Value education: reflections through social studies textbooks of secondary schools

The key to successful value education in the class room is the teacher and the instructional material. The efforts were made to incorporate value education in the secondary level textbooks of social studies. Hence, it has become necessary to analyze these books in a systematic manner to ascertain the extent to which the value education has been incorporated and to study the perception of teachers about the incorporation of value education in the social studies textbooks. Descriptive research method has been used by the investigator to collect the relevant information for the study. In the present study, social studies text books of IXth standard has been analyzed to understand the extent to which value education has been incorporated. Stratified random sampling has been used to select hundred (100) social studies teachers teaching in CBSE and PSEB affiliated schools of Ferozepur and Fazilka district of Punjab. Perception scale was designed to find out the perception of teachers of social studies about the incorporation of value education in social studies textbooks. The study reflects that the social studies teachers of secondary schools affiliated to CBSE and PSEB feels that sufficient content reflecting social, economic, political, spiritual and moral values has been incorporated in all the social studies textbooks of IXth standard (Civics, History, Economics and Geography). However the content analysis of social studies textbooks of CBSE of IXth standard reflects that political, social, economic and moral values has not been incorporated in Geography textbook, moral, spiritual and economic values has not been incorporated in Democratic Politics textbook, whereas social values has not been incorporated in Economics textbook of IXth standard. In case of social study textbook of PSEB of IXth standard, moral and spiritual values has not been incorporated and in Civics textbook, political, spiritual, economic and moral values has not been incorporated whereas in Geography textbook moral, spiritual, political and social values has not been incorporated in Economics textbook of PSEB of IXth standard.