Abstract:

This paper intends to draw a picture of prospective classroom teachers' minds regarding practical values education. It was carried out on 68 undergraduate students enrolled in the 3rd grade at the Department of Classroom Teaching in Education Faculty of a state university. The mixed method was used to blend qualitative and quantitative research methods. Quantitative data were collected with Schwartz Values Scale and Personal Data Form while qualitative aspect was measured by using an open-ended form titled Values Education Opinion Form. The quantitative data set was processed with descriptive statistics and paired samples t tests whas the qualitative data were subjected to both descriptive analysis and content analysis. As a result, the prospective teachers got the highest point from "benevolence" and the lowest point from "power" value in the post-test. Also, the post-test scores were higher than the pre-test for "self-direction", "conformity", "power", "tradition" and "benevolence" at a significant level. The prospective teachers were seen to have a tendency to follow moral reasoning among the basic approaches of values education, character education among value teaching initiatives, and action learning among other approaches of values education. Apart from these, a large number of the respondents stated that values education should be practiced in all courses. In addition, the participants offered a total of seventeen new values for putting into the existing curriculum. The leaders were “tolerance”, “mercy”, “respect”, “adherency” and “solidarity”. By the same token, according to some respondents, none of the values in the current version of the curriculum should be omitted as they are satisfactory in this way. Also, they seem to need guidance for practical education of values as well as theoretical sense of "value". So, our recommendation is to insert more of practical training of values which are acknowledged on universal and national level, into undergraduate courses.

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