Another Look At Values Education
The Age
Monday September 18, 2006
A FOUR-year study of 10,000 Victorian adolescents has found that they are less likely to smoke, binge-drink or try illicit drugs if they feel safe and valued at school. They are also less likely to engage in under-age sex or antisocial behaviour such as vandalism or theft. The Gatehouse Study conducted by the Centre for Adolescent Health at Melbourne's Royal Children's Hospital surveyed year 8 students at 12 schools across the Catholic, public and independent sectors in Victoria. The children were asked how they felt about their peers, teachers and school experience generally and these answers were used to help schools create "interventions" that gave them a voice in how their school was run and in making them feel safe. The interventions also helped the students handle the sometimes volatile emotions of adolescence.
Summing up the findings, the Professor of Adolescent Health, George Patton, said more children in the intervention group "remained connected in a positive way to their peers and their school and to what education was about. They felt that school was a better place to be, that it had something to offer them and that they didn't have to look elsewhere for something to make them feel good about themselves."It is interesting to consider that adolescents are less likely to indulge in behaviour that can be destructive and dangerous when schools are prepared to listen to them and respond to their needs. As Professor Patton pointed out, children spend half their waking hours in school. The study suggests positive results will flow when schools are responsive to what young people think and feel rather than imposing conditions from above. If children feel heard they are likely to feel valued and this may determine whether they treat themselves and their peers with care and respect.
© 2006 The Age