Teaching Values Whilst Respecting Difference
Description
Should schools promote values to children? Most people are happy with schools teaching the value of kindness and that bullying is wrong. But since 2014, schools in England have also been required to teach “British values”, including “democracy”, “liberty” and “mutual respect and tolerance”. To the dismay of some parents and conservative religious groups, some schools are also teaching more controversial values: that it's okay to be gay, for example, or that we must appreciate religious traditions that we regard as making mistakes about how to live. Is this value-shaping justifiable in the liberal state? If so, what values may students be directed towards, and how may teachers in schools go about this? This book answers these questions by first defending a distinctive theoretical approach, 'thin comprehensive liberalism'. This approach shows respect for persons by seeking minimally controversial justifications for policy and curricula, whilst also considering other important normative commitments such as protecting children from harm and securing their future equal political status. This ultimately justifies a substantive and controversial values education. The book also discusses the approach that should be taken to teaching values in schools. Using the British values policy as a platform for discussion, it recommends that values education should become a compulsory, high-status subject, with dedicated curriculum time and taught by experts at managing discussions of controversial issues. This change would help secure the welfare of children and a society where the free and equal status of all individuals is respected.
Accessibility Information
Additional accessibility information
- EPUB 3.0
- Conforms with the requirements of EPUB Accessibility Spec v1.1
- WCAG level AA
- WCAG v2.2 compliant
- accessibility@bloomsbury.com
Hazards
The publication contains no hazards
Support for non-visual reading
- No accessibility features offered by the reading system, device or reading software are disabled or otherwise unusable with the product
- Has alternative text descriptions for images
Visual adjustments
Appearance of the text and page layout can be modified according to the capabilities of the reading system (font family and size, spaces, as well as color of background and text)
Navigation
- Page list to go to pages from the print source version
- Elements such as headings, tables, etc for structured navigation
- All or substantially all textual matter is arranged in a single logical reading order
- Content is enhanced with ARIA roles to optimize organization and facilitate navigation
- Purposes of all links are made clear
Rich content
Language tagging provided
Table of Contents
Introduction
1. The liberal dilemma
2. 'British values' in schools: The politics and the policies
3. Liberalism and civic education: A critical analysis
4. Thin comprehensive liberalism
5. The content of values education
6. Deciding the content of the wider curriculum
7. Respectful classroom discussion
8. Responding to harmful student speech
9. Approaching the teaching of liberal values in schools: Rethinking the 'British values' policy
Conclusion
References
Index
Product details
| Published | 06 Aug 2026 |
|---|---|
| Format | Ebook (Epub & Mobi) |
| Edition | 1st |
| Pages | 272 |
| ISBN | 9781350255203 |
| Imprint | Bloomsbury Academic |
| Illustrations | 10 bw illus |
| Series | Bloomsbury Philosophy of Education |
| Publisher | Bloomsbury Publishing |
Related Titles
