Does Values Clarification Advocate Value Relativism
Values clarification is a widely influential theory of values education.Its emergence and development originated from a specific historical context,established by Raths,and further developed and improved by Kirschenbaum and others.At present,many scholars believe that values clarification advocates value relativism,criticizing its theoretical relativism position,the complete indulgence of individual freedom and the complete denial of universal values,and even criticizing it for dispelling the responsibility of values education in schools.By reviewing the above academic criticism of values clarification for advocating value relativism and the self-justification of values clarification,this paper argues that values clarification theory cannot be equated with advocating value relativism,and should be re-conceptualized the value stance of value clarification theory from both the theoretical and practical levels.Theoretically,we believe that values clarification does not adhere to the position of"value neutrality".The starting point,goal and process of values clarification have a distinctive value standpoint,which is essentially the expression of the liberal values in Western society.In practice,educators'one-sided understanding of values clarification theory and improper use of strategies and methods can easily lead to value relativism at the practical level.The article concludes by suggesting that the root of the separation between values clarification and its practical application is essentially limited by specific social background factors,the fashionable pursuit of education reform in American society,as well as the theoretical defects of values clarification itself.
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