To identify general aims which you hold for your students’ learning
Aim
To identify general aims which you hold for your students' learning.
Evidence and reflection
List your ‘top three' aims, and number them in order of importance.
Extension
How do your aims relate to your ‘value‑position'? How do your aims compare with your colleagues? What are the implications of any similarity or difference?
To investigate our value‑positions in greater depth the work of Eisner and Vallance (1974) is helpful. They distinguish three main dimensions upon which varied value‑positions are held. They suggest these are best represented as continua:
individual « society
(i.e. whether education should be geared to meet individuals' needs and demands, rather than to educational provision being planned to meet the needs of society)
values « skills
(i.e. whether education should focus on developing individuals' sense of values in a moral and ethical context, or on developing their skills and competencies)
adaptive « reconstructive
(i.e. whether education should prepare individuals to fit into the present society, or should equip them to change and develop it)
