Das Wissen bringt einem nichts, wenn man keine Werte hat: Wertebildung und Werteentwicklung aus Sicht von Jugendlichen

The crucial stage of life for developing a personal values’ profile is adolescence, as this is when emphasis is placed on the forming a person’s own identity. Based on Piaget and Kohlberg’s Theories of Moral Development, the Theory of Evolutionary Ethics as well as research on socialization and value acquisition, a survey of qualitative interviews was conceptualized. By means of semi-structured interviews, young people are asked about the influence that possible agents of socialisation, such as family, peers, teachers or religious figures, have on the development of their values. Conditions that promote or hinder the process of establishing values are identified and analysed. The subjective viewpoint of the adolescents is hereby at the center of analysis. The results serve to demonstrate implications for value education. The most important result of the study is that adolescents see good personal relationships and reliable ties as an absolute necessity for successful value acquisition.