VALUE SYSTEM & LEARNING STYLE

Himani Pani
Lecturer in Education
U.N. (Auto) College of Sc. & Tech.,
Adaspur, Cuttack

ABSTRACT: The present society is passing through a critical stage which is

characterized by loss of values in human life. Individual adjustment depends on
the values of the individual, which are determined by personal experience,
knowledge and culture. The evils like corruption, indiscipline and violence have
gulped the society. Animal instincts are on the rise. Thus, education is the only
weapon to combat this inhumane situation. It can humanize the humanity for
establishing a good peaceful society. Moreover, our students upon whom the
future of our nation depends should be moulded properly, right from their
formative age so that they develop good, values, positive attitude, co-operative
style of learning and right approach towards life.

Keywords: Values, individual adjustment, learning style.

INTRODUCTION:
Carl Rogers, esteemed educator of the 20th century, stated in his book,
‘Freedom to Learn’, (1994) that “the only man who is educated is the man who
has learned how to learn, the person who has learned how to adapt and change.”
Values are seen as mediators of behavior. Values have direct influence on
learning behaviour. Inappropriate personal values in education can result in
students becoming surface learners whose only aim is to achieve a pass or a
particular grade.
A value is what is desired or what is sought which forms the guiding
principle of human life. The value system of an individual refers to ideals,
beliefs, norms or any thing or object that the individual cherishes and considers
them desirable and worthy of acquisition. According to G.W. Allport, a
psychologist, “Values are centralized systems of psycho-physical dispositions
capable of making a larger portion of the environment functionally equivalent to
the individual and generating in him appropriate type of adaptive individual and
expressive behavior.”
Early life experiences and the values of a person’s culture affect both the
expectations and the processes of learning. The relationship of the values of the
culture in which a child is currently living, or from which a child has roots, and
the learning expectations and experiences in the classroom is directly related to
the child’s school success academically, socially, and emotionally.
Each individual responds differently to a learning situation. This response
will be influenced by the way the individual thinks, his/her past experience, and
the demand of the current task. The way the individual responds is known as his
learning style or approach. The learning style of an individual is based on his
heredity, upbringing and environmental demand and the way he perceives and
processes information. According to Skehan (1991) “learning styles are
learner’s customary pre-disposition towards processing information in a certain
manner.”
Grasha and Riechmann (1974) separated students into six groups; the
ones who learn on their own (independent), the ones who are dependent to their
teachers in learning (dependent), the ones who co-operate with others
(collaborative), the one who compete with others (competitive), the ones who
take part in activities (contributive), and the ones who are shy and uninterested
in learning (avoidant).
Researchers confirm that learning patterns are a function of both nature
and nurture. The learner, of any age, is a product of nature and nurture. We are
born with predisposition for learning in certain ways. We also are products of
external influences, especially within our immediate family, extended
community and value system and culture.
 Devaluation in human character is the present crisis. Every educationist
in modern times has emphasized the importance of value education. Learners
right from their formative age should be guided to develop attitude and values
which would prevent them from becoming cut throat competitors. From their
very learning style they exhibit the kind of individual they are or rather what
values them more in their day to day life.
Value education inculcates in children senses of humility, courage,
truthfulness, tolerance, honesty, courtesy, sincerity, fellow-feeling, affection,
spirit of service and sacrifice and power of discrimination between bad and
good which in reality form a noble character in children. It also widens the
attitude of pupils towards life. This wider attitude helps them to meet the
problems of life boldly and courageously and makes them independent
individuals.
Education should develop value system which would make an individual
democratic, co-operative and should depreciate any form of living having
conflicts and parochialism. The individual’s value system should dispel the
demon of exploitation, corruption, selfishness and hatredness and should
encourage the individual to hold the maxim ‘to live and let live’.
Learners should develop such values which would make them
independent learners since independent learners consider learning, the subject
matter independently and are not like dependent students who are seldom
inquisitive.
Collaborative students like sharing their ideas and studying with their
teachers and classmates. These students expand their knowledge in group and
teamwork, thus, learners should have proper socialization process and should
develop social values so as to understand the emphasis of co-operative living.
Competitive students focus on learning as “I should be better than
others”. These students have problems with other students and with co-
operative learning environment. So they should be made to understand the real
meaning of healthy competition by moulding them to have wider positive
attitude.
Some students have contributive style of learning where they like going
to classroom and taking part in activities and also give priority to the needs of
other students. Such students should be encouraged more for having good social
values.
There are some students who fall under the avoidant category and are not
so enthusiastic about learning and taking part in classroom activities. They are
indifferent to what is happening in the classroom and further they are also found
in doing activities that break discipline and decorum, such students posses
negative value system and that has to be checked.
ROLE OF EDUCATION FOR THE INCULCATION OF VALUES:
The educational institutions can organize various curricular and co-
curricular activities for the development of values in students.
 Curricular Activities:- Re-designing the texts books of social studies,
Geography, History and Literature so that the curriculum contains values
like scientific temper, free enquiry, morality etc. Ex-tension lectures on
value education can be arranged for inculcating values among students.
 Co-curricular activities:- Organization of NCC, NSS, Red Cross, Boy’s
Scouts and, Girl’s Guides, Sports, Study tours can promote good values
among students. Art and painting competitions should be organized for
dissemination of values in the students and prizes should be given to
those who perform good. Skits and dramas may be organized on themes
related to multi-farious values.
 Role of Teacher:- Educational institutions are second home and teachers
are second parents of children. Therefore, teachers can inject values in
children in a fruitful way through their teaching methods and personality.
A teacher can be an ideal person in a student’s life through his noble and
dedicated honest work.
CONCLUSION:
Intellectual development simply means collection of dry facts, whereas
development of intellectual values signifies the development of the spirit of
acquiring knowledge in the minds of the pupils. It also means development fo
independent thinking, critical outlook and ability to take decision
independently. In order to achieve this the educational institutions should work
in a planned way. The teacher should select the curriculum and other co-
curricular activities in such a way so that inculcation of good values and
development of appropriate learning style and approach is possible. The
students must utilize their knowledge acquired in effective manner in practical
life with right approach and good intention a problem can be solved effectively.
Education should be given a value orientation for bringing development of the
individual and society at large. Thus, it is not wrong to say that education
humanizes the humanity by injecting essential values in the minds of people.

REFERENCES:

Butler, K.A. (1984). Learning and teaching style in theory and practice.
Maynard: MA : Gabriel Systems, Inc.

Canter, N. (1946/1972). Dynamics of Learnig,

Newyork: Agathon Press, Inc.

Purkait, B.R. (2011). Principles and Practices of Education,

Kolkata : New Central Book Agency Pvt. Ltd.