Do students' values change in different types of schools?

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine if students' values were different depending on which type of school they attended, and whether these values changed across the school year. Students of three different types of schools (private, state, religious) were measured at the beginning and the end of a school year, using the Schwartz Portrait Values Questionnaire 40. At both measurement times the analyses showed that the most significant differences between the types of schools were found for values of Tradition and Hedonism. Across all schools, the most notable changes were discovered for the values of Power and Achievement, lesser changes were found for Benevolence and Universalism. The impact of school on change in values was mediated by religiosity for Conformity, Tradition, Benevolence, Hedonism and Power.