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A literature-based approach to teaching values to adolescents: does it work?
Adolescence
|July 1, 1997
Summary
This study found that literature-based reading projects can moderately support teaching values like caring in 7th graders. However, discrete projects show limited potential for large-scale, long-term value changes.
Area of Science:
- Educational Psychology
- Social Work
- Literature-based Interventions
Background:
- Literature is often proposed for value education in educational psychology and social work.
- Empirical validation for literature-based value teaching remains limited.
Purpose of the Study:
- To experimentally assess the effectiveness of a specific reading project in teaching the value of caring for others.
- To provide empirical evidence for the efficacy of literature-based approaches in moral education.
Main Methods:
- An experimental design was employed in a 7th-grade classroom setting.
- The reading project served as the independent variable.
- Student essays were used to measure the dependent variable (value of caring) via pretest and posttest comparisons.
Main Results:
- The study indicated moderate support for using literature to teach values.
- Statistically significant, hypothesized changes in the value of caring were observed in two out of three essay measures.
- Effect sizes suggest that while positive, changes were not substantial.
Conclusions:
- Literature-based approaches show potential for fostering specific values in students.
- Educators should note that single, discrete interventions may not yield extensive or enduring value development.
- Further research is recommended to explore sustained, impactful value-based literary interventions.