Values transmitted through English Literature school texts : lord of the flies

Abstract

This study was carried out to investigate whether English Literature can serve to transmit values usually tackled in other school subjects like Religious Knowledge. This area of investigation is relatively uncommon locally. The values of teachers and students in two schools were explored to find out if students do internalise values through literature. The novel Lord of the Flies taught as a literature text has been selected as a literary text particularly suited for our research as it deals with values to a great extent. The questionnaire carried out among sixty seven students indicated that some values presented in the novel are internalised by students through the strategies the teachers use to teach the novel; other values are already present in the students. The text helps students to reinforce these values in their lives. In addition, two interviews were carried out with the respective teachers. From these an investigation was carried out as to how the teachers' own views about the novel and its content is reflected in the students' reactions to the values exposed in the book. This connection was clearly established when the students applied what their teacher said in order to answer certain questions in the questionnaire. As a result of this, when teachers' and students' views were compared, some overlap and similarities were found.