A CONCEPTUAL STUDY OF SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY AWARENESS AND PRACTICES AMONG SCHOOL
CHILDREN
Nur Farhana Suffari1*, Mustaffa Zain2, Muhammad Majid1, Mohd Danial Afiq Khamar Tazilah3
1 Faculty of Business & Management, DRB-HICOM University of Automotive Malaysia, Pekan Pahang
2Faculty of Accountancy, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Shah Alam, Selangor
3Faculty of Business and Finance, Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman, Malaysia
*Corresponding Author: [email protected]
Accepted: 1 March 2019 | Published: 1 April 2019
_________________________________________________________________________________________
Abstract: In general, social responsibility is an important aspect which requires the responsible bodies to disclose both mandatory and voluntary corporate and social information to the public or stakeholders. These information disclosures are essential in assisting the organizations to make a better decision. Social responsibility in education is an indicator to examine the level of social responsibility practices among students toward moral and responsibility aspects. This study focuses on the element of moral values consist of respectfulness, cleanliness and thriftiness with the level of social responsibility practices among school children. Specifically, it intends to firstly examine and confirm the existence of moral values element in current curriculum syllabus secondly, to determine the association between these three moral values to the level of social responsibility awareness and practices among school children. The data will be collected through observations on school children from six schools and on top of that 120 questionnaires will be distributed. Various statistical analyses will be conducted to examine the relationship between the elements of respectfulness, cleanliness and thriftiness with the level of social responsibility practices.
Keywords: Social responsibility awareness, respectfulness, school children.
_________________________________________________________________________
1. Introduction
In this modern and globalized era, the way mankind live their life and the way they carry out their social responsibility has become so intricate that educating the public on their social responsibility has become more challenging and dynamic. Adding to this would be the sophistication of modern living that has led to the increasing number of social problems among school children today which demands us to be more alert and proactive. If not tackled effectively the increment of social problems among school children with low social responsibility awareness and practices would have an impact on the country at large in the long run. Therefore, responsible parties such as the government, private bodies, schools, teachers and parents should respond positively to this situation in order to create a future generation that is accountable with high integrity and social responsibility awareness.
Social responsibility plays an important role in the development and the well-being of a society. Social responsibility is defined as the ethical care and obligation that an individual in society pays to others mentally and sensuously, the ethical responsibility and feeling people
have experienced that they should give to the society or others (Zhang, 2012). This specifically embodies socialization of individual thinking, moral responsibility, active and comprehensive participation in social life. Social responsibility requires a person to have lofty ideals, sound personality, study assiduously, professional dedication, be just and honest, solidify friendly, care about collective, struggle arduously, obey disciplines and laws (Zhang, 2012).
In order for CSR to be comprehensively practiced, it is imperative that good values and education be inculcated to not only the top management but also to all other employees.
These values can be ingrained at homes as well as at various education levels. They can be exposed to these values as early as the primary school days. However, thus far researches are mostly focused on CSR at corporate levels or at most exposure to CSR values at the university levels. This research is perhaps the first in Malaysia to focus on awareness and practices of social responsibility at school levels. To create and build a person with good behavior, attitude, and moral values and to determine the level of social responsibility practices among students, the most significant indicator of social progress is through education. Therefore, the Malaysian nation should pay great attention to educating social responsibility elements and values to children from an early age.
The role of education as an agent or instrument of social change and social development is widely recognized (P.Patil, 2012). Education can be used as a tool to empower the individual to achieve self-sustainable and equal development. Education has brought about phenomenal changes in every aspect of men’s life (P.Patil, 2012). In other words, education is a process which brings about changes in the attitude and behavior of society that enables a person to effectively participate and make positive contribution to society. Furthermore, the Malaysian education system begins from pre-school education until high-school education.
However, students nowadays do not properly realize and shoulder their responsibility for their country or nation and hence, show weakening tendencies of social responsibility (Zhang, 2012). These tendencies are reflected in three aspects: firstly is a strong self- awareness and weak personal responsibility. Secondly, is the devaluing social morality, discipline and role responsibility. Thirdly is the dislocation of social responsibility and personal responsibility (Zhang, 2012). In addition, school children nowadays are exposed to an unhealthy environment which is associated with social and environmental problems such as gangsterism, vandalism, bullying, usage of vulgar words on elders, throwing rubbish everywhere and, damaging public property. These moral decay and immoral attitudes are associated with social and environmental problems. This requires them to demonstrate social responsibility at the highest level as they have to be sensitive in their current environmental situation.
In the educational system, if less emphasis is given to the social responsibility aspect in the curriculum such as respectfulness, cleanliness and thriftiness it is feared that this will cause a major problem to society in the future as the future generation will become less sensit ive to their surroundings. This will further lead to diminishing civic awareness and increasing moral decay which will in the end lead to social problems such as vandalism, gangsterism, bullying, drug addiction, alcoholism, and baby dumping. This is evident as news on these problems appears every day in the newspaper and mass media. Besides these social problems, environmental problems such as air, water, and soil pollution and global warming are also emerging as a result of a low level of awareness regarding the natural environment.
Education is an important and easy way of making people become aware of their environment and its problems (Erdogan & Usak, 2009).
The Education Act 1996 provides the fundamental basis for curriculum policies in Malaysia (Malaysia, 2006). It indicates the specific laws and provisions that give direction to curriculum documents which are mandatory to all schools. In relation to the social responsibility elements, the government and the corporate sector must take aggressive action through the schools system to inculcate such awareness to the school children. They must provide adequate infrastructures and create a more attractive learning process. A good learning environment certainly provides comfort and convenience to school children to excel in their academics and several social responsibility programs have helped several schools to upgrade their library and purchase computers through donations and recycle programs, seminars, and campaigns.
Social responsibility plays an important role in the development and the well-being of a society. In business, CSR is practiced to balance economic growth with sustainable social and environmental development. The idea behind CSR is that a corporation should be responsible for more than simply making profits. They should be aware of social values and take part in improving the social environment on top of economic functions (Godfrey & Hatch, 2007).
CSR is a concept whereby business organizations consider the interest of the society by taking responsibility for the impact of their activities on customers, suppliers, employees, shareholders, communities and other stakeholders as well as on their environment (Ismail, 2009). Thus, these obligations show that the organizations have to comply with legislation and they voluntarily take initiatives to improve the well-being of their employees, their families as well as the local community and society at large.
Previous researchers have identified that, among others, top management awareness is high on the list of why companies are participating in CSR activities (see for example Zain 2004).
Top management could be exposed to social responsibility elements from different parties and periods. They may be exposed to these elements and values through their peers, competitors, friends, and importantly, teachers and parents. They may also have been exposed to these elements during many periods of their lives such as during their working days, university days, secondary or even during their primary school days. Consistent exposure would ingrain these elements and values in them. Once these elements and values are ingrained in them, only then, will they be willing to participate, practice and encourage others to be socially responsible.
Researches on awareness and practices at corporate levels and exposure to the elements during their university days are abound. However, research on school children is very limited.
This study is the first of its kind in Malaysian research to focus on the awareness and practices of social responsibility among school children.
Growing awareness of Social Responsibility in education among school children especially had driven many studies to examine and investigate this topic. The value creation of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has become a part of the areas of research interest to researchers and academics. Nevertheless, most of them chose to examine and identify the degree of CSR awareness at undergraduate level (Bichta, 2003). The academic syllabus and curriculum of undergraduate programs contain CSR elements in order to raise student awareness of corporate activity with CSR and how it can affect the country’s social, political, human capital, and cultural landscapes. These studies focus only on undergraduates using
related themes and integration with the possible variables. In addition to that, there are few studies on the level of Social Responsibility (SR) practices either in the public or private sector, but no previous study has been carried out on the level of social responsibility practices among school children. Although there was one study which examined the relationship between values and social problems among Malaysian teenagers but, it focused on Islamic values, concepts, and norms rather than what is being focused on, in this study (Kandari, 2004).
According to Yahaya et al., 2009 and The New Straits Times in August 2005, an average of seven school children are arrested every day and three of them average between 13 to 15 years old. These numbers are almost the same as the level of juvenile delinquents who are school dropouts. School children misbehavior is a prevailing problem affecting schools not only in Malaysia but also across the many nations around the world. News Straits Times (Superintendent Haris Daud, 2012) stated that an aggressive behavior of bullying will turn a child into a bad adult. Bullying in schools is a negative behavior that can lead to more violent incidents, resulting in injury and death. In addition, baby dumping is also getting more chronic and has stirred a lot of attention.
In addition, as quoted by Nazni Noordin, Zaherawati Zakaria, Mohd Zool Hilmie Mohamed Sawal, Hussin, & Ngah, 2012, the statistics in the year 2010 from the Malaysian Welfare Department for January to April 2010 reported that there was 111 cases of unmarried young girls who were pregnant. An even worst situation related to this issue was seen when a girl gave birth in a school bath room at night and flushed the baby down in the toilet bowl. There were even cases of young girls giving birth and then dumping their babies into garbage bags leaving them to die. One of the most widespread reasons for bad discipline among school children is their inability to cope with their responsibilities (Noordin et al., 2012). The noisiest school children will demonstrate their frustration by loud outbursts, disruptive behavior, while the rest of the class remains passive (Yahaya et al., 2009).
Even though, good social responsibility elements and values, such as: cooperation, cleanliness, courage, devotion, faithfulness, good manners, gratitude, honesty, helpfulness, justice, kindness, leadership, obedience, punctuality, patriotism, quest for knowledge, reverence for the old people, self-discipline, self-reliance, social service, socialism, team spirit, tolerance, universal love, universal truth, and environmental values are not only included in the schools syllabus, but also instilled by parents, the above challenges hinders them from being socially responsible.
Due to the limited time, this research will only focus on three social responsibility elements which would affect future CSR activities. These elements are: Cleanliness, Respectfulness and Thriftiness. The element of respectfulness in moral values will influence the individual identities by their level of social responsibility practices. It is important for students to not only be aware but to also practice respect as this will help them develop social responsibility skills in their daily life. The element of respectfulness not only builds close relationship between oneself and the community but also within the working environment. Cleanliness is also an element of moral values which is important for an individual to practice because cleanliness will influence morality (Maptuh, 2013). Students who have knowledge and practice cleanliness on a daily routine will in the future be concerned about pollution and become environmentally friendly. The element of thriftiness or moderation is chosen because when correctly applied and practiced students will appreciate the things that they already have. The element of thriftiness in social responsibility will increase the sustainability of the
environment, product, community and workplace. Therefore, it is important to examine the social practices that will create students with the attributes of responsibility, integrity and accountability.
2. Literature Review
Overview of CSR and Its Practices
What is Corporate Social responsibility (CSR)? Why is CSR a good thing? How this is vital to me? These simple questions hover in the minds of each person who are either involved directly or indirectly with the social development of the country. Their responses to these questions may be similar and common to each other. Their most common perception on CSR is that it is a situation where a group of people or organizations organize a charity service for the community that benefits the community themselves. But, everyone can have his or her own perception, opinion, argument and judgments when asked about CSR.
CSR is a concept that has attracted worldwide attention and acquired a new resonance in the global economy (Jamali & Mirshak, 2007). Nowadays, the stability and sustainability of the economy in Malaysia encourage development in business. Malaysian companies have practiced CSR activities and have disclosed them in their the Annual Reports since the early 70’s even though such activities not mandatory (Zain, 1999). In addition, disclosure of CSR activities in Malaysia is increasing progressively over the years (Saleh, Zulkifli, & Muhamad, 2010). However, the information disclosed is still limited, as they only disclose it in general statement terms. In Malaysia, there are presently no accounting standards for disclosing CSR information. In the absence of such standards, CSR disclosures in Malaysia would be entirely voluntary in nature (Ahmad, Sulaiman, & Siswantoro, 2003). As a result, the business environment is also becoming more complex and demanding and there is more focus on the corporation and business development. Thus, one of the emerging issues that confront modern day businesses is corporate social responsibility.
Now, even though most firms and organizations take part, show concern and discuss CSR issues, still the most basic and key tool to focus on is education. Education is important and it needs to be emphasized to all citizens of a society. According to (Lau, 2010) who quoted from a study by Wright (1995) education is the best means to develop good ethical behavior in the modern business environment. In addition (Giacalone, 2008) also suggests that business schools need to ensure that school children are equipped with ethical integrity to meet challenges in the real business world.
Education also is the living knowledge, information and skills during the course of life, whilst education system is the platform which has been standardized and used as a reference by teachers to teach their school children in a communicative, informative and insightful way (Hassan, Jamaludin, Sulaiman, & Baki, 2010). Hence, education will help school children acquire the knowledge and skills to make proper judgments about the dimension, structure, development, culture of the economic, politic, social and technology activity that may contribute to people in the real world situation. Without proper education, it will not bring any sense in the development of social responsibility for the country. This shows the important role the current school syllabus or curriculum plays in building a good character for school children. Curriculum development in the schools is greatly influenced by theory which helps school children to form knowledge, skills, values, and attitudes (Nakpodia, 2010). What can be said here is that education leads to an increased level of awareness in social activities.
It is important that the process is done harmoniously so that school children will have better
integrity, responsibility and accountability and with this it is hoped that social problems among the youths will be reduced slightly.
Education and Curriculum Development
Education is essential to everyone and this cannot be denied. Education, as a discipline, is concerned with methods of teaching and learning in schools or school-like environments as opposed to various non-formal and informal means of socialization. Education can be thought of as the transmission of the values and accumulated knowledge of a society (Zulu, 2006).
Education is designed to guide them in learning a culture, moral values, molding their behavior in the ways of adulthood, and directing them toward their eventual role in society (Bieler, 1990).
Nowadays, as society becomes ever more complex and schools become ever more institutionalized, educational experience becomes less directly related to daily life, less a matter of showing and learning in the context of the workaday world, and more abstracted from practice and learning things out of context. This concentration of learning in a formal atmosphere allows children to learn far more of their culture than they are able to do by merely observing and imitating. As society gradually attaches more and more importance to education, it also tries to formulate the overall objectives, content, organization, and strategies of education.
The concept of development, on societal level, involves multiple dimensions. It is also connected to the development in the curriculum. This is because in the learning process, the curriculum or syllabus will be used as a guideline in helping school children to gain knowledge. Curriculum was originally defined as a cost of study or training and a product.
This consisted of a disciplined study of command, mother tongue and the systematic study of grammar, identifying the curriculum as a finished product or static body of knowledge which caused curriculum planners great difficulties in the past (Wiles & Bondy, 1979) as quoted by (Nakpodia, 2010)
Furthermore, the importance of education is emphasized by society. However, the role of improved schooling, a central part of most development strategies, has become controversial because expansion of school attainment has not guaranteed improved economic and social conditions. Although education has a significant influence on life, the average education is not the same in different areas. Without education, life would be disastrous and detrimental.
Additionally, every child should be given equal opportunities to learn and study. Because the development of a country depends vastly on the standard of education, the country must do everything in its power to improve it. Even though, the educational systems are different and not similar in each country around the world, but they have to share a common goal to provide its citizens with suitable and proper learning conditions. This is due to an increasing number of social problems which has become a serious issue to the government, school, parent and private parties too. The moral values and social responsibility elements in the syllabus or school curriculum should be emphasized and as a matter of concern to ensure that, the level of social awareness can be planted and instilled among school children which foster a high level of integrity.
Social responsibility as a Goal for Education
The development of social responsibility is a great concern to parents, teachers and school children themselves (Krumboltz et al., 1987). In fact, it has greater importance in achieving the academic goal, which is social responsibility in the form of consideration and respect for
others, interpersonal competence, and moral development that are consistently nominated as a critical outcome for school children. It is recommended that social responsibility can influence the achievement of school children to comply and be more responsible, which enhances the learning process by promoting positive interaction between teachers and peers.
In a previous study by Krumboltz et al. (1976), the within group respondents of the study thought it was less important for schools to teach social responsibility than academic subjects.
But across the groups consisting of parents, teachers and school children, the consensus was that the school plays at least some role in promoting interpersonal competence and moral development.
According to (Wentzel, 1991), the socially responsible behavior promoted in the form of moral character conformity to social rules and norm, cooperation and positive styles of social interaction has been a traditional and valued educational objective for American schools.
Indeed, the educational institutions contained the goal to socialize children into adult society by teaching work and responsibility oriented values such as dependability, punctuality and obedience in conjunction with the learning process (Dreeben & Jackson, 1968). Since 1848, the public schools in America with almost every educational policy statement have been promoting the objective in character development and social responsibility. For example, it promotes education related to religious, social and economic concerns rather than intellectual concerns. In addition (Adler, 1982) advocated three objectives for American schools. These consisted of promoting personal growth or self-improvement, teaching the role of citizens and teaching non-specialized and non-vocational skills.
Therefore, schooling has a direct effect and influence on children’s educational achievement, acquisition of literacy, numeracy and scientific knowledge. In the learning of specific knowledge and skills, it has a direct effect on classroom teaching (Good & Brophy, 1986) as quoted by (Sylva, 1994). The school also plays a role in the development of social responsibility which indicates that teachers should be sensitive to individual differences in the classroom conduct, value socially competent behavior and spend an enormous amount of time teaching their school children on how to behave and act responsibly (Doyle, 1986).
Moreover, teacher can make the distinction between the different types of school children motivation including effort to socialize, to learn and to perform (Sivan, 1986), type of classroom disturbances including aggressive, inattentive and uncooperative behavior (Safran
& Safran, 1985) and various social orientation towards the learning process.
Social Awareness
Generally, awareness can be defined as a reasonable or realistic appraisal of a given aspect of one’s own situation, functioning or performing, which may be expressed explicitly through what is said or implicitly through behavior (Nelis et al., 2011).Social awareness is defined as the ability to take the perspective of and empathize with someone else and to appreciate and respect diversity. In addition, social awareness is determined as knowledge of what is going on in society. Thus, it allows people to get better in the understanding of certain issues which affect the society as a whole.
Furthermore, social awareness is clearly an important societal necessity as our world swiftly moves forward in a technological age shaped by a multitude of overwhelming global issues.
In understanding the necessity of awareness, an ethical decision making and behavior is vital when developing the ethic in the education program. According to (Godsey, 2007) who cited from a study by (Luntly,2003):
The central contrast is between learning ethical deliberation by internalizing rules versus what I have elsewhere called “growing awareness”. Learning to judge wisely about the ethical is a matter of learning how to attend. It is a matter of acquiring the capacities for awareness. These are the attention skills possession of which throws the ethical into relief for the ethically competent and lack of which leaves the ethical novice in the dark.
Michael Luntley (2003, page 332)
Recently, people in all parts of the world have been confronted with various environmental problems. These problems are not only on a local scale such as air, water and soil pollution but also on a global scale like global warming. The reasons behind the emergence of these problems are due to economic growth, industrialization, the global population explosion, growing demand for food, the limited supply of products, deforestation, and the extinction of biological resources (Palmer, 1998). Therefore, education as well as moral values and ethic elements are an important and easy way of making people be more aware of their current environment.
Social Practices
In moral and social responsibility, social practices are the important tools which enable individuals to act accordingly so that they are able to distinguish between good or bad things.
Students’ perception of task and activities not only influence how they approach learning, but the important consequences is how they use the available time (Ames, 1992). Students will practice the moral values element that increases their social responsibility either to society or environment. Besides this, the encouragement and support from government, private bodies, school, parents and teachers also increase their social practices. Indeed, moral value elements such as respectfulness, cleanliness and thriftiness may lead to an increase in the level of social responsibility practice among school children.
Respectfulness
The element of respectfulness in moral values will influence the individual identities through their level of social responsibility practices. From the moral view, recognition and respect of people is an obligation equivalent to according them the right of self-determination (Taylor, 1992). Respectfulness is showing regard and appreciation for the worth of someone or something. It includes respect for self, respect for the right and dignity of all people and also respect for the environment that sustains of life. In CSR, the element of respectfulness would affect CSR activities. The environment which includes natural resources and the protecting flora and fauna are important aspects that take care of the surroundings and society. To protect the ecosystem from damage or pollution, children have to be knowledgeable, and learn to respect the environment. They need to be able to distinguish between what is the right or wrong thing to do in order to protect the environment. They should take care of the earth and take the responsibility to ensure that our countries are clean and free from pollution.
Thus, it is important to have a basic learning process of social responsibility from a young age.
Respect is considered as a synonym for politeness or manners. It basically is an attitude that is shown towards any individual’s feelings or interest. This is acknowledging another’s feelings in any kind of relationship. Respect relates to a famous phrase which is “treat others the way you want to be treated”. It is also implied by Emmanuel Kant’s, a second categorical imperative “act so that you treat humanity, whether in your own person or in that of another, always as an end and never as a means only” (Boatright, 2009). Thus, an individual should respect the different interests and opinions of others since human beings are diverse and non-
homogenous (Hyman, 1996). In addition, respect is usually viewed as desirable and positive, whereas disrespect often is viewed as negative and undesirable.
Respect has been called “the single most powerful ingredient in nourishing relationships and creating a just society” (Lawrence-Lightfoot, 2000) as cited by (Shwalb, 2006). In Malaysia, the element of respect for the elderly and hierarchy are central to the society (A. Abdullah, 1992). This is consistent with what is practiced as small and young children are taught to obey and listen to their elders and authority figures. Those who do not respect other people, especially the elderly, are considered rude. This element is also important in the business environment, that an individual should not reduce the level of respect of other employees by not acknowledging recognition when it is warranted. An individual should also not refuse the input of other employees or display rude behavior or immoral behavior toward others (Stanwick & Stanwick, 2009)
In the review of social responsibility, it reflects the broad social and cultural norm which results in personal commitment to another individual. For instance, a variety of rules reflecting cooperation, respect for others and positive form of group participation govern social interaction in the classroom (Wentzel, 1991). This element of respectfulness is important as it has direct relation with most business environment, community, marketplace and workplace in social responsibility. When, a person disrespects or lacks to deserve respect it is considered to be similar to that of bullying. Under some circumstances, a bully may gain respect among peers by harming others or gain self-respect because of his or her dominant status (Baumeister, Smart, & Boden, 1996). Thus, school children need to listen, negotiate, compromise and cooperate with each other. These actions demonstrate respect and it is an indicator of the values the children hold. It is also related to the social theory which compares a person’s behavior with the norm. A previous study by (Ali, Salleh, & Sabdin, 2010b), claimed that a favorable finding may also be the positive outcome of the various moral subjects taught at secondary schools and their continued emphasis at tertiary level. Thus, school children would have inculcated this value from their upbringing and childhood since every culture recognizes respect as a virtue.
When they learn this element, they will be aware and practice the social responsibility in their daily life. Besides that, respectfulness affects the community. The element of respectfulness should be planted and taught from childhood. This is because when the child has learned and practiced respectfulness, he or she will respect the elders and the community. He will show respectfulness by speaking politely to the elders, not use vulgar words and bow his head as a show of respect to their elders. In addition, in business operations and productions, a key priority for corporate social responsibility is to develop, manage and maintain strong and mutually beneficial relationship with the community. The communities play an important role in which they have the power to voice out their complaints or satisfaction with the service or product of the corporation. Thus, when a community practices the elements of respectfulness, they will express their dissatisfaction in a respectful manner. Besides that, respectfulness is also related to the workplace. To create a person with high integrity and responsibility, the element of respectfulness must be planted and practiced from childhood. This is important because what a person learns from childhood will be mirrored when he or she becomes an adult. An example of respectfulness is when the manager shows respect to both skilled and semi-skilled workers and gives them knowledge about social responsibility awareness and practices. He will also create or design programmes, monitor requirements such as recruitment, retention, training and remuneration in order to create a good working relationship with the employees. Thus, it will increase the respectfulness element in social
responsibility in the workers and they will practice this element throughout their life.
Respectfulness also affects the marketplace. Since childhood, children have learned and practiced respectfulness which is important to them when they start working. In business for example, these children who have now grown into adults will respect each other and strive to take advantage of market opportunities, manage risks and create innovation in their products and services. This will help improve the business and increase profitability. It is in the face of marketplace polls that attest to the increasing influence of CSR on consumers’ purchase behavior (Sen & Bhattacharya, 2001). In the same way, this will also help develop suppliers and other vendors which is another way of contributing to the business (Bidin, 2008).
Cleanliness
An Islamic text, stated that cleanliness is a part of faith (al-nadhofah min al-iman) and cleanliness is half of the faith (at-thohurusyathru al-iman) (Maptuh, 2013). This is a symbolic association between physical and moral purity to consider. It is possible that visual cleanliness can also influence morality. Indeed, moral transgressions can engender literal feelings of dirtiness (Liljenquist, Zhong, & D.Galinsky, 2010). In addition to regulating physical cleanliness, clean smells might also motivate virtuous behavior. Some studies have found that clean scents could transcend the domain of physical cleanliness and promote virtuous behavior. In social responsibility, cleanliness is an important element to be learned.
The element of cleanliness has a relation to the environment in which the environment is a part and framework in social responsibility. By having a better knowledge regarding the cleanliness of the environment, the students concerned will be able to assess the situation in the environment, whether the environment is supportive or not. The assessment itself may be determined by the knowledge of students about the cleanliness of the environment. And with that knowledge, the students once again are able to further assess whether the circumstances surrounding the environment is clean or not (Maptuh, 2013).
On the basis of this, if students have enough knowledge about the cleanliness of the environment, they are expected to bear good conduct in maintaining the cleanliness of the environment in question (Maptuh, 2013). A study conducted by Aning Efendi (2000), showed that there is a positive relationship between knowledge of hygiene and environmental hygiene attitudes and, the participation of traders in a clean environment. In addition, findings from a study done by S. Husen Yahya (2001), proved that the higher the education learning outcomes on population and environment, the better the attitude towards the environment, the better the subject's behavior in environmental management. Results of the two studies revealed that the results once again portrayed a bright insight about the positive and cohesive relationship between knowledge and attitudes of a material to a material, the behavior associated with the material in question. Thus, knowledge on environmental hygiene and awareness regarding the cleanliness of the current environment are expected to be inculcated in the curriculum which will bring a positive relationship with the behavior of the school children.
In school, poorly maintained facilities are still abounding. This is especially true with inadequate provision of dustbins and toilet facilities are not balanced by the number of school children and citizens of the school. It can be stated that the positive behavior of an individual can be established if the person concerned has a better knowledge about the cleanliness of the environment. In some observations, character according to Lickona (1992) consists of operative values, values in action. These characters of school children are in progress, as a value becomes a virtue, a reliable inner disposition to respond to situations in a morally good way. Cleanliness is one of the moral value element which important for an individual to
practice. This element also influences the behavior and attitude of the individual within the social system. This is because the element of cleanliness will influence morality (Maptuh, 2013). Students who have knowledge will practice cleanliness on a daily routine. In CSR, the element of cleanliness would affect CSR activities. The environment, for example, is an important part of our lives. To make sure that this earth is live able for the future generations, the environment has to be properly taken care of. Cleanliness is one aspect of taking care of the environment. Children have to practice cleanliness by not throwing rubbish everywhere and dressing up tidily and clean to school. This practice is important to them in order for them to take care of the environment and protect it from damage and creating unhealthy surroundings. However, sometimes people keep their environment very dirty and this can affect their health. Thus, in common practice, an environment which is unhealthy should be avoided and it is the responsibility of all communities to ensure that the environment is kept clean. Besides that, cleanliness is also related to the community.
The community which has knowledge and experience about cleanliness will implement programmes such as sanitation campaign, seminars on cleanliness, and clean-up projects to increase community participation, involvement and sensitivity about the importance of cleanliness. This will keep our natural areas and surroundings clean which will benefit the next generation. In addition, the element of cleanliness is important in the workplace. A child, who is aware and practices cleanliness from young, will also practice cleanliness within the working environment when he grows up but more importantly, he will ensure that the material used in the workplace will not harm the environment. This will translate to safeness at the workplace, safe and environmentally friendly products and no pollution. This is because in the manufacture of products, the waste material released in the process will affect the environment. Some of the businesses or industries use environmentally friendly products, practice non-hazardous waste management, do not use ozone-depleting chemicals, no animal testing, control pollution, and recycle their products in order to take care of the environment and society. This is practiced by companies in the oil and gas industry and mining industry.
Cleanliness has a relationship with education in social responsibility and hence, it is vital that education in social responsibility be emphasized in schools.
Thriftiness
Thrift is a noble gesture and should be fully practiced by the community and society in our country. This moral value is important to be practiced as it avoids us from wasting our resources. Nowadays, the rise in the prices of goods requires the community to have savings, practice thriftiness in their spending and instill this value not only within themselves but also within their families. In social responsibility, the marketplace has a relation with thriftiness.
This is because when a child has been learning about the importance of the element of thriftiness in their daily life, thus when they grow up, they will act accordingly in the corporation by maintaining and sustaining the product of the company.
In moral values, the element of thriftiness or moderation also contributes in increasing the level of social responsibility practices among school children. This is because when they apply and practice this element in their daily life, they will appreciate the things that they already have. Thriftiness is directly related to sustainability. The child has been taught to practice the element of thriftiness in order to keep the environment healthy and clean.
Recycling old products such as metals, plastics, and glass, for example, avoids wastage and promotes sustainability. When they donate or recycle goods, it will avoid air and water pollution, as well as greenhouse gas emissions that are caused by manufacturing virgin materials. Besides that, communities also play an important role in order to be aware and
practice the thriftiness element. The community can combine with other parties to have campaigns and seminars to educate the public about the importance of thriftiness in daily life.
Besides that, in the workplace, workers can practice thriftiness by using the resources and materials properly. They should make sure that the resources are fully utilized and not wasted. Also, they will be punctual and use their time productively. Thus, this element should be taught to children so that when they become leaders they will have credibility, integrity, responsibly and accountability. Besides this, thriftiness is also important in the manufacture of products. The company will produce products that are more in demand and ensure that the product has quality that meets the consumers’ needs. Therefore, it is important to emphasize the element of thriftiness in children.
Besides that, it is good if the parents instill positive behavior in their children by teaching them the importance and benefit of saving and other manners of thriftiness. In school, this element is fully implemented in the school curriculum. It is because the learning process helps children to become knowledgeable, responsible, and helpful which is the central element of social and emotional development and schooling. Children should be educated at home to save money. It is important to have discretionary spending as it is reasonably practical and prevents any form of wastage and, society should buy according to what they need, not according to their desires.
Reason for the Weakening Social Responsibility
Social responsibility is an important aspect that needs to be emphasized. A country will have the capability to develop human capital and create individuals who are highly motivated when the people have strong social responsibility elements. The reasons for the weakening level of social responsibility are due to weaknesses in the social environmental factor, social education factor and family education factor.
The first is the social environmental factor. In the social environment factor the main aspects include diversification of society, side effects of the market economy, influence of western individual departmentalism and the misleading modern mass media (Zhang, 2012).
Diversification of society makes every organization and everyone pay attention to the realization of their self-interests (Zhang, 2012). This is because individuals who only think of themselves will take the opportunity to benefit themselves. Besides that, a market economy, which encourages individual interests and highlights the differences among individual interests, easily makes people form the concepts of individual departmentalism, egoism and money worship (Zhang, 2012).
Second, is the social education factor. This refers to the education in which social lives exert influence on the development of personal mind and body (Zhang, 2012). To all countries, the education factor will become the main reason to develop social responsibility because of different social systems and cultures. For example, Malaysia has multiethnic and multireligion people. The education system in Malaysia is different when compared to other countries.
Third, is the family education factor. This refers to the education parents give to their children in family life (Zhang, 2012). It is the foundation for school education and social education and supplements school education (Zhang, 2012). It is important for parents themselves to teach, plant and instill their children with moral values and elements of social responsibility so that their children respect and practice positive behavior in life.
Therefore, all of the above factors exert adverse influence in forming social responsibility in college and school students and to some extent, make these students can’t differentiate right from wrong, confuse them about the acknowledgement of social responsibility and choice of right behaviors (Zhang, 2012). It is important that the government and private bodies take positive actions to determine and evaluate the weaknesses in social responsibility in order create better citizens in the future.
Education as the Core Method to Strengthen Student’s Social Responsibility
There are several methods to instill students with social responsibility. Firstly, improve the education system. The social function of education is to help people to be useful in society, which means helping them to cultivate their personality close to social character and accord their desire with the role (Zhang, 2012). Thus, education in school will help them to understand and focus on values that are ideal in achieving their goals and they will be able to distinguish when a good or bad thing happens to society. Secondly is strengthening moral education to make students be aware of ethics in responsibility (Zhang, 2012). When moral values are instilled in students through education, it gives them a sign that social responsibility is an important element to society.
On the other hand, developing students with good character will help them avoid world catastrophes or idolizing material wealth but it will improve their conception of happiness and life values, build their respect and reverence to science, truth, democracy, ethics and law, and inspire their life beliefs and dreams (Zhang, 2012). Thirdly is improving social practices to reinforce students’ social responsibility. This can only happen when students are able to understand and distinguish between what is true and what is false, what is positive and what is negative in their daily life. The teaching of moral values in schools will produce students with good social practices and moral values, who respect the masses in thoughts, who are close to the public in heart and who obey people in activities (Zhang, 2012). Moreover, the self-understanding of responsibility, closer relationships with interest groups, improved self- involved consciousness and team spirit will foster a collective spirit and awareness of responsibility and duty and this will improve the student’s social responsibility (Zhang, 2012).
The social problem within society, marketplaces, environmental issues are widely debated across the world, including Malaysia. This has resulted from the growing awareness that it is important to live in harmony with people who practice good ethics and are concerned about the environment. Several efforts that have been made by many parties especially the government, to enhance integrity, responsibility, and accountability within the society by increasing their level of awareness and practices in social responsibility. It is only through education that society’s level of awareness and practices in social responsibility can be increased. Hence, the elements of good social responsibility should be included in the curriculums of schools so that these elements can be taught and instilled in school children.
Hence, the role of curriculum in education is important where it can help to upgrade the level of awareness of school children in social responsibility. In addition, this emphasis in the school curriculum will be advantageous to the society in creating people with good ethics and moral values.
Accordingly, social theory and several other theories provide evidence and support which facilitates this study in examining the link between moral values in the school curriculum and awareness in social responsibility. The mechanism related to the moral values such as respectfulness, cleanliness and thriftiness were examined in order to show the association
between these variables. The framework was established in order to examine the interaction between these two set of variables. The following chapter will discuss the research methodology used to investigate the existence, or emphasis between moral values and the awareness in social responsibility.
3. Conclusion
Generally, this study provides an understanding in the extent that element of moral values such as respectfulness; cleanliness and thriftiness among school children will influence the level of social responsibility practices toward the environment, society, marketplace and workplace. In accounting, the Social Responsibility is one aspect to be focus on. A person, who grow up and be a leader, must have the element of social responsibility such as respectfulness, cleanliness and thriftiness to encourage them in directive and protect environment and society.
Thus, a person must have a basic of those elements since child in order to build good character which they can practices the social responsibility elements in daily life. Through education, a person will be knowledgeable, understand the moral values and will become more aware and sensitive to what happens in this country and their society especially the increasing number of social problems, pollution, unemployment, and environmental imbalance. The school children will realize that such problem including depletion of natural resources and global warming nowadays will indirectly affect them.
References
Abdullah, A. (1992). The Influence of Ethnic Values on Managerial Practices in Malaysia.
Malaysian Management Review, 27(1), 3-18.
Abdullah, A. (1996). Going Glocal:Cultural Dimensions in Malaysian Management, Kuala Lumpur. Malaysian Institute of Management.
Adler, M. (1982). The paideia proposal: An educational manifesto. New York: Macmillan.
Ahmad, N. N. N., Sulaiman, M., & Siswantoro, D. (2003). Corporate Social Responsibility Disclosure in Malaysia: An Analysis of Annual Reports of KLSE Listed Companies.
IIUM Journal of Economics and Management 11(1), 1-21.
Ajzen, I. (1988). Attitudes, Personality and Behaviour.
Ali, K. K., Salleh, R., & Sabdin, M. (2010a). A Study on the Level of Ethics at a Malaysian Private Higher Learning Institution: Comparison between Foundation and Undergraduate Technical-based Students. International Journal of Basic & Applied Sciences, 10(5).
Ali, K. K., Salleh, R., & Sabdin, M. (2010b). A Study on the Level of Ethics at a Malaysian Private Higher Learning Institution: Comparison between Foundation and Undergraduate Technical-based Students. International Journal of Basic & Applied Sciences, 10(5), 35-49.
Allport, G. W. (1954). The historical background of modern social psychology (Vol. 1):
Cambridge, MA: Addison-Wesley
Amaeshi, K. M., & Adi, A. B. C. (2006). Reconstructing the corporate social responsibility construct in Utlish. Business Ethics: An European Review.
Ames, C. A. (1992). Classrooms: Goals, structures, and student motivation. Journal of Educational Psychology, 84(3), 261-271.
Angrosino, M. V., & dePerez, K. A. M. (2000). Rethinking observation: From method to context.: CA: Sage.
Baumeister, R., Smart, L., & Boden, J. (1996). Relation of Threatened Egotism to Violence and Aggression: The Dark Side of High Self-Esteem. Psychological Review,, 5-33.
Bernard, H. R. (1994). Research methods in anthropology: qualitative and quantitative approaches (Second Edition ed.): Walnut Creek, CA: AltaMira Press.
Berry, J., Trimble, J., & Olmedo, E. (1986). Assessment of Acculturation. Field Methods in Cross-Cultural Research, 291-324.
Bichta, C. (2003). Corporate Social Responsibility A Role in Government Policy and Regulation. 1-100.
Bidin, A. (2008). Corporate Social Responsibility:Trends And Developments In Malaysia.
Jurnal Undang-Undang Dan Masyarakat, 12, 175-189.
Bieler, J. (1990). Jewish Education for Jewish Commitment.
Boatright, J. R. (2009). Ethics and the Conduct of Business New Jersey: Prentice Hall.
Busteed, M. (2009). Guide for Improving Student Attitudes toward Recycling 1-22.
Colby, H., & Chapman, G. B. (2013). Savings, subgoals, and reference points. Judgment and Decision Making, 8(1), 16-24.
Cramer, D., & Howwit, D. (2004).
Davis, M. (2003). What’s wrong with character education. American Journal of Education, 110(1), 32-57.
DeWalt, K. M., & DeWalt, B. R. (2002). Participant observation: a guide for fieldworkers.
Doyle, W. (1986). Classroom organization and management. 392-431.
Dreeben, R., & Jackson, P. W. (1968). On what is learned in school and Life in classrooms.
Duo, G. P. (2007). Parents' Attitude Toward Kindergarden Assessment and Selection in Taiwan: A study using Goverment-Identified Quality Factor.
Education Act 1996, Act 550 C.F.R. (2006)
Erdogan, M., & Usak, M. (2009). Curricular and Extra- Curricular activities to develop the environmental awareness of young students: A case from Turkey. Journal Of Education, 11(1), 73-86.
Field, A. (2009). Discovering Statistics Using SPSS London: Sage Publications Ltd.
Filizoz, B., & Fisne, M. (2011). Corporate Social Responsibility: A Study of Striking Corporate Social Responsibility Practices in Sport Management. Procedia Social and Behavioral Sciences, 24 1405-1417.
Ford, N. (2010). Why CSR matters more and more in Africa. New African, 80-87.
Garriga, E., & Mele, D. (2004). Corporate Social Responsibility Theories: Mapping the Territory. Journal of Business Ethics, 53, 51-71.
Geertz, C. (1973). The interpretation of cultures: Selected essays. New York.
Giacalone, R. A. (2008). Taking a Red Pill to Disempower Unethical Students: Creating Ethical Sentinels in Business Schools. Academy of Management Learning & Education, 6(7), 534-542.
Godfrey, P. C., & Hatch, N. W. (2007). Researching corporate social responsibility: an agenda for the 21st century. Journal of Business Ethics, 70(1), 87-98.
Godsey, M. (2007). Ethics Education: Let the Adventure Begin. Journal of Business Ethics Education 4, 55-78.
Good, T. E., & Brophy, J. (1986). School effects. In M. Wittrock (Ed.), Handbook of research on teaching, 570-602.
Hansen, D. T. (2002). The moral environment in an inner-city boys’ high school. Teaching and Teacher Education 18 (2002) 183–204, 18, 183-204.
Harrington, A. (2005). Modern Social Theory. 1-13.
Harris, A. L., Lang, M., Yates, D., & Kruck, S. E. (2008). Incorporating Ethics and Social Responsibility in IS Education. Journal of Information Systems Education, 22(3), 183- 189.
Harun, R., Hock, L. K., & Othman, F. (2011). Environmental Knowledge and Attitude among Students in Sabah. World Applied Sciences Journal, 14, 83-87.
Hassan, A., Jamaludin, N. S., Sulaiman, T., & Baki, R. (2010). Western and Eastern Educational Philosophies. Faculty of Educational Studies, 1-9.
Hintze, J. M., Volpe, R. J., & S.Shapiro, E. (2000). Best Practices in the Systematic Direct Observation of Student Behavior. Best Practices in School Psychology 4, 993-1006.
Hyman, D. N., (1996). (1996). Economics. United States of America.
Ismail, M. (2009). Corporate Social Responsibility and Its Role in Community Development:
An International Perspective. Journal of International Social Research, 2(9), 1-199.
Jamali, D., & Mirshak, R. (2007). Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR): Theory and Practice in a Developing Country Context. Journal of Business Ethics, 72, 243-262.
Kandari, K. M. A. (2004). Islamic School: Challenges and Potentials in the 21st century A Case study of Al-Amal, A Private Bilingual School in Kuwait. 1-166.
Kohn, A. (1996). The Trouble with Character Education (pp. 151-162).
Kordi, A., & Baharudin, R. (2010). Parenting Attitude and Style and Its Effect on Children’s School Achievements. International Journal of Psychological Studies, 2(2).
Krippendorff, K. (1980). Content Analysis: An Introduction to Its Methodology. Newbury Park: CA: Sage.
Krumboltz, J, Ford, M., Nichols, C, . . . K. (1987). The goals of education.
Lau, C. L. L. (2010). A Step Forward: Ethics Education Matters! Journal of Business Ethics, 92, 565-584.
Levin, J., & Fox, J. A. (2002). Elementary Statistics in Social Research United States of America.
Liljenquist, K., Zhong, C.-B., & D.Galinsky, A. (2010). The Smell of Virtue: Clean Scents Promote Reciprocity and Charity. Psychological Science, 21(3), 381-383.
Malakolunthua, S. (2010). Culturally responsive leadership for multicultural education: The case of “Vision School” in Malaysia. Procedia Social and Behavioral Sciences, 9, 1162- 1169.
Maptuh, M. A. (2013). The Relationship Between Knowledge About Cleanliness Environment Students With Behavior In Cleanliness Maintenance Environment (Studies In Environment Pondok Pesantrens In District Cikoneng Ciamis Regency, Indonesia).
International Journal of Scientific & Technology Research 2(2), 228-230.
Marshall, C., & Rossman, G. B. (1989). Designing qualitative research. Newbury Park: CA:
Sage.
Mehta, & Rao, S. (2011). The Culture Of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) In The Academic Framework: Some Literary Implications. Contemporary Issues in Rducation Research, 4(10), 1-6.
Nakpodia, E. D. (2010). Culture and curriculum development in Nigerian schools. African Journal of History and Culture, 2(1), 001-009.
Nazni Noordin, Zaherawati Zakaria, Mohd Zool Hilmie Mohamed Sawal, Hussin, Z. H., &
Ngah, K. (2012). Future Leaders’ Perception on Baby Dumping Issues In Malaysia.
International Conference on Economics Marketing and Management, 28, 1-5.
Nelis, S. M., Clare, L., Martyr, A., Markova, I., Roth, I., Woods, R. T., . . . Morris, R. G.
(2011). Awareness of social and emotional functioning in people with early-stage dementia and implications for carers. Aging & Mental Health, 15(8), 961-969.
Noordin, N., Zakaria, Z., Sawal, M. Z. H. M., Hussin, Z. H., Ngah, K., & Nordin, J. (2012).
The Voice of Youngsters on Baby Dumping Issues in Malaysia. International Journal of Trade, Economics and Finance, 3(1), 1-7.
P.Patil, M. N. (2012). Role Of Education In Social Change. International Educational E- Journal, 1(2), 205-210.
P.S., B., & A.B.Vrioni. (2001). Corporate social responsibility and cause of cause-related marketing: an overview. International Journal of Advertising, 20, 207-222.
Palmer, J. A. (1998). Environmental education in the 21st century.
Piirto, J. (2005). I Live in My Own Bubble: The Values of Talented Adolescents. The journal of Secondary Gifted Education, 16(2), 106-118.
Ryan, R. M., Connell, J. P., & Deci, E. L. (1985). A motivational analysis of self- determination and self-regulation in education. Research on motivation in education, 2, 13-51.
Safran, S. P., & Safran, J. S. (1985). Classroom context and teachers' perceptions of problem behaviors. Journal of Educational Psychology, 77, 20-28.
Saleh, M., Zulkifli, N., & Muhamad, R. (2010). Corporate Social Responsibility Disclosure and Its Relation on Institutional Ownership Evidence from Public Listed Companies in Malaysia. Managerial Auditing Journal, 25(6), 591-613.
Schmuck, R. (1997). Practical action research for change.
Sekaran, U., & Bougie, R. (2009). Reseach Methods for Business: A Skill Building Approach: A John Wiley and Sons Ltd Publication.
Shwalb, D. W. S. B. J. (2006). Respect and Disrespect: Cultural and Developmental Origins New Directions for Child and Adolescent Development: John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Sivan, E. (1986). Motivation in social constructivist theory. Educational Psychologist, 21, 209-233.
Soman, D., & Zhao, M. (2011). The fewer the better: Number of goals and savings behavior.
Journal of Marketing Research, 48, 944-957.
Stanwick, P. A., & Stanwick, S. D. (2009). Understanding Business Ethics. New Jersey:
Pearson International Edition.
Superintendent Haris Daud, C. I. D. (2012). Aggresive Behaviour: Bullying will turn a child into a bad adult, New Straits Times
Sylva, K. (1994). School Influences on Children's Development. Journal Child Psychology and Psychiatry 35(1), 135-170.
Tamuri, A. H. (2007). Islamic Education teachers’ perceptions of the teaching of akhlaq in Malaysian secondary schools. Journal of Moral Education, 36(3), 371-386.
Taylor, C. (1992). The Politics of Recognition in Multiculturalism: Examining the Politics of Recognition. 25-73.
Wan-Jan, W. S. (2006). Defining corporate social responsibility. Journal of Public Affairs, 6, 176-184.
Wentzel, K. R. (1991). Social Competence at School: Relation Between Social Responsibility and Academic Achievement Review of Educational Research, 61(1), 1-24.
Wiles, J., & Bondy, J. (1979). Curriculum Development: A Guide to Practice. London: Aben
& Howell with Spenia Needs. Warri:COEWA Publishers.
Xitao, F., & Michael, C. (2001). Parental Involvement and Students’ Academic Achievement: A Meta-Analysis. Educational Psychology Review, 13(1), 1-22.
Yahaya, A., Ramli, J., Hashim, S., Ibrahim, M. A., Rahman, R. R. R. A., & Yahaya, N.
(2009). Discipline Problems among Secondary School Students in Johor Bahru, Malaysia. European Journal of Social Sciences, 11(4), 1-17.
Zain, M. M. (1999). Corporate social reporting in Malaysia: The current state of the art and future prospect
Zain, M. M. (2004) ‘The Driving Forces Behind Malaysian Corporate Social Reporting’, The National Accounting Research Journal, Vol 2, No. 1/ 2004. Pp. 89-111.
Zhang, X. (2012). Analysis on the Reason of Chinese College Students’ Weakening Social Responsibility and Cultivation from Sociological Perspective. Asian Social Science, 8(6).
Zulu, I. M. (2006). Critical Indigenous African Education and Knowledge. The Journal of Pan African Studies, 1(3).
