Value System and Value Preferences of Prospective Teachers of Secondary Schools: An Indian Survey

Present society needs a moral, more sustaining order in every sphere of life to have a firm foundation for further human progress. School education touches the chord of ethical conduct of children as it plays a vital role in the inculcation of right values. This will stand them in good stead as they grow up. As adults, they can practice the values in social life which they imbibed at a formative stage. Hence, value education should be the primary concern of teacher preparation because a teacher has the responsibility of shaping children thoughts which decide their behaviour, and actions later on in their life. The present study examines the value system and value preferences of the prospective teachers. A sample of 330 preservice teachers of B.Ed. programme was randomly selected, and Rokeach Value Survey (RVS) was adopted for the study. The study reveals that the prospective teachers are self-oriented towards the end state of their existence showing their inclination towards freedom, comforts, and friendship. However, it is found that their modes of conduct are much oriented towards hard working nature with duty consciousness and open-mindedness. The study suggests that the curriculum and instruction should provide necessary inputs into theory and practical work to make preservice teachers realize the importance of values of equality, peace, self-respect, and honesty.