Values education is crucial to promoting the holistic development of students. Many studies over the years have addressed the effects of values education on the holistic development of children, but today there are differing views on how to teach values in school. The objective of this study is to find out more about the programmes that have been used to teach values to children and how they have been developed and applied in schools, and to assess the extent of teachers' knowledge about these programmes. To this end, a bibliometric review was conducted on 161 programmes from 1986 to 2015, complemented by 20 interviews with teachers from different schools. This enabled us to gauge the relevance that has been given to values education over the years, and to assess the need to consider alternative educational models that will enable children to receive a holistic education.

This article describes an action research programme designed to resolve classroom problems, in preschool and primary education, related to the use of Spanish as a hegemonic language in a bilingual context in which students are from the Amazigh culture. The Alehop programme aims to motivate students to learn and the results demonstrate that this classroom innovation is possible. Moreover, the use of everyday life situations and typical problems helps and favours enquiry-based learning. Intercultural school life without violence is shown to be possible. Strategies include giving voice to the students, addressing relevant social issues, and creating an environment of trust and collaboration. An evaluation of the results validates a methodology that encourages cultural and linguistic diversity, and points to a need to respect the autonomy, freedom and human rights of students in politically and economically disadvantaged conditions. Empowerment is linked to the autonomy of students and teachers.