The movement to increase the awareness toward the public interest and community development by educating middle and high school students on social values is recently observed. However, it is necessary to provide empirical evidence on how students perc...
The movement to increase the awareness toward the public interest and community development by educating middle and high school students on social values is recently observed. However, it is necessary to provide empirical evidence on how students perceive social value education before including in the curriculum. This study aims to derive implications for selecting social values prioritized by gender and school level by analyzing students' perceptions of the contents and methods of social value education. An online survey was conducted targeting middle and high school students in Seoul, South Korea, and the importance-performance analysis was conducted on social value ordinances perceived by students on a Likert scale. According to IPA classification, “keep up the good work,” “concentrate here,” “low priority,” and “possible overkill” of social value education contents were identified per gender and school level. In addition, preference on a method appropriate for value education was compared by gender and grade level using independent samples t-test. Value education methods included were the traditional approach such as lecture; the cognitive approach including debate, problem-based learning, and reflection on social problems; and the emotional-behavioral approach including simulation, role play, and project-based learning. Overall, female students perceived more highly of the importance of the social value education than male students, and high school students were more aware of the importance of several items of social value education than middle school students. Specifically, for female middle school students, the protection of the socially underprivileged and human rights, contribution to the local economy, democratic decision-making and participation appeared to be the top-priority contents. For male high school students, job creation and safe work environment emerged as priorities. Regarding the value education method, male students most preferred the cognitive approach, specifically debate, and female students preferred an emotional-behavioral approach, namely simulation. By selecting the contents and methods of social value education based on empirical evidence, it is hoped to cultivate students' bearings of social value and responsibility and eventually contribute to making sustainable communal well-being.