Australia's Values Education Movement

Abstract

The landscape of values education in Australian schools is currently undergoing striking shifts. In the past values education in both Islamic and public schools has been termed 'inconsistent' with Australian values or 'non-existent' (Yaxley, 2004). Schools must now comply with the 'National Framework for Values Education in Australian Schools (NFVEAS)' framework (Australian Government, 2005a), introduced in 2005. While there have been studies completed on international policies, this new terrain has not yet been properly mapped out: Australian values education policy is unknown territory. Three factors make Australia's Values Education policy worth investigating: the wide-spread nature of the values education movement, the lack of adequate critique of this movement, and the fact that this framework represents the first official Australian standard of values education.