Document Type
Conference Proceeding
Publisher
Edith Cowan University, Western Australia in association with Khon Kaen University, Thailand and Bansomdejchaopraya Rajabhat University, Thailand.
Abstract
Everyone recognizes the need for educating youngsters about the importance of moral values, in today‘s complex world. Teaching moral values to youngsters is easy. However, to make them value what they learnt is not. In Malaysia, Moral Education is a subject is introduced in the primary school and is continued further at the university level as a strategy to ensure that all students are able to discern right from wrong and make ethical decisions. The question raised is, how can we ensure that the knowledge acquired form the subject is internalized, with long lasting benefits to them? One approach is to employ a relevant teaching model. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to propose -implementing a community-based project as a teaching and learning model for Moral Studies, a strategy which facilitates students‘ learning and acquisition of lifelong values. In this study, the students were required to plan and conduct a charity fundraising event on campus with the intention of encouraging them to view themselves as personal-social interactive beings, who are part of the larger community. A total of 70 undergraduate students participated in this study. A qualitative case study approach using questionnaire was used to investigate learning outcomes of this community service approach to teaching and learning. Based on this study, it was concluded that the community work has improved the students‘ learning and in turn, the students‘ valuing of the unit. Most students prefer incorporation of practical activities. They believed that the ethical theories learnt in the classrooms are not sufficient to equip them with the learning of moral and ethics. The findings indicated that the students acquire important moral values from the project such as teamwork, responsibilities, confidence, respect, and appreciation of life .Most students reported that the project enhanced their ability to work in team. This is because the project required the members to be more dependent on the entire group for successfully completing the task.
Comments
EDU-COM 2006 International Conference. Engagement and Empowerment: New Opportunities for Growth in Higher Education, Edith Cowan University, Perth Western Australia, 22-24 November 2006.