48 Value Education and Environmental Education
48.1 Value Education
Value education is education that cultivates desirable values, attitudes, and dispositions in learners — honesty, fairness, compassion, responsibility, civic sense — alongside cognitive skills.
TipWhy Value Education?
- A purely cognitive education produces clever individuals; education with values produces responsible citizens.
- Mahatma Gandhi: “By education I mean an all-round drawing out of the best in child and man — body, mind and spirit.”
- Swami Vivekananda: “Education is the manifestation of perfection already in man.”
- Tagore: “The highest education is that which does not merely give us information but makes our life in harmony with all existence.”
48.2 Types of Values
TipMajor Categories of Values
| Type | What it covers | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Personal | Individual character | Honesty, integrity, self-discipline, courage |
| Social | Living with others | Cooperation, tolerance, empathy, civic sense |
| Moral / Ethical | Right and wrong | Truthfulness, justice, fairness |
| Cultural | Heritage, traditions | Respect for elders, festivals, art |
| Spiritual | Inner life, meaning | Compassion, mindfulness, devotion |
| Aesthetic | Beauty, art | Appreciation of music, nature, literature |
| National / Patriotic | Citizenship | National unity, constitutional values |
| Democratic | Living in democracy | Equality, liberty, fraternity, justice |
| Universal / Humanistic | Human dignity | Peace, brotherhood, service to humanity |
| Professional | Work ethics | Punctuality, accuracy, accountability |
48.3 Approaches to Value Education
TipThree Approaches
| Approach | What it does |
|---|---|
| Direct approach | Value education as a separate subject |
| Indirect / Integrated approach | Values infused through every subject and activity |
| Co-curricular approach | Through clubs, scouts, NCC, NSS, sports, debates |
48.4 Indian Frameworks for Value Education
TipIndian Documents Promoting Value Education
- Kothari Commission (1964-66) — emphasised values in education.
- National Policy on Education 1986 — value education as a core component.
- Programme of Action 1992 — operationalised value education.
- National Curriculum Framework 2005 (NCF 2005) — value education across all subjects.
- NCF for Foundational Stage 2022 — values from early childhood.
- NEP 2020 — five constitutional values: justice, liberty, equality, fraternity, secularism; integration through stories, arts, and play.
- Mulya Pravah 2.0 (2023) — UGC framework for human values and professional ethics in higher education.
- Manodarpan (2020) — psycho-social well-being for students.
48.5 Constitutional Values
The Preamble of the Indian Constitution identifies six core values:
TipSix Constitutional Values
JUSTICE — social, economic, political LIBERTY — of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship EQUALITY — of status and opportunity FRATERNITY — assuring dignity of the individual and unity of the nation SOVEREIGNTY — supreme political authority SECULARISM — equal respect for all religions
48.6 Environmental Education
Environmental education (EE) is the process of building awareness, knowledge, attitudes, skills and behaviours needed to protect and improve the environment.
TipAims of Environmental Education (Tbilisi 1977)
The 1977 UN-UNESCO Tbilisi Declaration identified five objectives:
- Awareness — sensitivity to the total environment.
- Knowledge — understanding of the environment and its problems.
- Attitudes — concern for the environment and motivation to participate.
- Skills — to identify and solve environmental problems.
- Participation — taking action to address environmental challenges.
48.7 Environmental Education in India
TipEE Milestones in India
- Stockholm Conference 1972 — India committed to environmental protection.
- National Council for Educational Research and Training (NCERT) integrated EE in school curriculum.
- Centre for Environment Education (CEE) Ahmedabad — established 1984 by Government of India and Nehru Foundation for Development.
- Supreme Court order (M.C. Mehta v. Union of India, 1991) — made environmental education compulsory at all levels.
- National Green Corps (NGC) / Eco-clubs — environmental clubs in schools (since 2002).
- Paryavaran Mitra — schools-level environmental programme.
- National Environment Awareness Campaign (NEAC) — by Ministry of Environment.
- Mission LiFE (2022) — Lifestyle for Environment, a global movement.
- CBSE and ICSE include environmental studies in curriculum.
48.8 Environmental Education Levels
TipEE at Different Levels
| Level | Focus |
|---|---|
| Pre-primary | Sensory awareness of nature |
| Primary | Basic concepts; nature walks, plant care |
| Secondary | Ecosystem, pollution, conservation |
| Higher Secondary | Environment as a separate subject |
| Undergraduate | Compulsory environmental studies course (UGC mandate) |
| Postgraduate / Research | Environmental science, ecology, sustainability programmes |
48.9 NEP 2020 on Values and Environment
NEP 2020 emphasises:
TipNEP 2020 — Values and Environment
- Education should foster constitutional values, scientific temper, environmental consciousness.
- Multidisciplinary education including arts, ethics, and sciences.
- Environmental awareness integrated across curriculum.
- Sustainability as a core orientation in higher education.
- Mission LiFE and lifestyle for environment.
- Indian knowledge systems including yoga, ethics, ancient sciences.
48.10 Practice Questions
Q 01
Value Education
Easy
Honesty, integrity, and self-discipline are best classified as:
View solution
Correct Option: A
These are personal / character values.
Q 02
Tbilisi
Medium
The 1977 UNESCO conference that laid out the goals of environmental education was held in:
View solution
Correct Option: B
The Tbilisi Conference (1977) laid out 5 objectives for environmental education: awareness, knowledge, attitudes, skills, and participation.
Q 03
Constitutional Values
Medium
Which of the following is *not* among the values explicitly named in the Preamble of the Indian Constitution?
View solution
Correct Option: C
The Preamble names Justice, Liberty, Equality, Fraternity, Sovereignty, Secularism. "Prosperity" is not listed.
Q 04
CEE Ahmedabad
Medium
The Centre for Environment Education (CEE) is located at:
View solution
Correct Option: C
The Centre for Environment Education (CEE) is at Ahmedabad; established 1984.
Q 05
M.C. Mehta
Medium
The Supreme Court of India made environmental education compulsory at all levels following:
View solution
Correct Option: C
The Supreme Court order in M.C. Mehta v. Union of India (1991) mandated environmental education at all levels.
Q 06
Approaches
Easy
When values are infused throughout the curriculum and integrated with every subject, the approach is called:
View solution
Correct Option: B
Indirect / Integrated approach infuses values across subjects (rather than as a separate subject).
Q 07
Mission LiFE
Medium
"Mission LiFE" — Lifestyle for Environment — was launched by India in:
View solution
Correct Option: C
Mission LiFE was launched by India in 2022 as a global movement for environmental lifestyle.
Q 08
Mulya Pravah
Hard
"Mulya Pravah 2.0" is a UGC framework for:
View solution
Correct Option: B
Mulya Pravah 2.0 (2023) is a UGC framework for human values and professional ethics in higher education.
ImportantQuick recall
- Value types: Personal, Social, Moral, Cultural, Spiritual, Aesthetic, National, Democratic, Universal, Professional.
- Three approaches: Direct, Indirect/Integrated, Co-curricular.
- Constitutional values: Justice · Liberty · Equality · Fraternity · Sovereignty · Secularism (Preamble).
- Environmental education: Tbilisi 1977 five objectives (awareness, knowledge, attitudes, skills, participation).
- Indian EE: CEE Ahmedabad (1984), M.C. Mehta v. UoI (1991) Supreme Court order, NGC eco-clubs (2002), Mission LiFE (2022).
- UGC: Mulya Pravah 2.0 (2023) for human values + professional ethics in higher education.
- NEP 2020: constitutional values + scientific temper + environmental consciousness.