Microsoft Word - Feryal Çubukçu Makale Asıl.docx   www.sosyalbilgiler.org   Journal  of  Social  Studies  Education  Research   Sosyal  Bilgiler  Eğitimi  Araştırmaları  Dergisi     2014:  5(2),  14-­‐30   ©  2014  Journal  of  Social  Studies  Education  Research,  ISSN:  1309-­‐9108 Values Education Through Literary Texts Feryal Çubukçu1 Abstract: The term `values’ is used in this review to refer to the principles and fundamental convictions which act as general guides to behaviour, the standards by which particular actions are judged to be good or desirable and examples of values are love, equality, freedom, justice, happiness, security, peace of mind and truth. The purpose of this study is to grapple with the values of the university students to see whether studying literatura enhances their perspectives in values After the five-week study of the plays tackled through the moral educational perspective, their post test results were compared with 50 freshmen students in the same department. The results show that there is no difference between freshment and junior teacher trainees in terms of the Kolbian categorization. Keywords: Values education, teacher trainess, literary texts. Introduction We live in a Dickensian world, this is the best of times, and it is the worst of times, it is the age of wisdom, it is the age of foolishness, it is the epoch of belief, it is the epoch of incredulity, it is the season of Light, it is the season of Darkness, it is the spring of hope, it is the winter of despair. On the one hand, we have ever increasing technological advancements prevailing everywhere, on the other hand, the crime rate and violence is on the rise. A study undertaken by the Geneva Declaration on Armed Violence and Development (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_intentional_homicide_rate) estimated that there were approximately 490,000 intentional homicides in 2004. The study put forth that the global rate was 7.6 intentional homicides per 100,000 inhabitants for 2004. For the year 2010 UNODC (United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime) made a similar study. It presumed a number of 468,000 intentional homicides for this year. That would correspond to a worldwide rate of 6.9, which indicates that we truly live in the world fraught with violence. 1 Doç. Dr., Dokuz Eylül Üniversitesi, Buca Eğitim Fakültesi, cubukcu.feryal@gmail.com Feryal Çubukçu   15 Table 1. UNODC results (2010) Region Rate Count Africa 17 169,105 Americas 15.4 144,595 Asia 3.1 127,120 Europe 3.5 24,025 World 6.9 466,078 An estimated 520.000 people were killed in 2000 as a result of interpersonal violence worldwide – a rate of 8,8 per 100.000 population. (UNODC). In 2008, also more than 500.000 died of interpersonal violence, which proves that there is no change in the rates and counts. Central America has an average rate of 29 victims per 100,000 people. El Salvador has 62 homicides per 100,000 people and is one of the most violent countries that are not at war. The murder rate in Honduras is 82/100,000, one of the worst in the world. Central America is followed by Southern Africa (27) and the Caribbean (22); in comparison, the homicide rate in the United States was 4.5. (www.filipspagnoli.wordpress.com) Britain’s violent crime record is worse than any other country in the European union. In the decade following the party’s election in 1997, the number of recorded violent attacks soared by 77 per cent to 1.158million – or more than two every minute. The figures, compiled from reports released by the European Commission and United Nations, also show The UK has the highest overall crime rate in the EU and the highest absolute number of burglaries in the EU, with double the number of offences than recorded in Germany and France. Experts say there are a number of reasons why violence is soaring in the UK. These include Labour's decision to relax the licensing laws to allow round-the-clock opening, which has led to a rise in the number of serious assaults taking place in the early hours of the morning (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1196941/The-violent-country- Europe-Britain-worse-South-Africa-U-S.html#ixzz2HQDkC3re). Statistics show that for the past ten years violence rates did not decrease at all, such as Norway has increased from 0.7 to 2.3, Greece 1.2 to 1.6(http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/data-and-analysis/homicide.html). Journal  of  Social  Studies  Education  Research  2014:  5(2),  14-­‐30   16 On 20 June 2013 the report of WHO announces that physical or sexual violence is a public health problem that affects more than one third of all women globally, according to a new report released by WHO in partnership with the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and the South African Medical Research Council. The report, Global and regional estimates of violence against women: Prevalence and health effects of intimate partner violence and non-partner sexual violence, represents the first systematic study of global data on the prevalence of violence against women – both by partners and non-partners (www.who.int). Some 35% of all women will experience either intimate partner or non-partner violence. The study finds that intimate partner violence is the most common type of violence against women, affecting 30% of women worldwide.The study highlights the need for all sectors to engage in eliminating tolerance for violence against women and better support for women who experience it. New WHO guidelines, launched with the report, aim to help countries improve their health sector’s capacity to respond to violence against women. The report’s key findings on the health impacts of violence by an intimate partner were (according to http://www.nzfvc.org.nz/?q=node/1341) : • Death and injury – The study found that globally, 38% of all women who were murdered were murdered by their intimate partners, and 42% of women who have experienced physical or sexual violence at the hands of a partner had experienced injuries as a result. • Depression – Partner violence is a major contributor to women’s mental health problems, with women who have experienced partner violence being almost twice as likely to experience depression compared to women who have not experienced any violence. • Alcohol use problems – Women experiencing intimate partner violence are almost twice as likely as other women to have alcohol-use problems. • Sexually transmitted infections – Women who experience physical and/or sexual partner violence are 1.5 times more likely to acquire syphilis infection, chlamydia, or gonorrhoea. In some regions (including sub-Saharan Africa), they are 1.5 times more likely to acquire HIV. • Unwanted pregnancy and abortion – Both partner violence and non-partner sexual violence are associated with unwanted pregnancy; the report found that Feryal Çubukçu   17 women experiencing physical and/or sexual partner violence are twice as likely to have an abortion than women who do not experience this violence. • Low birth-weight babies – Women who experience partner violence have a 16% greater chance of having a low birth-weight baby. For combined intimate partner and non-partner sexual violence or both among all women of 15 years or older, prevalence rates were as follows: • Africa – 45.6% • Americas – 36.1% • Eastern Mediterranean – 36.4%* (No data were available for non-partner sexual violence in this region) • Europe – 27.2% • South-East Asia – 40.2% • Western Pacific – 27.9% • High income countries – 32.7% http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/releases/2013/violence_against_women_201 30620/en/ Values In such times when we witness a great deal of turmoil, crime and agression in all the societies as listed above with high numbers showcasing the horror and severity of the situation, moral education seems to be the way to help children and teenagers to be caring and responsible human beings. In 1930s the book entitled Fifty Hints and Helps in Character Education (1931) was popular but then moral education began to lose favor after 1930s. Kohlberg’s writings (1984) paved the way for the use of moral dilemma stories in the classroom known as the moral judgment approach. Kohlberg, professor of psychology, established the Centre for Moral Education at Harvard University which drew heavily from Piaget and Dewey. Kolberg's theory specifies six stages of moral development, arranged in three levels: Stages Characteristics Level 1 Preconventional/Premoral Moral values reside in external, quasi- physical events, or in bad acts. The child Journal  of  Social  Studies  Education  Research  2014:  5(2),  14-­‐30   18 Stage 1. Obedience and punishment avoidance Stage 2. Naively egoistic orientation/exchange of favors is responsive to rules but views them in terms of pleasant or unpleasant consequences of actions, or in terms of the physical power of those who impose the rules. Individuals have egocentric deference to superior power or prestige, or a trouble- avoiding set. People recognize that others also have needs. They may try to satisfy others' needs if their own needs are also met. They continue to define right and wrong primarily in terms of consequences to themselves Level II: Conventional/Role Conformity Stage 3. Good-boy/good-girl orientation Stage 4. Law and order Moral values reside in performing the right role, in maintaining the conventional order and expectancies of others as a value in its own right. People make decisions based on what actions will please others, especially authority figures and other individuals with high status (e.g., teachers, popular peers). They are concerned about maintaining relationships through sharing, trust, and loyalty, and they take other people's perspectives and intentions into account when making decisions. People look to society as a whole for guidelines about right or wrong. They know rules are necessary for keeping society running smoothly and believe it is their "duty" to obey them. However, they perceive rules to be inflexible; they don't necessarily recognize that as society's needs change, rules should change as well. Level III: Postconventional/Self-Accepted Moral Principles Morality is defined in terms of conformity to shared standards,rights, or duties apart from supporting authority. The standards conformed to are internal, and action-decisions are based on an inner process of thought and judgement concerning right and wrong. Feryal Çubukçu   19 Stage 5: Social contract Stage 6: The universal ethical principle Norms of right and wrong are defined in terms of laws or institutionalized rules which seem to have a rational basis. Orientation not only toward existing social rules, but also toward the conscience as a directing agent, mutual trust and respect, and principles of moral choice involving logical universalities and consistency. In Stage 5 when conflict arises between individual needs and law or contract, though sympathetic to the former, the individual believes the latter must prevail because of its greater functional rationality for society, the majority will and welfare. People recognize that rules represent agreements among many individuals about appropriate behavior. Rules are seen as potentially useful mechanisms that can maintain the general social order and protect individual rights, rather than as absolute dictates that must be obeyed simply because they are "the law." People also recognize the flexibility of rules; rules that no longer serve society's best interests can and should be changed. In Stage 6 action is controlled by internalized ideals that exert a pressure to act accordingly regardless of the reactions of others in the immediate environment. If one acts otherwise, self-condemnation and guilt result. People in this stage adhere to a few abstract, universal principles (e.g., equality of all people, respect for human dignity, commitment to justice) that transcend specific norms and rules. The summary of these stages can be seen in Table 2: Table 2. Kohlberg’s Stages for Moral Development Stages Focus Ages Behavior Questions 1. Punishment and obedience self Up to 10-13 years of age, most prisoners Behavior motivated by anticipation of pleasure or pain. What must I do to avoid punishment? What can I do to force my will upon others? 2. The Egoist self Up to 10-13 years of age, most prisoners Acceptance of the rules and standards of one's group What's in it for me? What must I do to avoid pain, gain pleasure? 3.Good boy/girl Significant people in life Beginning in middle school, up to middle age - most people end up here. Good behavior is that which pleases or helps others within the group. One earns approval What must I do to be seen as a good boy/girl (socially acceptable)? Journal  of  Social  Studies  Education  Research  2014:  5(2),  14-­‐30   20 by being conventionally "respectable" and "nice." Peer pressure makes being different the unforgivable sin. Self acrifice to group demands is expected. 4. The Good Citizen Significant people in life Beginning in middle school, up to middle age - most people end up here. Respect for fixed rules, laws and properly constituted authority. Authority figures are seldom questioned. What if everyone did that? Or Why should I believe anything? 5. The philosopher/the King Justice, Dignity for all life, Common Good Few reach this stage, most not prior to middle age Moral action in a specific situation is not defined by reference to a checklist of rules, but from logical application of universal, abstract, moral principles. What is the just thing to do given all the circumstances? What will bring the most good to the largest number of people? The Prophet/Messiah Justice, Dignity for all life, Common Good rare, often value their principles more than their own life, often seen as incarnating the highest human potential. An individual who reaches this stage acts out of universal principles based upon the equality and worth of all living beings. What will foster life in its fullest for all living beings? What is justice for all? Moral education is basically about values education. Halstead and Taylor (2000, p.169) defines the values in the following way : The term `values’ is used in this review to refer to the principles and fundamental convictions which act as general guides to behaviour, the standards by which particular actions are judged to be good or desirable and examples of values are love, equality, freedom, justice, happiness, security, peace of mind and truth”. The broad term `values education’ encompasses, and in practice is often seen as having a particular emphasis on, education in civic and moral values. There are some methods of introducing values in the classes. For example, the proponents of Character Education (Lickona, 1991; Wynne & Ryan, 1992; Molnar, 1997) tend to favour direct instruction and the use of stories where the instructional process may include problem solving, cooperative learning, experience-based projects, integrated thematic learning and the discussion of ways of putting virtues into practice, as well as more formal instruction.; the proponents of moral reasoning (Kohlberg, 1969, 1981, 1984) favour discussion and the establishment of just communities (which were set up in a series Feryal Çubukçu   21 of experiments by Kohlberg and colleagues to influence students’ moral reasoning and behaviour. They are small alternative schools having typically 60-100 students within public high schools, designed to promote a genuine democratic ethos); and the proponents of caring (Gilligan, 1982; Noddings, 1984, 1994) may favour circle time, extra-curricular activities and the narrative approach. Among these abovementioned, circle time is an increasingly popular method in both Europe and North America for promoting confidence, self-knowledge and self-esteem in pupils mainly, but not exclusively, of primary age and it may also help pupils to learn to talk about their feelings, to gain a sense of belonging to a group or community, to develop qualities such as trust, responsibility, empathy, cooperation, caring behaviour and respect for the feelings of others and to engage in personal reflection and clarify their own values (Halstead & Taylor, 2000, p.186). Here the purpose of this study is to use literary texts in the class to promote moral education (Kohlberg, 1984) where discussion is particularly directed at modelling and eliciting reasoning at the next stage of moral development and thus, by exposure to different moral points of view, stimulating cognitive conflict in the individual pupil’s awareness of problematical situations and facilitating movement to a higher stage. Since literary texts are contextually whole and inherently meaningful, they provide an authentic source of comprehensible English language input and can lower inhibitions or the “affective filter”(Krashen, 1982, p. 345). Stories with well-developed characters, engaging plots and vivid themes, offer “good sources of knowledge, particularly concerning history and culture (folklore), sociological and psychological insights into realistic fiction, and a story framework for reading and writing when exploring genres, whether comprehending or composing” (Karlin, 1994, p. 159). Reading literature can also heighten students’ awareness of some moral, ethical values and issues with which they are unfamiliar with: for example, developing empathy and compassion, charity, or the importance of teamwork and cooperation. It can open students’ eyes to social, economic, and cultural problems of worldwide communities. Literature also enriches the arts and humanities, such as visual arts and drama, and encourages the faculty of imagination. Advocates of literature testify to its usability and value in the reading. Collie and Slater (1987, p. 256) claim that literature is able to stimulate personal involvement, arousing learners’ interest and provoking strong positive reactions from them; it is meaningful and enjoyable, and reading it has a lasting and beneficial effect upon learners’ linguistic and cultural knowledge. Journal  of  Social  Studies  Education  Research  2014:  5(2),  14-­‐30   22 The aim of this study is to promote moral education through the use of literary texts in the class. Method Participants 69 third year pre-service teachers aged between 21-23 at the department of English language teaching participated in the study. They joined drama class activities oriented towards values education for 5 weeks. They studied the plays with the emphasis on the values for five weeks with the researcher of the study. She designed her lesson plans specifically in accordance with the tenets of the values education. Their post test results were compared with 50 freshmen students in the same department. Procedure 69 pre-service teachers studied the plays by Sophocles and Shakespeare. The plays first were discussed in terms of tragic elements, then the character analyses of Oedipus and Macbeth were tackled carefully with an emphasis on how they have taken their decisions, how their choices have been, how these choices lead to their catastrophes. In the treatment group, students are later given situations where they can relate to the events by placing them in the shoes of the heroes basically Oedipus and Macbeth. Later on they were asked to interpret the events if they were the wives of these main characters, Jacosta and Lady Macbeth. Instrumentation All pre-service teachers were given a five-point Likert scale on values on the plays they have studied in “British Drama” class and the freshmen students of the same department who did not study the plays were given the same scale. The scale was designed by the author herself who took into account the values implied in the plays such as Oedipus’ attacking the elderly, mistreating the blind man, Macbeth’s betraying his friend, attacking him for the sake of the material gains, his lying, his sugarcoating his faults and hiding the truth. The cases are shown in Table 4. Then it was pilot- tested with the fourth year students in the same department and its reliability is found as .87. Finally, the students’ answers were rated in accordance with Kolb’s moral development scale. Feryal Çubukçu   23 Results and Discussion The means of the third year students are given in Table 3. Table 3. Means of the Values Mean Std. Deviation s1 3,6218 1,15708 s2 2,6555 1,11566 s3 2,3697 1,10366 s4 3,9496 1,04839 s5 3,0588 1,32316 s6 2,9076 ,90190 s7 3,9580 ,84768 s8 4,1345 ,90126 s9 3,5462 1,13308 s10 3,3277 ,93979 s11 4,0924 ,97417 s12 2,3529 1,16144 s13 2,1092 ,88097 s14 1,6050 ,69158 s15 4,4034 ,78459 s16 2,6050 1,19475 s17 4,3782 ,86349 s18 3,2857 1,00121 s19 3,1429 1,00242 s20 3,2689 1,02260 s21 2,7479 1,13659 s22 2,7479 1,19475 s23 4,1176 1,01828 s24 4,0084 ,89723 s25 4,0420 ,86744 s26 4,1681 ,89556 s27 2,9748 1,27865 Students predominantly believe that if they saw armed men, they would escape, if they were betrayed, they would not forgive easily, if they were treated unfairly, they would voice their dissatisfaction, if they heard somebody’s cry, they would go and help, if people cheated in the exam, they would do so, they say they would never lie even for money, they do not understand why people lie. The comparison of the first and third year students is shown in Table 4. Table 4. Comparison of the Frequencies of the First and Third Year Students Items Strongly Agree Undecided Disagree Strongly Journal  of  Social  Studies  Education  Research  2014:  5(2),  14-­‐30   24 agree disagree 1 3 1 3 1 3 1 3 1 3 1.If you were challenged by a group of armed men in the street, you would stay and fight 12 18,8 12 13 20 27 32 30 24 29 2.If you were challenged by a group of armed men in the street, you would escape. 10 17,4 40 29 20 33 18 17,4 12 1,4 3.If you were betrayed by your best friend, you would stop communication 36 2,9 22 39,1 28 27.5 10 11.16 4 4.3 4.If you were betrayed by your best friend, you would feel upset and go on as if nothing had happened 4 20,3 4 10 14 14,5 44 37,7 34 34,8 5. You have never betrayed anybody so far. 10 2,9 26 18,8 16 17,4 34 29 14 14,5 6.If you realized your best friend lied to you, you would be upset and leave him/her 4 1,4 30 33,3 38 39 20 26 8 7.If you realized your best friend lied to you, you would not mind and you would go on in the same way. 2 2,9 4 4,3 16 14,5 52 56,5 26 23,2 8.If you were treated unfairly and somebody else was promoted instead of you, you would not mind 2 2,9 4 4,3 5 8,7 50 50,7 40 33,3 9.If you were treated unfairly and somebody else was promoted instead of you, you would talk against the person 10 4,3 16 11,6 18 23,2 30 46,4 26 15,9 10.If you were treated unfairly and somebody else was promoted instead of you, you would quit the job 2,9 14 14,5 46 39,1 26 33,3 14 8,7 11.You believe whatever your coffee cup says something about your future. 1 23,2 6 4,3 8 15,9 38 42 46 34,8 12.You never believe whatever your coffee cup says something about your future. 40 26,1 10 39,1 20 24,6 26 11,6 4 1,4 13.If you heard some noises outside about “help, murder”, you would go and help 28 46,4 44 39,1 24 29 4 4,3 1,4 14.You heard some noises outside about “help, murder”, you would call the police 48 2,9 50 47,8 2,9 2 1,4 1,4 15.You heard some noises outside about “help, murder”, you would look and do nothing 20,3 1,4 8 4,3 34 42 58 49,3 16.If your friend made a mistake and stole something, you would go on talking to him/her 26 4,3 22 24,6 26 34,8 20 13 6 7,2 17.If your friend made a mistake and stole something, you would tell it to everybody 2 2,9 2 2,9 18 33,3 28 58 50 1,4 18.If your friend made a mistake and stole something, you would 6 2,9 20 15,9 26 37,7 34 37,7 14 5,8 Feryal Çubukçu   25 stop talking to him/her 19.If your friend urged you to cheat in the exam, you would do it for him or her 8 1,4 26 17,4 40 33,3 18 39,1 8 7,2 20.If your friend urged you to cheat in the exam, you would be scared and do nothing 6 15,9 10 30,4 30 29 40 31,9 14 7,2 21.If your friend urged you to cheat in the exam, you would not do it for ethical reasons 14 11,6 20 36,2 28 24,6 30 20,3 8 2,9 22.If your friend urged you to cheat in the exam, and if everybody else was cheating, you would do it. 20 2,9 44 24,6 14 29 12 27,5 10 7,2 23.If there were an opportunity for you to earn more money, you would be involved in black market 4 8 4,3 14 11,6 30 40,6 44 40,6 24.If there were an opportunity for you to earn more money, you would be involved in any kind of trafficking 2 4 4,3 16 26,1 40 39,1 38 30,4 25. You would lie if you thought this would bring you prestige 4 5,8 28 14,5 34 44,9 34 34,8 26. You would lie if you thought this would bring you more money 8 5,8 20 7,2 30 43,5 42 43,5 27. It is natural that people lie and you lie on many occasions. 14 9 38 20,3 16 24,6 18 27,5 14 14,5 This comparative analysis shows that --Both freshmen and third year students agree with each other in not staying and fighting. --Third year students are more hesitant to act when it comes to fighting --When it comes to cheating, third year students feel more upset -- The percentages of the freshmen who think they have not cheated are higher than those of the third students. --Both freshmen and third year students believe that If their best friends lie, they are heartbroken --Both groups express their disappointment when they are treated unfairly --If somebody is in need, both groups would do something and call the police or go and help the victim. -- Freshmen say they will go on talking when their friend steals something but this falls dramatically with the third year students Journal  of  Social  Studies  Education  Research  2014:  5(2),  14-­‐30   26 --When their friends ask them to cheat, most stay hesitant but more freshmen would cheat and more third year students would avoid for ethical reasons. --The percentage is higher among the third year students when it comes to being involved in the black market. --More third year students say they would not lie for prestige or for money. -- More freshmen agree that people lie and it is natural. When the t-test is applied to see whether there is a statistical difference between the third and first year students, the p value is found to be ,565, which means that there is no statistically significant difference between these two groups. Table 5. The t-test Results of the Freshmen and Third Year Students School N Mean Std. Deviation Sig. Freshman 50 89.4 6.12 .565 Third Year Students 69 89.7 5.65 When it comes to the gender difference, there is a significant difference between male and female students and female students get higher scores as shown in Table 6. Table 6. The t-test Results of the Groups for Gender School N Mean Std Deviation Sig. Females 81 90.58 4.84 .005 Males 38 87.44 7.13 When the rubric designed by Kolb is implemented in the answers of the teacher trainees, it is found by the researcher that teacher trainees fit into the stage 4, the good citizen. The fact that the third year students show more inclination towards integrity, kindness, benevolence yields that the use of literature enhances moral judgement and character, expands the moral imagination and develops the emotional side of a learner’s character which correlates with the study conducted by Court and Rosental (2007). Although Kirschenbaum (1976) said that his approach failed to teach young people a process by which they can analyze much of the confusing information about the world, and learn to make their own decision (p. 10), he claims that in the traditional values education Feryal Çubukçu   27 approach, teachers and other adults not only tell the young about what is appropriate or inappropriate behavior, but they also have to serve as examples of these behaviors and teachers and adults are living examples of the desired behavior of the youth. Only through modeling and accentuating, such values education can be successful as Piaget (1977) says cognition (thought) and affect (feeling) develop on parallel tracks and that moral judgment represents a naturally developing cognitive process. Conclusion It is possible to conclude that when it comes to youth policy and the upbringing of the rising generation, a great deal of spiritual and moral work needs to be done to provide the upbringing and socialization of the rising generation, to consolidate and unite young people and all groups in that community, all of society, on the basis of the principles of social justice and morality (Semenov, 2008). The use of literary texts in moral education is not something new as a concept and a trend. Since Locke, Arnold and in the 20th century Dewey and T. S. Eliot have highlighted the correlation between moral education, development and literature. There are several advantages of values education: first of all, it allows for more students participation. Rather than being told the values, students are encouraged to discuss or have the role fame through the imagined or real conflicts and learn to better handle aggressive impulses. Secondly, values are essential if we are to keep the society in all one piece. Some behaviors are mandated by all civilized nations and must be learned as basic. It might be even the only and last chance for the university students to focus on values explicitly before they embark upon the life journey and to help students develop an independent spirit undergirded by the moral and ethical values essential for participation in a free society ( Theodore, 1986) Stories are also considered to have an important part to play in spiritual development (Kilpatrick et al., 1994, Birch, 2005). Direct discussion of character perspectives in stories enhance students’ understanding of characters and their consideration of the social context and relationships. A classroom with a more conversational style may lead learners to initiate discussions of the values implications of texts. But this technique requires considerable teacher preparation, open-ended questioning, clarifying, summarising, building on students’ contributions and encouraging students to respond to one another. Journal  of  Social  Studies  Education  Research  2014:  5(2),  14-­‐30   28 A lot depends on the prospective teachers both to care about the values and to impart these values to the future generations. If prospective teachers are to help their students become critical thinkers on values, they need to practice the art of thinking critically themselves and apply such values in themselves. Teacher educators have to find ways of facilitating this practice that are compatible with the specific group dynamics. Teaching controversial issues to prospective teachers through literary texts /narratives has the potential to encourage what is sometimes called lateral thinking versus linear sequential thinking (Gibbs, 2003). Using controversial materials constructively develops the ability to think through issues in ways that make prospective teachers and everybody to be able to see shades of grey in-between the black and white. It has the potential to increase tolerance and understanding with afocus on self amelioration and improvement in the world we need to live peacefully without violence and destruction. References Allen, V. G. (1989). Literature as support to language acquisition. In: P. Rigg and V. G. Allen. (Eds.), When they don’t all speak English:Integrating the ESL student into the regular classroom. Urbana, IL: National Council of Teachers of English. Birch, D. (2005). 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