2005 National Values Education Forum

Ms Susan Pascoe, Director Catholic Education Commission of Victoria and keynote speaker

Pr Ivan Snook, NZ, Pr Wing Lee On, Hong Kong and Pr Terence McLaughlin, UK.

National Values Education Forum, 2 and 3 May 2005

The National Values Education Forum was held at the National Museum in Canberra on May 2 and 3, 2005. This was the second National Values Education Forum and is part of the Australian Government's 2004-2005 $29.7 million allocation over four years to help makes values education a core part of schooling.

One hundred and thirty participants representing all States and Territories systems and sectors, a range of Australian schools and representatives of principals, parents and subject associations attended.

The forum was opened by the Hon Dr Brendan Nelson, MP, former Minister for Education, Science and Training. Keynote speakers were Susan Pascoe, Director of the Catholic Education Commission of Victoria who provided the context for values education, and Professor Terence Lovat who spoke about the links between values education and Quality Teaching and the teacher’s capacity to make a difference.

A panel of primary and secondary students provided insights into the importance of teachers in values education and practical examples from their own experiences.

International perspectives were provided from Professors Wing Lee On from Hong Kong, Ivan Snook from New Zealand and Terence McLaughlin from the UK.

Noel Simpson, Director of Languages and Civics Education, DEEWR and David Brown from Curriculum Corporation outlined the national projects to support the implementation of the National Framework for Values Education in Australian Schools and sought advice from participants about future directions of the programme.

A number of workshops by schools and professional associations showed that values education is an area of concern in many schools but they are undertaking innovative approaches to the work.

The conference procedings and further information about the National Values Education Forum will be published on this website in the near future.

Keynote Speakers

Ms Susan Pascoe, Director of the Catholic Education Commission of Victoria, was the keynote speaker for the National Values Education Forum. She began her address by stating that in May 2005 we cannot afford the narrow comfort of focussing solely on the values we developed ourselves for Australian schools – as good as they are. Instead we need to consider them in the light of local and global realities and the social, geopolitical and technological environments in which we live. How does an Australian experience these realities?

Professor Terence Lovat, President Australian Council of Deans of Education, considered in his keynote address to the National Values Education Forum that in order for values education to become part and parcel of mainstream schooling, the closest possible links need to be found between it and the world of teachers and schools. Teaching has undergone a revolution over the past decade or so. Updated research into the role of the teacher has uncovered the true potential of the teacher (and, through the teachers, the school) to make a difference. Much of this research insight is captured in the notion of ‘Quality Teaching’, a perspective that speaks of intellectual depth, inter-relational capacity and self-reflection as being among the factors that characterise the kind of learning that makes a difference. There are important synergies between these perspectives and those of values education. Making these links has potential to release the true power of values education and to elevate it to be a mainstream issue for all schools. The address explored these links and demonstrated how other frameworks and resources available to teachers can be incorporated into a comprehensive and powerful values education for all schools.

To listen to audio files of keynote and international speakers go to Principal Australia's Principals and Values Education Strategy website. Select Values Online and then Internet Event 1: Welcome to the 1st Values Education Internet Event focusing on National and International Perspectives.

A full report of the 2005 National Values Education Forum is available for downloading below.

Download National Values Education Forum Report 2005 and keynote addresses

Values Education Forum Report 2005 557kb pdf.
Address by Ms Susan Pascoe 41kb pdf.
Keynote Address - Professor Terence Lovat 45kb pdf.