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Teaching Diverse Populations  EDG 2701 Unit II Lesson I Belief, Values and Attitudes
Personal Information Joseph D. McNair Associate Professor, Senior jmcnair@mdc.edu			Links Course Syllabus
Introduction to the Lesson The purpose of this first lesson in second unit is to introduce the education student to mental models often described as beliefs, values and attitudes.  Beliefs, values and attitudes are fundamental elements in a culture's characteristic cultural thought and behavior.   In all of the models of culture previously discussed e.g. Haviland, Kottack, Tylor, Nobles and Ani, beliefs are central in importance. These mental models are essential in establishing one's principal paradigms.  One's notions of what is real and what is true are derived from beliefs.  According to McNair (1998)" "a cluster of categories, classes or generalizations thought to be real or true which reflect one's conception of self and, wholly or in part, of reality." (McNair, J, 1998) Other definitions of beliefs include: "The perception of a relationship between two objects or something and of characteristic of it, e.g. bananas are yellow, physical activity is boring, lawyers are dishonest, and Bob loves Jane." (Milburn, M., 2001) "Beliefs result from interactions between the cognitive processes and the environment." (Trimmer, C, 2001) McNair (1998) suggests that values and attitudes are kinds of beliefs. Values are " specific beliefs about the desirability of thoughts, objects, behavior or conduct, or conditions of being. In other words, beliefs about what is right or wrong, good or bad, pretty or ugly, worthwhile or worthless, and useful or useless.  Values are: implicit or explicit judgments about things, goals and actions that are considered desirable or undesirable (Morris, 1990) Attitudes, on the other hand, are specific action-oriented beliefs: "...a relatively stable organization of interrelated beliefs that describe, evaluate and advocate action with respect to a person, object or situation.  This definition suggests that attitudes have three components: an idea or thought, a feeling or emotion and a readiness to respond or a predisposition to action." (Bennett, C. 1990) Milburn asserts that beliefs are transformed by values into attitudes. Put another way, the judgmental elements of values predispose an individual to act upon his/her beliefs. The first part of this lesson will expose the student to the nature of beliefs, values, attitudes and behavior. The student will examine such diverse concepts as beliefs about self, e.g. ego, self-concept and self esteem, convictions, instrumental values, terminal values, conceived values and operational values. The student will study how beliefs, values and attitudes change.  In the second part of the lesson, the student will be exposed to beliefs, values and attitudes rooted in fear and in ignorance.  The most important of these being prejudice, chauvinism and oppression. The student will examine prejudice as a conceptual framework. S/he will study the rejective behaviors of prejudice, chauvinism and oppression. This lesson was developed to address elements of competency #3 on the barriers to understanding diversity for education majors who are taking EDG 2701 in partial fulfillment of the graduation requirements for an Associate of Arts degree in Teaching (Elementary), Teaching (Secondary), Early Childhood and Exceptional Education. Competency #3 reads (in part) as follows: "The student will examine barriers to understanding diversity by Demonstrating that cultural differences among students and teachers are natural and inevitable and should be celebrated. Defining the concept of prejudice and learning ways to reduce or eliminate it and its related "isms." Reviewing one's own viewpoint and value system, and compare and contrast these with the viewpoints and values of others from diverse backgrounds. Defining the concept of a cultural filter and explain how it affects the way a person or a group perceives reality. Defining the concept of transformation (including paradigms and paradigm shifts) and explain how it affects the way a person or a group reduces or eliminates prejudice and discrimination. (A complete list of all the competencies for EDF 1005 is provided below by clicking on the link titled competencies)
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