Abstract:

The possibility to influence and shape a person’s values depends on the person’s life period. Pupils of primary schools and students of secondary schools and tertiary education institutions are of the age when their values are still developing and may be changed even though to different degrees. As the result, the value changes in individual life periods significantly influence their future lives, both in personal as well as professional contexts.

The paper deals with the findings of the research focused on identifying heroes (behavioural models, role models, idols), the values they represent and their changes in the groups of pupils of primary schools and students of secondary schools and universities. The results show that in all researched groups the most represented category of heroes are family members/relatives, but in different life stages there are some interesting shifts in other categories, e.g. decreasing representation of friends as heroes and increasing number of respondents with no heroes.

The findings open several questions about the role of education systems in pupils and students’ value evolution and its importance for their future lives.

Keywords:

Role model, value profile, human development, HRM.