Abstract

This study explores how professional development programmes for teachers can enhance their capacity to instill human values and social competence in prospectiveteachers. Teachers play a vital role in guiding the ethical and moral growth of their students, and this research emphasizes their significant impact in promoting values like respect, responsibility, honesty, and social awareness. The focus is on teacher education programme aimed at prospective teachers, investigating how professional development influences their ability to cultivate empathetic learners who understand their societal responsibilities.The research involves both qualitative and quantitative methods such as structured surveys, semi-structured interviews, and classroom observations to evaluate the pedagogical approaches adopted by teachers to transfer human values. The social competence scale developed by Dr. Latika Sharma and Dr. Punita Rani was also used to assess the social competence of prospective teachers. A total of 120 prospective teachers from B.Ed. Colleges in Kanpur city were taken for the purpose of analysis. The study finds that 85% of prospective teachers agree to the importance of teaching human values, and 78% of the respondents felt their skills were enhanced in value-based education through professional development programmes. However, 47% of the teachers found rigid curricula as the major obstacle in value education. Moreover, 71% of the participants rated role-playing and storytelling as effective strategies.An important finding is the strong positive correlation (r = 0.68) between participating in professional development programs and the development of social competence in promoting human values. By aligning the training frameworks of teachers with the vision of the National Education Policy 2020, this research provides actionable recommendations for improving values-based education and arming teachers with the skills to become role models and foster ethical education.