Features of mediated learning experience in the values education of children in Quaker children’s meetings and their significance

Marušincová, Irena (2024). Features of mediated learning experience in the values education of children in Quaker children’s meetings and their significance. University of Birmingham. Ph.D.

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Abstract

This thesis analyses approaches to the transmission of values in British Quaker Children's Meetings which are situated within the broader context of values education focusing particularly on points of contact with Reuven Feuerstein's Mediated Learning Experience theory. It attempts to answers the question of how far and, if so, why these approaches coincide with the principles of Mediated Learning Experience which is an approach to teaching based on similar values to those espoused by Quakerism.
The theoretical part of the thesis first discusses Feuerstein's approach to teaching in a general sense in the context of the cognitive theories of Jean Piaget, Lev S. Vygotsky, and Jerome S. Bruner, and then points out its relevance to the field of values education, examining its roots in Jewish culture and comparing it with the cognitive developmental approach, character education, and the sociocultural approach. The practical part presents the results of a qualitative research study conducted through semi-structured interviews with 28 leaders of Quaker Children's Meetings in Britain, which were analysed using the principles of thematic analysis and grounded theory.
Analysis of the interviews shows significant parallels between the reported approaches to teaching values identified in Quaker Children's Meetings and the principles of Mediated Learning Experience. In addition to elements of the Mediated Learning Experience, important emphases such as the mediation of silence, listening, and respect were identified in the Quaker Children's Meeting setting that have relevance in a range of non-Quaker settings.
The research, arguably, will provide insights into the work of Quaker Children's Meeting leaders, indicating an example of a context in which Mediated Learning Experience principles are implicitly enacted and their use in values education. The thesis seeks to make a contribution to the current debate concerning approaches to the teaching of values through an analysis of the various conceptions and a search for their points of contact.

Type of Work:

Thesis (Doctorates > Ph.D.)

Award Type:

Doctorates > Ph.D.

Supervisor(s):