What is giving voice to values?
What is Giving Voice to Values?
Giving Voice to Values (GVV) is an innovative approach to values-driven leadership and management. Ethics and values are concerned with the rules of conduct that ought to be observed by public officials because of the widespread belief that high standards of ethical conduct are conducive to the efficient performance of a public service, and help maintain public confidence.
As a principal, there are things that really matter to you... the ideas and beliefs you hold as special which inevitably influence your conduct in the workplace. Despite the latter, you need to understand that you are working with different people at the school and almost all of them already have values and want to feel that they have a reasonable chance to effectively voice and enact their values.
Ethics are rules for behaviour, based on beliefs about how things should be. They are defined as moral principles that guide our behaviour, while morals are defined as principles of ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ behaviour. Moral behaviour also means to be concerned with, based on, or adhering to the code of behaviour that is considered right or acceptable in a particular society, rather than legal rights and duties.
What is ethical depends on the individual, the group, the culture, tradition, background. It is more about what people should do and how they ought to behave.
Kadar Asmal in the Manifesto on Values, Education and Democracy (2001), states that “...values, however, cannot be legislated. If they were imposed, they would remain rootless, and lifeless. Vital, durable values grow from dialogue and discussion and lived experienceâ€. The Manifesto offers ways to promote the values of the Constitution through the education system.
For this reason, it would be inappropriate and counterproductive to set out policies to be carried out by schools on behalf of the people of South Africa.†The Manifesto goes on to describe strategies for seeding the values of the Constitution in young South Africans, through the educational system, in the belief that they will germinate in time, become rooted, and flourish.
It is important to inculcate a sense of values and ethos at school to help learners and educators alike achieve high levels of moral judgement. To achieve this, you need to ensure that values and ethics are integrated across the school in classes and in the curriculum to promote the values of the Constitution through the educational system.
The South African policies that govern many institutions are based on a value system as set out in Chapter 10 (Section 195) of the Constitution. As a principal and an educator, it is required for you to respect specific guidelines that govern your conduct when carrying out your duties. These guidelines should provide the content values for the ethos and culture of the school.