LITERARY CREATION AS A TOOL IN THE TEACHING OF VALUES CLARIFICATION FROM EARLY CHILDHOOD TO ADULTHOOD IN SCHOOL SETTING: AN APPROACH TO COMMUNITY COUNSELLING

Abstract

A human is a social being influenced by his/her environment, contacts and relationships, hence s/he is made by the immediate environment. Personality development has become more complex in the 21st century because of the unprecedented influence of the social media on individual and collective psyche. If in the past so much was said about the influence of peer relationships on children and adult alike, the whole human race is now subject to the impersonal Cable Network that determines the emotions, attitudes, values, beliefs and subsequently actions of subscribers. This article focuses on how literary creation can be deployed in teaching values clarification, choices and responsibilities from childhood to adulthood. Artistic creation broadly refers to anecdotes, stories, fables plays, poems, films and music. These artistic expressions are often developed for a target audience by facilitators of learning. As learners are exposed to the implications of making good and responsible choices they are able to confront the tyranny of negative stimuli from social media and personal contacts and relationships. It is hoped that the finding will enhance the use of literary texts in teaching values clarification and impacting behaviour modification in school setting and by extension the world at large.