Personal Beliefs and Moral Standpoints in the Classroom

Personal beliefs and moral standpoints refer to the opinions of a person based on experiences in life. A great deal of learning revolves around changing or acquiring opinions or beliefs. It is the teacher's job to guide the student's to right thinking and doing.

Students come from different family backgrounds. Beliefs and moral standpoints vary from student to student.  Some students are naturally rebellious and would deviate from rules.  While others are resilient and obedient.

Enforcing a belief that could alter a student’s behavior for the better is one role that teachers sometimes have to play.  Unruly behaviors often stand in the way of classroom learning so a good teacher must try to inculcate positive values to his/her students.

In Heider's theory, when beliefs are in conflict, there is stress and a pressure to change views or beliefs. The two basic factors contributing to balance are sentiment and unity qualities of beliefs. Balance occurs when the sentiment or unity between beliefs is equally positive and negative, imbalance when there is dissimilarity.

Another theory about belief is the one developed by Abelson where it maintains that people will work to maintain consistency among beliefs and make changes when this doesn't happen. For instance, if a student wants to earn good grades and is confronted with the reality that those who study often gets good grades then the student will either accept this idea and adjust accordingly or change his views on studying or good grades.

Change in beliefs often leads to change in attitudes. There are factors that affect the differences in opinion. By influencing these factors, one can ultimately change a student's attitude.