Teachers Assessing the Effectiveness of Values Clarification Techniques in Moral Education

Corruption has been identified as a matter of national security for Romania. On the other hand, the general public is still alarmingly tolerant with such practices. The idea that ineffective moral education in schools may contribute to widespread corruption does not appear frequently in media or academic discussions. The study aims to explore the perceptions of teachers on the effectiveness of values clarification techniques versus traditional moral education methods currently used in Romanian education, after receiving training and applying the new techniques. It also aims to estimate motivation of teachers and willingness of students to participate in making moral education more effective. Qualitative analysis of individual written reports has been used to identify teachers' perceptions and judgements, motivation for improving moral education, as well as relevant comments and suggestions after selecting and using in classroom one of the five values clarification techniques they received training on. Analysis identified what techniques teachers decided to use, the rationales underlying their decisions, the judgements both teachers and students made on the effectiveness of techniques, feelings and motivation of teachers and students to use such techniques in the future. Teachers understand that the current traditional moral education methods do not work. They are able to master values clarification techniques and successfully apply them in classroom. They value the training programs they took and are willing to acquire new information and skills on moral education. They are a real resource in implementing programs to make moral education more effective. Both teachers and students agree that the use of values clarification techniques contributes to making the learning environment more enjoyable and motivating.