The Values and Character Dispositions of 14-16 Year Olds in the Hodge Hill Constituency

resembled those of students claiming no faith. It would appear that many students
placed value on the Church of England as an identity marker, but not as a moral
compass (p85).

• Girls and those who claimed to have no religious faith showed less bias towards
trusting those close to them rather than those further away (p87).

• Boys and Muslim students were more positive than other ethnic groups about
trusting people in their own communities (p87).

• A significant aspect of the discussions with students was their apparent
difficulties in understanding the language of character and values and finding
their own words to express their feelings and sentiments. For example, they found
it hard to make a distinction between ‘being good’ and ‘being successful’.
Nonetheless, responses to the questionnaires indicated that this is a distinction that
is tacitly operating in their lives (p25).

The following quotations are from the students in this sample:

The thing that really matters in life is your family.

I believe trust is vital to personal relationships and without it you cannot be friends with
someone: trust must be earned and that sometimes takes a long time as it is not easy to
gain - but easy to lose.

My mother has been there for me every step of the way and I cannot thank her enough for
that. My love for her is unconditional and she is my greatest role model.

There are many reasons why people hate the world. People hate because of skin colour,
language, or difference in interests. People hate each other because of their families, or
friends. People hate each other because of the smallest and largest of things. It is harder
to love people. Hatred is ignorance of other people and life.

It is worth standing up for your family because without your family you will be nobody.

My family means the most to me because they put me on the right path.

In life, I think humility, self-discipline, and forgiveness are very important.

I think that if we are all honest, courageous and forgiving the world would be a better
place.

The Bible, the Qur’an etc, state that all humans are equal, so why is this not the case?

11

<<   9   10   11   12   13   14   15   >>

More intriguing information