Recently, many educational systems have been making changes in response to pressure to achieve greater results (Desimone, 2009; Fullan, 1999; O’Brien and Christie, 2008). In this respect, helping students to become good citizens and to develop positive personality traits are often seen as responsibilities of the school (Da?delen, 1999; Ryan, 1993). For instance, in Turkey, the National Education Basic Law No. 1739, which refers to educating good men and good citizens, defines students’ acquisition of social values as an expectation and goal of the educational process.

Values such as honesty, tolerance, goodness and mercy are human-specific; they add value to human beings and differentiate them from other creatures. They help humans to recognize their actions as appropriate in accordance with their aims (Kuçuradi, 1995, 8); add meaning to life; and improve many aspects of life (Humane Values Manual, 1996; Parashar et al., 2004). Thus, values should be considered in many aspects of teaching, including establishing the classroom environ-ment; applying learning activities; adopting teaching strategies;   selecting    content;    managing    classroom behaviors; assuming a teaching style; and applying discipline; as well as in teachers’ attitudes and behaviors towards students (Ayd?n, 2003; Black, 1996; Veugelers and Vedder, 2003).

In modern approaches to education, an understanding of how students obtain knowledge is a foundational aspect of the educational process. As a result, many learning models and teaching methods have been developed that enable students to explore knowledge independently (Kaf, 2000). However,  it is especially difficult to provide moral development in line with the goals of education in a system that relies on verbal explanations and sermons, and where ethical advice is memorized according to the question-and-answer method. This approach, which replaces feelings and actions with words, is in conflict with natural ethics (Kale, 2008). Rather, value as a principle of behavior occurs as a result of learning through experience (Sar?, 2005).

A review of the related literature reveals four basic approaches to the direct teaching of values. These include transfer of value, expressing of value, ethical judgement and value analysis (Tahiro?lu et al. 2010). The value expression approach basically depends on helping individuals to recognize both their already-formed and their emerging values (Bacanl?, 2006). In the application process of this method, group debates, role-plays, opinion cards, open-ended questions, autobiography, interviews, quotations, student reports, caricatures, pictures, films, stories and so on can be used (Bacanl?, 2006; Do?anay, 2007; Unesco, 2005).

One educational technique used for the teaching of values is story telling (Hamilton and Weiss, 2005). In reality, humankind has a mysterious force that reflects all wisdom, as well as direct and indirect disorders. In this sense, the art of telling and understanding stories can be considered as a form of education, wherein stories built upon themes such as love, virtue, tolerance, passion, honor, wisdom, fidelity, loyalty and compassion are thought to contribute to the development of conscience and character (Ayd?n, 2011). Stories that contain values in their content can affect many levels of the mind simultaneously. Powerful stories leave their trace on people and shape their behaviors. Such stories relate how we form our personalities and relationships with people. As Badger, a character created by Barry Lopez, says, “If stories accompany us, if stories are cared for, they become instructive on many required topics. Sometimes, a person needs stories more than food in order to survive” (Galding and Wallace, 2010).

People who are reading or listening to a story establish empathy with the characters in the story very quickly; they may identify with one of the characters who appeals to them or close to them by putting themselves in the place of the heroes. As Kenneth (2001) asserts, the characters and the construct of the story help readers in detailing their relationships with others in their  own  lives;  thus, stories can be an important and effective method of teaching (Kenneth, 2001). Furthermore, stories can give hope for the possibility of having a meaningful life despite sorrow and losses and can inspire readers (Baker, 2006; Russell, 2004). For this reason, Bruner believes that stories can provide a creative and constructive means for learners to infer meaning from world, adapt to the world, and live their lives more meaningfully (Frykman, 2009).

Stories have an international validity in many aspects of personal and mental development and are an important pedagogical instrument in the psychological development of children and teens (Davis, 2007; Rossiter, 2001). Thus, stories that portray universal values and promote awareness of right and wrong can help students to learn and to internalize these values by illuminating their behaviors and points of view. Accordingly, it is important for teachers to develop the knowledge, ability and teaching methods necessary to increase the effectiveness of stories in the classroom (Cochran-Smith and Fries, 2001; Garm and Karlsen, 2004; Goodnough and Hung, 2009; Garm and Karlsen, 2004; Smith, 2008).

How can the importance of confidence or the virtue of forgiveness be taught? Can we cope with difficulties without desperation and admit them as opportunities to develop strength? How can we help learners understand that of the elements of humanity are fundamental to a moral society, and that every individual holds the responsibility for developing him- or herself? In this study, it is proposed that telling stories may be more effective for instilling these values than sermonizing and lecturing, and the effects of story-telling on learners’ development of moral awareness is evaluated.

The story below, titled “Saving the World,” (Anonymous, 2015) is an example of materials that can be used for building awareness about being a good person:

After a tiring week, the man got his newspapers when he woke up and imagined lying down for the whole day. While he was thinking about this, his son came and asked when they would go to the park. The father had promised his son that he would take him to the park, but since he did not want to go out, he tried to think of an excuse to get out of the promise. Suddenly, he noticed a world map that had been included in the newspaper as a promotion. He cut the map into small pieces and gave them to his son:

1. “If you put this map in order, I will take you to the park!” He said, and thought:

2. “Oh, finally, I am free. Even the best geography professor could not put it in order by evening!”

After ten minutes, his son came again:

3. “Dad, I put the map in order. Let’s go the park!” He said.

The man did not believe him at first and wanted to see the map. He could not believe his eyes and asked his son how he had managed it. The child made this noteworthy explanation:

4. “There was a human picture on the back of the map. When I put the man in order, then the world fixed itself!”

As in the example above, the end of such stories must be a full-stop, in a surprising style, and the outcomes are typical value-loaded conclusions. The moral outcomes that are to be understood should be clear, in a manner that is comprehensible and perceivable, and the reader should be able to interpret the conclusion easily (Rousseau, 2000). Furthermore, by telling stories using different intonations and adding emphasis according to the intended interpretation, the effect of the stories can be increased. Ultimately, these stories carry wisdom and values for all generations for those who hear them (Profeit-LeBlanc, 2003). It can be said that teachers who tell such stories may create awareness and give guidance to their students; as such, they may be distinguished from other teachers.

However, aside from being effective storytellers, teachers should consider certain features in selecting the stories to be told. Unkovich (2011) outlined these features as follows:

1. Stimulating and directive stories should be chosen; the stories should prompt students to think about life, love, hope and even finding solutions for despair.

2. Real stories should be practicable and realizable. Students want to hear from others that they can reach their aims and overcome difficulties.

3. In delivering a story, a classroom setting in which students can express their feelings freely and feel secure should be provided in order to strengthen them for coping with life.

4. Stories that show actions and results should be chosen. Life lessons are learned more effectively from good stories than from advice-giving adults or from sermons.

5. Stories that are related to students’ lives and the difficulties they encounter will be more easily internalized.

Using gesture and mime appropriately, as well as proper intonation and stress, will not only increase the effectiveness of stories, but also decrease problems in classroom management through the new image that the teacher will acquire. Furthermore, in order to convey the values in each lesson, the teacher must have in-corporated these values in their own lives and know how to transmit them effectively.

It can be said that most educators will agree that students should acquire values such as peace, justice, confidence and hope; however, they may have difficulty in internalizing these abstract concepts unless an effective method, one that is not based solely on advice, is applied. In reviewing the literature on the subject, some studies were encountered that emphasize the importance of using stories in the teaching of values (Deveci and Ay, 2009; Karatay, 2007). However, no studies have been found concerning the effects of stories in teaching values. Given the positive effects of using stories in education, the researcher was drawn to investigate the impact of using short stories to teach values. In this study, educative short stories that involve basic values were used to increase the effectiveness of a lesson; improve the attention of the students; and address the need to learn about values, which has been stressed as an important aim of education.

Accordingly, at the end of every lesson in a course taught by the researcher, educative short stories were told to groups of students, and at the end of the semester, the students’ opinions about the effects of value-themed short stories were investigated. 

Research model

For the purposes of this study, a qualitative research method, which enables detailed investigation of how a specific case is experienced, was used (I??ktekiner and Altun, 2011). Students’ point of view constitutes an important focus in educational research (Christensen and James, 2000; Lewis and Lindsay, 2000; McCallum et al., 2000); therefore, this study was conducted via a descriptive approach in order to define students’ opinions about the effects of value-themed story telling on the lessons. In her role as the instructor in a science and technology course, the researcher included value-themed short stories each week, generally at the end of a lesson, in order to help students gain the universal values previously described. After telling the stories, in order to allow students to reach their own conclusions, immediate discussion of the stories was avoided; however, if the students wanted to share something about the stories, their comments and evaluations were taken.

Study group

The research group for the study consisted of 30 randomly selected volunteer students from the 6^th and 7^th grade classes of an elementary school in Ankara, Turkey. The ages of the students were 12-13 years. Parental permission was obtained before carrying out the study. The participating students were told value-themed educative stories by the researcher over the course of an academic year.

At the end of the process, the students were asked to respond to the question, “Do you think that the stories told in the classroom had an effect on your development? If so, what is the nature of these effects?” Their answers were given in writing, except in the case of nine students who had difficulty in written expression; these students were given the opportunity to answer orally in a face-to- face interview, which took approximately fifteen minutes. The interviews were recorded with the permission of the students.

Data analysis

The  data  were  analyzed  through   content   analysis,  a  scientific research method that is used for making meaningful and valid inferences from texts (Tav?anc?l and Aslan, 2001). Analysis of the data took place in four phases: (1) coding the data; (2) defining the themes that emerged from the coded data; (3) organization of the codes and themes; (4) defining and interpreting the findings (Y?ld?r?m and ?im?ek, 2005).

First, the data were grouped according to the similarity of the students’ opinions (Patton, 2002). For instance, the statement, “After we listened to the stories, we participated in the class more effectively; also, we like teachers who integrate stories in the lesson more,” was evaluated under the theme “cognitive gain” and assigned the code “increased motivation for the lesson.” It was also classified under the theme “emotional gain,” with the code “we like the teacher better.” Through this process, each students’ statements were coded, and then interpretations were made by evaluating their written and oral expressions. In order to define the meanings that students attributed to the stories, their expressions were classified by taking the similarity of the content into consideration (Patton, 2002). The aim of this process was to interpret the data and reveal the facts embedded within.

Researcher’s role

In a qualitative study, the investigator conducts research in natural settings and interprets events in such a way that readers can make sense of them (Creswell, 1998). However, in doing so, it is understood that the presence of the researcher may impact the participants, and therefore, the outcome of the study. On the other hand, the more time the researcher spends in a given setting, the less likely his or her presence is to affect the setting (Y?ld?r?m and ?im?ek, 2005). In this case, the research was the instructor of the course and had been with the students throughout the course of the semester; as such, her presence in the classroom was routine and was likely to have minimal impact

Validity and credibility checks

To provide validity, the data were encoded and supported by direct quotations from the students. Furthermore, the significance and integrity of the findings were continually tested by the researcher. Namely, the consistency of the concepts that constituted the themes among themselves and with the other themes was evaluated to determine whether significant integrity was evidenced. The findings were reviewed by the students who participated in the study and were found to be accurate; furthermore, they were found to be consistent with previously formulated predictions.

In order to establish credibility, the data collection process, application and analysis stages were reported in detail in order to allow for replication and for testing through additional studies. Furthermore, the findings were compared to the related literature, and member checks were obtained from the participants. Finally, an experienced researcher from the field was asked to evaluate the data in terms of the themes related to cognitive and emotional gains. The evaluations of the researcher and the expert were compared, and the number of items that constituted “agreement” or “disagreement” was determined. The credibility of the researcher’s interpretations was calculated using Miles and Huberman’s (1994) formula (Credibility = agreement/agreement + disagreement x 100); the credibility of the study was calculated at 0. 94.

In this section, the findings from the  students’  responses concerning the effects of stories on their development are given. The findings that were related to cognitive and affective gains are presented here, supported by direct quotations from the participants in order to portray their ideas more fully (Y?ld?r?m and ?im?ek, 2005). The findings that fell within the scope of the cognitive gains theme are illustrated in Table 1.

The cognitive dimension is related to an individual’s using and developing his or her mental potential, thereby increasing his or her knowledge and abilities and creating an opportunity for rich and multidimensional perception and decision-making abilities. In this manner, surroundings that were once seen as limited are changed, and new life choices are presented (Cücelo?lu, 1994). Every one of the 30 students who reported on the effects of the short stories on their development expressed positive views. In coding the feedback from the students, a total of twelve cognitive gains were detected. The high-frequency cognitive gains noted by the students included greater enjoyment of lessons (f=9), increased attention to the lessons (f=9), increased success (f=7), increased motivation for the lessons (f=6), increased participation (f=5) and increased retention (f=5). Additional gains included refinement of behaviors (f=5), strengthening of the educational process (f=4), teaching students how to think (f=3) and relaxing the brain (f=3), encouraging students to study more (f=3) and contributing to social development (f=1).

It has been asserted that “story-telling is a valid method that triggers children’s imaginations and prompts them to reach a higher cognitive level with their responses to questions” (Kortner, 1998). The findings of this study support the opinion that stories increase learners’ cognitive development.

Some of the answers given by the students in relation to the cognitive gains from the stories are presented below. Although the research questions are related to the participants’ individual views, the purpose of the study is to draw attention to the effects of stories on students in general; however, here, the exact expressions of the participants are reported.

“Understanding the lesson is easier and more enjoyable. Furthermore, these stories help with the memorability of the lessons so we can remember them easily…” (S. 4)

“Children come one step closer to success with lessons derived from their young lives. Those lessons sometimes make a difference in the way they study, and sometimes in their amount of study. These stories even get the attention of students who are less inclined for learning. As time passes, a child becomes an individual who can ask questions, can interpret and can apply what he [or she] thinks…” (S. 2)

“Skillfully relaxing students’ minds with stories without interrupting a lesson is an important contribution.”(S. 6)

“If  students are told such success stories every day, their own levels of success in education will increase. Students’ imaginations and limits to their thinking will increase.”(S. 7)

“Thanks to these stories, we can understand the experiences and the realities of life. Stories help me to understand what is what. I use them as a guide in my life…” (S. 20)

“They help us to mature psychologically.”(S. 21)

 “Students’ learning the lesson at the end of the story and discussing the story can increase confidence towards learning and the teacher.”(S. 22)

 “It is a very good thing for us to understand life and to learn to live with reality. It also helps us to feel that lessons are enjoyable. It encourages us grasp life.”(S. 24)

 “Stories that are related to real life encourage us to be good people by taking lessons from life and applying the good behavior to our surroundings.”(S. 27)

 “It relaxes us when we are bored with the lesson. Stories show that school is really educating us. They prepare us both for new schools and for life”(S. 14).

Affective development involves understanding one’s own feelings and the feelings of others, understanding the reasons for them and using that knowledge in one’s thinking and actions (Shapiro, 1998). Among the features of affective intelligence that can be developed via learning are self-motivation, the ability to go on despite challenges, the  ability  to  postpone  gratification  through impulse control, the ability to control the psychological state so as not to let problems hinder one’s thinking, the ability to put oneself in another’s place, and the ability to cherish hope (Goleman, 2006). In this sense, we can say that stories provide important contributions to cognitive and affective development on the basis of the findings gathered from the students. Namely, it was observed that there was a great increase in students’ attention to their lesson; they anticipated the class meetings with excitement; they shared the stories with their families; and their parents gave feedback to the teacher about positive changes in the students’ attitude and behaviors.

Acquiring virtues is strictly associated with a child’s character development. Distinguishing right from wrong, and choosing right and applying it, are not easy to learn; and schools have often been criticized for failing to place necessary emphasis on the concepts of “good” and “right.” Amid countless possibilities and trial and error situationsamong changing conditions, we work to better our lives by developing appropriate reactions and behaviors (Myers et al., 2004; Yörüko?lu, 2003). In this respect,  it is believed that ethics education is bound both to individual potential and to the interest of the educational system; thus, Ayd?n (2003) points out that schools are expected to make an effort to develop and support basic values such as responsibility, esteem and justice in students. Similarly, Deveci and Ay (2009) stress the need for implementing values education in schools in order to encourage moral behavior in students’ daily lives. They further emphasize the importance of appreciating the benefits related to affective values and assert that effective methods should be developed in order to promote appropriate values in the behavior dimension.

Values or belief models can be expressed via symbolic means such as myths, rituals, stories, legends and special language (Weiner, 1988); accordingly, stories can be used to embed abstract values in children’s minds. Stories that are related to values can promote progress in the ability to interpret and inquire about right and wrong. Furthermore, stories told in lessons can draw students’ attention. Via stories, we reflect fundamentals that give meaning to our life and that we may not have otherwise recognized. We can trigger unrealized senses and powers of imagination that have important effects on our individual and collective lives (Miller and Pennycuff, 2008; Wachtman and Johnson, 2009). In particular, stories can help children to obtain information about human experiences (Carson and Becker, 2003), as well as providing them with opportunities to investigate, analyze and explain the concepts and events that relate to real life (Craig et al., 2001).  In this process, they can evaluate themselves holistically and complete themselves in missing points in terms of character. This approach can increase students’ interactions both within themselves and with other people and can remind them that they are carrying the responsibility of being a better human.

In this study, when the randomly selected students’ opinions were investigated, it was found that all of the students believed that telling value-themed stories during lessons affected their development positively. These gains were evaluated under cognitive and affective themes, and 12 gains in the cognitive dimension and 20 in the affective dimension were observed.

Cognitive development capacity is measured by the speed of movement between one’s mind and intuition and the ability of embracing different points of view (Loehr and Schwartz, 2006). From the findings, it can be inferred that the cognitive gains from the stories included making lessons enjoyable, increasing attention, success, motivation, participation, memorability, and relaxation of the mind, as well as stimulating greater motivation for learning. Furthermore, the stories taught learners to think, helped to refine their behaviors and contributed to the development of society. These findings support the opinion of Milson and Mehlig (2002), who claimed that values define the limits of acceptable behaviors and guide attitudes and behaviors in the society.

Making an evaluation about the affective domain in education is more difficult than with the cognitive domain. For this reason, different methods and techniques may be developed to address this aspect of learning (Bacanl?, 2006). When the value-themed stories used in this study were evaluated according to student opinions, it could be said that they provided many benefits in terms of affective development. The findings show that stories can contribute to the development of affective abilities such as acquiring virtues, learning to be a good person, preparing for life, developing maturity, understanding different points of view, and building self-confidence. Furthermore, coping with problems, feeling responsibility, recognizing emotions, knowing the value of belongings, enabling recognition of errors, improving imagination and positivity, and learning to establish empathy were among the gains that students expressed.

Affective intelligence development is considered as the basis of affective gains (Goleman, 2006). Among the features of affective intelligence that can be learned and developed, there are self-motivation, going forward in spite of problems, delaying gratification through impulse control, modifying the psychological state so as not to let problems hinder thinking, putting oneself in the place of others, and cherishing hope. Within this scope, it is can be said that the findings of this study comprise the features of affective development to a great extent.

Schools have the responsibility to prepare children for life, and thus, they should make it their mission to raise moral individuals, in addition to preparing students for their professional lives. In this respect, it can be suggested that measures should be taken to increase the awareness of teachers in order to promote the study of values, as stressed in the official aims of education. Furthermore, it can be recommended that educators focus on gathering value-themed stories to be used as educational materials, making arrangements for their use in educational settings, increasing teacher awareness about the utility of stories, in education, and also conducting research at different education levels about the effects of stories in education.

The author has not declared any conflict of interests.