented actions for conflict resolution. In the third phase, a case study method was used comprising a random sample of seven pre-service teachers chosen from each class to investigate the perceived learning climate during the intervention. The results indicate that VaKE provides the possibility to combine the moral and epistemic goals of the professional education of teachers.

Values and Knowledge Education (VaKE) in Teacher Education: Benefits for Science Pre-service Teachers when Using Dilemma Stories

With the new Australian science curriculum, one considerable change is the emphasis on science as a human endeavour. For many pre-service teachers, science at school and university was presented as factual, value free and without exploring science's complex role in society. Drawing on Patry, Weyringer, and Weinberger's (2007) Values and Knowledge Education (VaKE), we present a dilemma story about a proposal to irrigate an Australian river system. It outlines the personal struggle of one family juggling declining farming income with their child's tertiary ambition to study in the city. Pre-service teachers were asked to decide on whether or not the environmentally conservative family should irrigate their land. Can pre-service teachers see benefits for using VaKE in their future teaching of science? Using the lesson interruption method (Patry & Weinberger, 2004), data was collected on several occasions. The analysis of the data revealed most pre-service teachers explored personal, local and global issues from science and non-science domains, respecting different perspectives, with some changing their decision. Engagement with the task varied, some recognised the importance of ‘investigating’ social issues through science and science through social issues. Others, however espoused that science was about facts and correct answers, where teachers delivered the answers to problems rather than encourage debate. Interestingly, the same scientific evidence was used by most to justify their decisions both in favour or against irrigation! This raises further questions about the role of science education in developing scientifically literate citizens through education.

Values and Knowledge Education (VaKE) – can they be combined?

When watching the mainstream in the media, values seem to be a “best seller”. New technologies have widened the possibilities for communication and in a consequence these innovations have increased the speed of the developmental process in society, economics, science etc. But where do we go to?