TRAMES, 2015, 19(69/64), 2, 189–202 CAN VALUES BE TAUGHT? THE MYTH OF VALUE-FREE EDUCATION Margit Sutrop University of Tartu Abstract. The vocation of a teacher entails a multitude of high expectations. In addition to skills specific to the taught subject area and didactic methods, a teacher’s professionalism includes being a values educator. It is in the power of teachers to spur students to become conscious of their values and give them skills to reflect on them. In order to urge students to reflect on and discuss their values, the teacher must first acquire the same skills. The main aim of this article is to show that values permeate every aspect of education and that value-free education is impossible. I shall first argue that in teacher education more emphasis should be placed on preparing teachers for their role as values educators. Secondly I shall show how a practical tool – the Teachers’ Values Game – based on group discussions of moral dilemmas inherent in practical examples collected from real life can help teachers to recognize what their values are, to acquire skills of moral deliberation, to learn to argue and reach consensus. Keywords: ethics, moral dilemma, values, values education, teacher education, values game, aims of education, educational goals DOI: 10.3176/tr.2015.2.06 1. Introduction Many of the choices we make in education depend on what we consider to be its goals. The British philosopher Harry Brighouse divides accounts of educational goals into four categories. According to the theory of human autonomy, the goal of education is to increase a person’s freedom, options, and right to self- determination. The theory of human capital, by contrast, takes the goal of education to be providing a guarantee for economic growth: the more educated the work force, the greater the productivity. The theory of human development considers it important to use education as a way to create the conditions for the good life and the development of personality. Finally, the theory of civic education