SIR – A new report has concluded that, nowadays, schools have become overly preoccupied by the passing of exams to the exclusion of instilling moral values, in their pupils.
Researchers from Birmingham University’s Jubilee Centre for Character and Virtues found that eight out of 10 teachers believed their school’s focus on academic education was hindering the development of pupils’ character. The study involved 10,000 14/15 year olds and 255 teachers in the largest study of its type.
The report says: “ There has been an escalating emphasis on students’ elementary academic skills to the exclusion of moral, civic, aesthetic and any other kind of developmental strategy that cannot be gauged by standardised tests. This emphasis has led to a narrowing of the school curriculum and to a removal of moral authority in the role of the teacher.”
Researchers found the students appeared to approach moral dilemmas from a self-interest perspective rather than deciding to do what was really right.
David Hornsby, West View Avenue, Wrose
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