Peer-reviewed article
Values education in early childhood development for social transformation in South Africa
Kanya Padayachee ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-sonnet-5This paper is part of a doctoral study looking at how values education could be included in early childhood development in South Africa. The researchers interviewed early childhood staff, parents, and community members in six preschools to understand views on teaching values like social responsibility and citizenship. They argue that South Africa faces a long-standing moral and social crisis, and that teaching values to young children could help build a more ethical society over time. The study is exploratory and focuses on gathering opinions rather than testing a specific program.
Key points
- South Africa has experienced ongoing erosion of social morality since at least 1997, described as a 'moral timebomb'.
- Past efforts to restore values and ethics have been fragmented and ineffective.
- Research suggests behaviour and attitude interventions work best in early childhood.
- The study proposes an early childhood development approach combining integral education and Ubuntu principles to foster social responsibility.
- Focus group data from six preschools support including explicit values education in early childhood programmes.
Limitations
The study is exploratory and qualitative, based on focus group opinions rather than measured outcomes, so it cannot show whether values education actually changes children's behaviour.
Abstract
Three decades into democracy, the conspicuous prevalence of immoral and unethical behaviour in South African society is indisputable. In 1997, this society was alerted to “a moral timebomb” (RSA, MRM, 2000) and a 2019 review report (DPME, 2019) confirmed the erosion of its social fabric and morality. Over the years, various initiatives and programmes aimed at inspiring or restoring morals, values and ethics emerged. However, these patchy, disconnected attempts have failed to stem the tide of social deterioration. Research indicates that interventions for behaviour and attitude changes are most efficacious in the early childhood phase. Accordingly, a doctoral study (Padayachee, 2022) proposed an early childhood development integral education and Ubuntu approach to foster the values of social responsibility and citizenship in preschoolers. The study included, in the exploratory phase, the category of values education, which is the focus of this paper. Data were gathered through focus group interviews with early childhood development staff, parents and community members in six pre-schools and analysed thematically. The findings on this specific category are presented to validate the argument that the explicit inclusion of values in early childhood development has the potential to build progressively a foundation for a moral and ethical society and possibly impact social transformation in South Africa.