1.0 Introduction
1.1 Background of Study
Teacher's Perception of Values of Education is a detailed practice or conduct of human life consisting of positive and civilized attributes which lead to a high culture in our lives. Noble values are not only to be learned, but also, more importantly, to be understood in order to form a human nature with integrity (Sufean, 1995). Cultivation of noble values is important in the development of the students especially because it is associated with the development of self, personal and family, the environment and the relation to the self and the society.
The cultivation of values in educational system started to be emphasized in The New Primary School Curriculum in 1983 and The Integrated Curriculum for Secondary Schools in 1989 (Curriculum Development Center, 1988). The introduction of this curriculum showed that the application of noble values in teaching is an important agenda in the national education system. Each strategy of the cultivation of noble values must be implemented in order to enhance the appreciation of the values and the formation of self- discipline in students (Ali & Eni, 2005, p. 485). It is very important to learn these values but more importantly, these values are to be understood in order to form an integrated and balanced human personality. These days, however, there is a decrease in many of the practices and processes of education that contribute to value creation in our younger generation (Khadijah, 2008). This is because the education system is more focused on the academic success which has resulted in the negligence of affective education. The absence of an appreciation of noble values in education has caused the students to behave more negatively.
Therefore, in Kwara State where the research was carried out, the activities that was conducted is to know the Pre-service Teacher's Perception of Values Education in the Middle Basic Security Education Curriculum.
1.2 Statement of Problems
Investigation reveals the problems of the research work from past studies shows that racial polarization exists at higher educational institutions Higher Education Research.
Institute (2004), A study conducted at a university with a sample that consisted of 6,000 students found that racial polarization exists among university students. Polarization occurs when Malay, Chinese and Indian students hang out only with friends from the same ethnic background only. Students also do not want to share a room in a hostel with friends from different ethnic background, instead they prefer to live with friends who are of the same race with them (IPPTN, 2004, pp. 35-42). In terms of academic activities, most students neither learn nor exchange their lecture notes with students from other study groups, and in terms of co-curricular and students’ associations activities that are available, including selecting university of choices, selection of major subjects and specializations, usage of games area and so on, the students are more inclined towards individuals from their own ethnic, religious, cultural and linguistic background, (Ministry of Education, 2004). By right, these problems should not arise as these students had been previously exposed to the noble values even before they enroll in the higher learning institutions.
It is a problem to cultivate noble values in teaching when the teachers are only focusing on delivering the subject contents and ensuring the students’ academic achievement (Ainudin & Abdullah, 2013). It is said that the educator are lacking in the mastery of the principles, methods and techniques in teaching moral values, and have little time to carry out the implementation strategy in teaching, as well asnot getting sufficient exposure in relation to the application of the teaching (Ainudin & Abdullah, 2013). The educators are only using the basic principles of implementation of the first principle for the purpose of teaching the students the knowledge of the three basic principles of knowing the value of implementation, understand and appreciate the value (Robiah, 2001). Although teachers are knowledgeable about the concept of implementation of noble values, and have the ability to implement the cultivation of noble values in their teaching, the methods used to cultivate the noble values is less organized (Musak, 1993). Other constraints in the implementation of the noble values which are faced by educators are: time constraints, lack of knowledge and skills in terms of moral values, heavy workload and lack of appropriate reference materials (Noor-Lela, 2008).
In the actual situation, it is easy to plan the cultivation of noble values; however, the implementation process depends on the understanding and appreciation of the concept of noble values and their roles in teaching. Teachers need to understand the importance of self reflection in understanding the importance of absorb, appreciate and apply the practice of values. Realizing this importance, the researcher initiated the study in order to better understand the lecturers’ practice of applying the noble values in carrying out the lesson on Ethnic Relations course at pre-service teachers’ institutes. Element values to be studied are the identity, loyalty, patriotism, tolerance, cooperation and pride as a Malaysian. Ethnic Relations course refers to the syllabus that is provided for a course offered at the higher educational level. Within the scope of this study, the term higher education refers to Malaysian Institute of Teacher Education (IPGM). The syllabus for the course in this study, the Ethnic Relations course was provided by IPGMs, the Ministry of Education which came into effect beginning from July 2007.
The introductory goal of this course is to create a spirit of camaraderie among students, fostering understanding and cooperation among people and create a better relationship among the younger generation in the country as they are among those who will lead and shape the future of the country. This course focuses on how teacher trainees learn and understand the practices of different ethnic groups and how they interact with each other so as to provide space and opportunities to strengthen ethnic relations in the institution. The term "noble values" refers to the action or special treatment required by a group of people. Value is a perception that determines whether a thing is good or bad. Values in education leads to positive, honorable and noble values called noble values. Noble values can also mean the details of human practice or conduct in life that contains the positive attributes of a civilization and leads to high culture in life.
Competent lecturers must have the mastery of the content, teaching techniques and positive attitude in conducting the course. Ethnic Relations lecturers should have in-depth knowledge in the field of sociology of ethnic relations. According to the Pedagogical Content Knowledge model (Shulman, 1987), the understanding and knowledge of the instructor is not only dependent on the knowledge of content and curriculum of the course but the instructor must also be knowledgeable in pedagogy related to a particular subject and for specific groups of students. A trainer must be knowledgeable not only in terms of the students and their characteristics, but also in terms of the educational goals as well as planning. Planning is a process that is carried out by a lecturer to implement the teaching. The planning of teaching and learning will involve a process of determining objectives, goals, methods, strategies and activities to be accomplished in the classroom. Careful and systematic planning will produce good and effective teaching. The lecturers who make the preparation to teach should also carry out a diagnosis on their students. This means that lecturers should identify the needs and vulnerabilities of their students. Learning and teaching materials provided are consistent with the variety of the students’ abilities.
Therefore, to ensure maximum learning, lecturers should make a thorough lesson plans to ensure that teaching and learning are fun to do. To ensure that the process of learning and teaching is effective, it is important to ensure the integration of mental, physical and spiritual activities and experience in the students, especially in order to change the attitudes and behaviors of students as a continuous development. Effective teaching will make the learning process geared toward efforts to a well-balanced, harmonious, knowledgeable and ethical individual. The process of teaching is to change the behavior and conduct of students through the acquisition of knowledge (Esah, 2004). The practice of learning and teaching which is carefully planned will normally produce an effective teaching, especially in an effort to cultivate noble values in students.
1.3 Aim and Objectives of the Study
The aim of the study is to investigate the Pre-service Teacher's Perception of Values Education in the Middle Basic Security Education Curriculum in Kwara State. In achieving this aim, the following objectives were laid out as follows:
- To examine the Pre-service Teacher's Perception of Values Education in the Middle Basic Security Education Curriculum
- To identify the level of knowledge of lecturers in terms of curriculum content in helping the process of adoption of the values in the teaching of Ethnic Relations Course.
- To identify the lesson plans and teaching carried out by the lecturers in applying the teaching of noble values in Ethnic Relations course from the perspective of lecturers.
- To identify the learning and teaching practices used by the lecturers to cultivate noble values in the teaching of Ethnic Relations course from the perspective of lecturers.
- To identify the relationship of the lecturers’ knowledge with the planning and practices of teaching and learning carried out by the lecturers in applying noble values within Ethnic Relations course from the perspective of lecturers.
1.4 Research Questions
The following research questions will be addressed to investigate the Pre-service Teacher's Perception of Values Education in the Middle Basic Security Education Curriculum:
- What is Pre-service Teacher's Perception of Values Education?
- Does Teacher's Perception impact the Middle Basic Security Education Curriculum?
- Does Pre-service Teacher's Perception influence the values students’ education?
1.5 Research Hypothesis
In order to pursue the objective of this study, the following generalized statements have been designed to guide and aids in obtaining the result for the experiment to be conducted. For this work, the null hypothesis will be represented with H0 while the alternative hypothesis will be represented with hypothesis H1.
H0: There is negative impact in Pre-service Teacher's Perception of Values Education in the Middle Basic Security Education Curriculum
H1: There is positive impact in Pre-service Teacher's Perception of Values Education in the Middle Basic Security Education Curriculum
1.6 Justification of Study
The process of undertaking values education in schools led to positive outcomes for teachers and students. For teachers, values education enabled them to make positive changes in their professional practice, particularly in the way they related to and communicated with students, and resulted in increased teacher confidence and sense of fulfillment in teaching. For students, engaging in values education led to increased ability in self-management, greater capacity for reflection, and improved relationships with other students and with teachers. A growing body of research is demonstrating that teaching focused on developing values and undertaken with respect, warmth and acceptance is resulting in positive educational outcomes for students (Benninga et al., 2006; Brooks & McCarthy, 2001; Ferguson, 1999; Weinberger, 1996).
Finally, this research work will be of immense importance to the researchers, since it is a practical requirement for the award of Ordinary National Diploma (OND) in Science Technology of the Institute of Management and Technology (IMT), Enugu.
Besides, the study will serve as reference material for subsequent researcher in the field or related topics.
1.7 Scope of Study
The study focuses on the Pre-service Teacher's Perception of Values Education in the Middle Basic Security Education Curriculum in Kwara State.
1.8 Limitations of the Study
During the course of this study, many things militated against its completion, some of which are:
- Time Constraint: The time frame given to accomplish this project was very short due to school academic calendar and it was carried out under pressure which made the researcher not to implement some necessary features.
- Establishment Policies: Establishment policies posed a serious limitation as most staffs are not ready to release information needed for this project work. There were lots of information needed from the staffs of this institution to enhance the study which took them time to release or they did not release at all for security purposes, hence the scope was reduced.
- Research material: availability of research material is a major setback to the scope of the study.
- Frequent power failure: This made the researcher append more money on fuel to ensure sustainable power.
- Financial Constraint: Insufficient fund tends to impede the efficiency of the researcher in sourcing for the relevant materials, literature or information and in the process of data collection (internet, questionnaire and interview).
