Does attending classes help foster human values in college students?

Abstract

Attending classes develops an ability in students to understand others’ perspectives and help them to interact with their fellow peers in more adaptive ways. Teacher–student interaction and student–student interaction in a classroom facilitate students’ participation in various class activities, which in turn oblige them to regard human values. The arguments for and against mandatory attendance focus only on the academic performance of students, and not on the value gained from being in the classroom, itself. A study was conducted among 160 college students. The result showed that students attending at least 40% of their classes were most likely to endorse human values in comparison to students attending fewer classes.