Educator evaluations collected from teachers implementing Living Values Education in countries around the world frequently note positive changes in teacher-student relationships and in student-student relationships both inside and outside the classroom. Educators note an increase in respect, caring, cooperation, motivation, concentration, and the ability to solve peer conflicts on the part of the students. Within a matter of months, educators note that students spontaneously begin to discuss challenges in the language of values, become aware of the effects of values on the self, others and the community, and strive to live their values by making positive socially-conscious choices. Bullying and violence decline as positive social and emotional skills increase. Research also notes academic gains. Living Values Education helps educators co-create with students safe, caring, values-based atmospheres for quality learning.
Extent and Variety of Use and some of Living Values Education's partners in different countries
The Living Values Education approach and materials are producing positive results in more than 50 countries at thousands of sites. While most implementation settings are schools, others are day-care centers, boarding schools, community centers, centers and informal settings for children in difficult circumstances, drug rehab facilities, centers, camps, homes, and prisons. The number of people doing LVE at each site varies considerably; some involve a few people with one teacher or facilitator while other sites have involved 3,000 students.
In some countries LVE is implemented by a small number of dedicated educators who feel values education is important for the wellbeing of students, the community and the world. In other countries, ALIVE Associates have expanded into several areas while other ALIVE Associates have found partners to implement LVE widely, serving local and country-wide needs. There are many examples of collaborative partnerships. A few examples are below:
Vietnam - LVE has been disseminated widely, to more than 18,000 educators, through partnerships with the Hanoi Psychological Association, PLAN International, World Vision International, the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs, Drug Rehabilitation Department and VTV2 Education Channel, a television station in Vietnam.
Israel - the ALIVE Associate works with the Informal Education Department within the Ministry of Education, AMEN - Youth Volunteering City, and JOINT Israel. They have jointly developed a project to implement values in schools and in the communities and reinforce the values base of volunteering as a way of life.
Brazil - The Brazilian ALIVE Associate has provided training to thousands of teachers, including street educators and youth detention authorities. Many large networks of regular schools or NGOs that work with children in difficult circumstances have received LVE training through these collective programs: São Sebastião, São José dos Campos, Itápolis, São Bernardo do Campo, Campinas, Valinhos, Guarujá, Araraquara, Limeira in the state of São Paulo, Três Corações, in the state of Minas Gerais, Recife, in the state of Pernambuco, and the social networks: Nossas Crianças, Rede Fiandeiras, Rede Oeste, Bompar - Centro Social Nossa Senhora do Bom Parto in the city of São Paulo. Also trainings have been held in São Paulo for the Young Offenders agency and the CASA Foundation. These educators from numerous outside agencies and private and public schools have facilitated the exploration and development of values with more than 500,000 young people in normal schools and 75,000 street children. The Itau Foundation, Santos Martires Society and the public regular schools Boa Esperança, Peccioli and Josefina have given tremendous assistance to children, young adults and the community through a LVE project in an especially vulnerable neighborhood in Sao Paulo.
Indonesia - The ALIVE Associate, Karuna Bali Foundation, works with a number of organizations in line with the LVE vision, one of which is The Asia Foundation with its implementing partners in Jakarta, Paramadina Foundation, Paramadina University, PPIM UIN Jakarta and LSAF, in Yogyakarta, LKiS, Mata Pena and Puskadiabuma UIN Yogyakarta, and in Ambon, ARMC IAIN Ambon and the Parakletos Foundation. Another cooperating organization is Jesuit Refugee Service which works with internally displaced people, refugees and asylum seekers in several nodes of Indonesia.
From 2009, The Asia Foundation and its partners have actively supported LVE development through its Pendidikan Menghidupkan Nilai program, with LVE workshops for teachers and lecturers of madrasah, Islamic boarding schools, schools, and universities. Now in 50 Islamic boarding schools, one of the program's goals is mainstreaming high quality values-based education where values can be implemented directly in daily life. Great attention is given to character based education by integrating the approach in all subjects.
During the program, at least 10,119 teachers and 1,423 lecturers from schools and universities all over Indonesia were involved. The evaluation of this program was published in a book format titled Success Stories by TAF in the Indonesian language. Parallel to TAF programs, JRS since 2009 also intensively used LVE methods in its work with post disaster and post conflict communities in Aceh province. From 2012, the Peace Education program in Ambon, a collaboration of The Asia Foundation, State's Islamic Institute of Ambon, and Parakletos Foundation, has been working hard to sow the seeds of peace in the land broken up with strife. More than 300 facilitators of LVE and Peace Education have been trained, and more than 10,000 students, teachers, and members of communities have been involved in peace education activities.
Karuna Bali Foundation also implements LVE in its program, especially with Campuhan College, a one-year program for high school graduates who wish higher education, a lot of lessons have been learned, especially the need for educators to live their values before facilitating values awareness in students. There are many requests for training from schools and institutions from all over Indonesia. In 2015, there were 48 LVE workshops, from the eastern most point of Palembang to the western most point of Ambon. In 2016, there were 41 workshops involving 1055 people. This only counts three-day LVE Educator Workshop. There are many more one-day seminars and professional development courses.
Results in a Refugee Camp and with Street Children
There are also wonderful stories from educators in special circumstances. In Thailand, one year after implementing Living Values Education in a Karen Tribe refugee camp, nine out of 24 refugee-camp teachers working with children and youth, reported 100-percent improvement in violent behavior; the others cited an 80-percent reduction in aggressiveness. Within two years of initiating the program, the high frequency fights between young people from different sections of the camp had completely ceased. In its place was spontaneous play, creative play, caring, happiness and cooperation.
The Living Values Education program for street children is bringing in very positive reports. In Brazil, incarcerated youth that had been so violent that they were housed separately were able to return to the regular setting after three months of the Living Values Activities for Street Children materials. They were much more peaceful and compliant with authority. Other street children who were attending a government educational facility were able to obtain a regular job; others were able to learn to care for their children in a nurturing way.
In Vietnam, educators reported considerable decreases in aggression and at-risk behaviors. They noted about the young people: "Now they are confident and friendly with adults and their peers. There is almost no conflict in the classes and they now do not get into trouble after school either. The students have also developed many skits on how to keep safe from dangerous adults and really enjoy performing them. Now when they are on the streets and see children that are new to the streets they give support and advice to the new children and invite them to meet their teacher and join their classes."
Results with Living Values Education's Drug Rehabilitation Program
Living Values Activities for Drug Rehabilitation are used in many government drug rehab centers in Vietnam. The Ministry of Labor reported in March of 2008 that Living Values Education's program for drug rehabilitation was the most successful program in government drug rehabilitation clinics. They had been using it for three years.
A story from Vietnam: "Visitors to Binh Minh Village Drug Rehab Center in HCMC are amazed to see patients reading in a relaxed manner and walking around with smiles on their faces. They feel the secret lies in the Living Values Education program which has been applied at PLV since 2006. This year (written in 2015) Binh Minh Village's English name is Peace and Light Village, or as they also call it, People and Living Values (PLV).
PLV is a private rehab center established in May 15, 2002. Using education as the key approach, the management here considers 80% of the success of the treatment process to be due to 'mental therapy'. Based on the results achieved since its inception, PLV now applies two education programs simultaneously to change the behavior of drug addicts: the 12-step program and the Living Values Education's program for drug rehabilitation. They have observed that these two programs together produce the best rehabilitation effect for even long-time drug users, especially during the two final stages of the rehab process: building a new life style, new behaviors, and helping peers. The Living Values Education program has very practical skills which can be applied in reality.
The founders of PLV had attended Living Values Education workshops conducted by Trish Summerfield since 2000. At that time, they found Living Values Education a simple but scientific, highly educative method, which could fit quite well with Vietnamese culture, especially for drug addicts. Living Values Activities for Drug Rehabilitation was created in 2005. They began implementing it in 2006. By the end of 2008, the positive results had won their hearts and infused them with inspiration. They then assigned a board member to focus on Living Values Education to become PLV's trainer of Living Values Education."
Research Results and Success Stories
For more information on Members activities please visit 'ALIVE' section - Living Values Research