EDF211/6

LECTURE SIX APRIL 2ND, 2019

                        EDUCATION AND VALUES: THE NORMATIVE DIMENSION OF EDUCATION

INTRODUCTION

Definitions

Axiology from  Greek Axia/Axios(Worthy) and Logos(the study)

Axiology; The study of that which is worthy //the philosophical study of values(what is good or right, desirable or worthwhile and what ought to be praiseworthy.

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What is worthy is determined  some criteria known as norms

Norms therefore tell us what ought to or ought not be done/what should or should not happen ideally speaking. 

Normative dimension of education refers to norms or standards that are to be recommended for the educational enterprise which in turn provide general guidelines for education theory and practice. For example, Kenya consider education as an important vehicle for attaining the eight goals of Education in Kenya.

1. To foster nationalism, patriotism and promote national unity,

2. To promote the social economic, technological and industrial needs for national development,

3. To promote individual development and self fulfilment,

4. To promote sound moral and religious values,

5. To promote social equality and responsibility,

6. To promote respect for and development of Kenya’s rich and varied cultures,

7. To promote international consciousness and foster positive attitudes towards other nations,

8. To promote positive attitudes towards good health and environmental protection.

What is good life?: Throughout history, the question ‘what kind of life is  good (how do l ought I to live)?’  has been raised. In answer to this question, diverse answers have emerged:

·          A good life ought to involve maximum pleasure.

·         A good life should include spiritual contemplation.

·         A good life ought to be ascetic – involve self denial and elimination of desires. Value is emphasized by a given society. It affects not only the direction of morality but also the direction of educational objectives and content.

    

   Can the eight goals of Education in Kenya lead to good life?

CATEGORIZATION OF VALUES// BRANCHES OF AXIOLOGY

 Ethics/ Ethical values:  Values  that deal with morality// the study of moral values

 Aesthetics/ Aesthetical:  Values  to do with beauty; harmony and uniformity.

ETHICS

The term ethics is derived from a Greek noun ‘ethos’ meaning:

·         The customs and conventions of a given community. In this sense, ethics is synonymous with morality i.e. set of norms guiding human conduct.

·         The study of morality in all its forms. It is primarily an academic exercise, an intellectual pursuit, a process of inquiry and reflection. Here, ethics refers to a process whose product becomes morality and ethics.

·         Meta-ethics: it is concerned with the meaning of moral concepts and statements as well as their justification. It aims at clarifying such ambiguous words like good, bad, wrong and right.

Approaches to the Study of Ethics

There are three approaches namely: Descriptive ethics; Normative ethics and Analytical ethics:

I          Descriptive Ethics

This is a scientific study of ethics/morality. It involves the observation of values and the reasons given for them.

It refers to the empirical or descriptive study of morality which is a set of norms or standards – transitional or otherwise – that defines, guides and regulates good acceptable behaviour among human beings.

Descriptive ethics is characteristic of social sciences such as psychology, sociology and social anthropology.

Examples: Kohlberg's Descriptive ethics, a psychologist distinguished three levels of moral development namely:

(a)    Pre-conventional stage: the child simply perceives right and wrong primarily in terms of reward and punishment. This is a stage of naïve egocentrism. Rewarding encourages repeat of certain behaviour. The problem with this level in the teaching/learning process is the impact on those not rewarded; they tend to get discouraged.

(b)   Conventional stage (of law and order). This is mainly between the ages of 10 and 13. At this stage, the child begins to respond willingly to expectations in the family, group and community. The child tends to seek approval from parents, teachers and peers by conforming to the set social conventions. There is a tendency to be loyal.

(c)    Post-conventional stage (moral autonomy): this ranges between 15 and 19 years. The young person goes beyond the stage of law and order and seeks to develop own judgment on matters of morality. The youth specifically tends to respect democratically determined rules and laws. This stage leads to self determined moral principles and moral autonomy.

Sources of Morality

(a)    Religion: through divine revelation, religion offers a supernatural source of moral standards. Such revelations are expressed in terms of laws and guidelines contained in religious writings such as the bible, Koran etc.  Faithfuls of such religions observe morality because God commands it. These comprise what is called religious ethics.

(b)   Society: there are various social institutions in it e.g. family has parental authority, clan has the authority of elders, the school and teachers authority, the peer group and public opinion; and national laws are sources of morality. Social and religious ethics comprise of moral standards which are external to the individual person. In this case, the centre of moral authority lies outside the individual; either the divine or human agents. Such ethics is called heteronymous ethics.

(c)    The individual human person (autonomous): here, the source of morality is both human reason and human conscience. In this case, somebody does something because they believe it is right or wrong i.e. and individual lays down the norm. The various sources of morality offer diverse moral guidelines and principles/multiplicity of values.

II         Normative Ethics

Normative Ethics is interested in the rules and norms of society. It attempts to give fundamental reasons for values/morality. Basically, it seeks to prescribe the ‘ought’ of values. Whereas descriptive ethics is empirical in character and relies mainly on the social sciences, normative ethics is reflective in nature as it seeks to inquire – rationally into the basic grounds of moral conduct and theories to justify morality in a philosophical or theological manner.

Morals do not stand on their own; they are centrally located between principles and values on the one hand and laws, rules and regulations on the other hand.

Normative ethics is primarily concerned with basics; with moral principles and moral values which lay down norms for moral human conduct/action.  Moral or immoral action is only a possibility with human beings. Animals and non humans are non moral.

Nature of actions

     Moral actions; action is judged to be moral or immoral when it is done voluntarily or intentionally. When a person is forced to do something or accidentally does something or is in sane or mentally damaged, such a person cannot be said to be morally responsible for the action.

·         Immoral actions:

·         Amoral actions:

·          

Morality Principles

Morality refers generally to ‘doing the right thing’. It implies action, behavior/conduct. Such action is considered right (moral) when it is done in accordance with certain principles generally referred to as theories of moral obligation. These theories provide a framework within which to judge whether a certain action is morally right or wrong.

There are two theories of moral obligation: teleological and deontological

      (a)   Teleological theories

They judge a certain action to be good or bad, right or wrong depending on whether the consequences of that action are desirable or not. One’s action is judged based on the desirability of the goal. The term teleology is derived from and ancient Greek word ‘telos’ meaning goal. On the question of whose ultimate or good ought to be promoted, teleological theories render two distinctive views i.e.

      ·         Ethical universalism stresses the common good or the general good of all.

      ·         Utilitarianism which coheres with ethical universalism states that something is morally good if it is useful in promoting good over evil; if it helps to bring about the greatest happiness of the greatest number.

      (b)   Deontological theories

The word deontology emanates from Greek word ‘Deon’ meaning duty. Deontological theories emphasise duty meaning actions as judged to be rules, commandments that prescribe one’s duty. Within the deontological theories, two views can be distinguished:

      ·         Rule deontology; it involves doing one’s duty or obeying the stated rules, laws at all times.

      ·         Act deontology: this theory allows for individual judgment on what to do and how to do certain actions. The rules and the laws are considered as a general yardstick.