Developing Value-Orientations in Family Therapy Trainees: A Three-Year Investigation

Family therapy has advanced as an important therapeutic approach in Europe and, in Germany, future family therapists enter a three-year-training programme every year. Family therapist trainees (FTTs) have hardly been studied in terms of their value-orientations (VOs) and how they see the world. This study aims at researching the value-orientation developments in FTTs during the three-year training period and based on the Schwartz value model. A longitudinal study was carried out over a three-year period. The sample consisted of 65 FTTs. VOs were investigated using open questions in self-developed questionnaires. The findings show that FTTs focus mainly on VOs in the Schwartz value domain of "benevolence", followed by "self-direction" and "universalism". This shows that the well-being of others is in the centre of interest in FTTs. However, VOs which indicate a freedom to make decisions and be self-directed are also extremely important. The least-mentioned value domains include "power" and "stimulation", showing that FTTs are neither focused on status, wealth or richness, nor on excitement or a varied life. With regard to the Schwartz value dimensions, the dimension of "self-transcendence" was the most frequently mentioned, followed by "conservation", "openness to change" and "self-enhancement". Self-transcendence includes the value domains of benevolence and universalism and shows that the preservation and enhancement of welfare of other individuals are highly important, as well as VOs such as understanding, appreciation, tolerance and protection of human beings and the environment. So-called collectivist VOs seem to be more important to German FTTs than individualistic VOs: they focus on the needs of the social group and their VOs show that the systemic view is inherent in their social VOs. Findings further show that FTTs develop their professional identity while consciously strengthening their VOs. This study contradicts previous research which claims that FTs are, to a large extent, unconscious in respect of their VOs. The study shows that FTTs are aware of their VOs and this supports them in facilitating client-centred approaches and develop themselves as FT professionals. Recommendations for future research and practice are provided.

i found that, along the dimension "conservation" versus "openness to change", health care professionals working in maternity wards (MW-HCPs) ascribe higher importance to the values of "conformity" and "security", whereas health care professionals working in palliative care (PC-HCPs), ascribed higher importance to the values of "self-direction" and "stimulation". This difference was also observed on a dimensional level, with PC-HCPs preferring values in the value-dimension "openness to change" and MW-HCPs preferring values in the value dimension of "conservation". No differences amongst the samples were found in the "self" dimension. Furthermore, Fegg et al. (2014) indicate that, in comparing personal values, several differences emerged: PC-HCPs scored significantly higher in "openness to change" (comprising self-direction: e.g., freedom, creativity, being independent, being curious; stimulation: e.g., living an exciting and/or diversified life, being adventurous), whereas MW-HCPs scored significantly higher in "conservation" values (comprising conformity: e.g., courtesy, self-discipline, being respectful, being dutiful; security: e.g., social order, national security, feeling secure in family, being proper).
In Fegg et al. (2014), firstly, health care professionals report creativity and self-direction in their private and professional activities; secondly, they are excited, curious, and adventurous toward life -indicating a high level of experience values; thirdly, their focus on spirituality points out attitudinal values toward their life and professional work. Since the pioneering work done in the 1980s, the Schwartz value model has been studied, developed and researched worldwide and has become one of the most important VO models, particularly in educational and management contexts (Fromm, 2016;Louw, Mayer, & Baxter, 2012;Mayer, 2001;Schwartz & Bardi, 2001).
However, it has hardly been used in therapeutic studies or to study FTTs development.

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Developing Value-Orientations in Family Therapist Trainees Family therapy (FT) is based on the belief that the family is a unique social system with its own structure and patterns of communication and VOs have been well-researched in family members (Albert, Ferring, & Michels, 2013;Iruonagbe, Chiazor, & Foluke, 2013;Mert & Iskender, 2015). Each family develops its own unique personality, which is powerful and affects all of its members. According to Kluckhohn and Strodtbeck (1961), individuals' value orientations influence their behaviour, conception and use of time; their relationships with their environment and with nature; and their interpersonal relationships. By focusing on the family's value orientation, FTTs gain insight into the family's view of the nature of the world and its problems, family member's feelings about their problems, and the direction the family adopts to resolve problems (Ho, Rasheed, & Rasheed, 2004).
However, the experience of differences in VOs in helping professions, as in FT, can lead to conflicts (Barsky, 2014), since values (Hecker, Trepper, Wetchler, & Fontaine, 1995) and value dilemmas can influence the therapy (Sanders, 2013).
Past research has shown that values in families and FT play a central role in terms of how the therapy develops and how the family might change through family therapy (Trotzer, 1981). Further, research has emphasised that client and therapist values influence the outcome of the therapy and that the client's responsiveness to the therapists' values influences symptoms, such as depression (Hamblin, Beutler, Scogin, & Corbishley, 1993). However, an increase in interest related to VO in therapies has occurred in recent years, particularly with regard to the central role of VOs in professional identity development (Brody & Doukas, 2014;Drolet & Désormeaux-Moreau, 2016;Iacobucci, Dal, Lindell, & Griffin, 2013) and the role that values play for the family therapist (Melito, 2003). Additionally, VOs influence the reasoning in therapy and in professional practice, in general (Fulford, Dickenson, & Murray, 2002;Seedhouse, 2005). VOs have been researched in psychotherapy and other forms of therapeutic and counselling interventions and contexts (Thomas, 1994;Vachon & Agresti, 1992). If health care professionals cannot work according to their values, they might develop burnout and problems in therapy (Beagan & Ells, 2009). Furthermore, strong value clashes and conflicts between therapist and client might even lead to strong ethical dilemmas and moral distress (Kälvemark, Haeıglund, Hansson, Westerholm, & Arnetz, 2004). Fife and Whiting (2007) (Jambrak, Deane, & Williams, 2014;Schwartz & Bardi, 2001

Method Participants and Procedure
This study adopts a qualitative research design by using a longitudinal case study approach within the contemporary hermeneutical tradition (Bleicher, 2017;Dilthey, 2002). Since the research uses a context-specific standpoint (Patton, 2002), it requires an in-depth understanding of the current approach. The context of this research is a selected FTT centre in Germany and which is also a nationally accredited centre for FT training.
The study uses a longitudinal design to capture the development of VOs in FTTs throughout the three-year SFT course.
The sample was composed of FTTs registered for a three-year SFT course, at a private family therapy institution in Germany. The FTTs hold university degrees in Psychology, Social Work, Education or Social Sciences and are employed in related professions as, for example, psychologists, social workers, educators and consultants. Participants attend five to six course modules per year (the duration of each module is three to five days).
Participants also meet in small peer-groups, between the facilitated modules, for supervision purposes and these meetings include exercises, reflection, discussions and interpersonal group coaching. Qualification criteria for participation are an A-level/Matric, a university degree and five years of professional/work experience in a relevant field of psychology, social work or education. Participation was not obligatory. All participants were enrolled for the three-year training course and, therefore, the entire population was targeted. All the FTTs com- Swiss and one Croatian. Altogether, 12 participants were male, whilst 53 were female. The age range of the participants lay between 27 and 59 years. In year one, 33 were married, 23 single, 2 were living in partnerships, 5 were divorced, 2 were separated and 1 was widowed. One person spoke Croatian as a mother tongue, 5 were bilingual (3 German and Russian, 1 German and Persian, 1 German -Swiss German) and 59 participants spoke German as a mother tongue. Altogether, 35 participants were Protestant, 20 participants were Catholic, 1 was Lutheran, 1 was Greek-Orthodox, and 8 did not comment on religious affiliation. All the participants work in occupations within the social contexts (child care, social work, social education, counselling, family support/ therapy/counselling/welfare or teaching).

Instruments
At the commencement of each training year, participants were invited to complete two questionnaires.
1. The first questionnaire included closed-ended and open-ended questions of (1) a biographical and (2) a demographical nature in order to establish biographical and demographical insight. (The questions sought details of, for example, age, sex, professional background, mother tongue and occupation.)

2.
The second questionnaire explored VOs. This questionnaire was developed on the basis of sound literature research and SFT, FTTs and VO. The questionnaire included questions, such as: "Please describe what VOs are important to you."; "What VO contribute to your health as a professional FTT?"; and "What are your personal interests and aims within the professional context?" The participants completed the questionnaires on three separate occasions. The researchers used the same questionnaires throughout study in order to gain insight into the development of VO and, for example, changes in profession, family status and so on.

Data Gathering and Data Analysis
Questionnaires were administered verbally, either by one of the researchers (during the first two years) or by the course facilitators (third year). A paper and pencil approach was applied. Data was analysed using the fivestep process of content analysis (Terre Blanche, Durrheim, & Kelly, 2006, pp. 322-326): familiarisation and immersion -the researchers familiarised themselves with the gathered data, whilst integrating course observations; inducing themes -general themes in the data were defined; coding -categories and codes were inductively developed by identifying similarities and differences in the data; elaboration -categories and codes were further elaborated to enable understanding and reconstruction of the data; and interpretation and checking to ensure data quality -data were reconstructed and interpreted and set in a more complex context.
Frequencies with regard to codes and categories were analysed and statement frequency was interpreted according to the level of importance; for instance, the more often mentioned, the more important; the less often mentioned, the less important (as in Mayer, 2011). Frequencies were captured in tables and are presented in the findings section. Codes and categories emerged from the collected data and were compared (Chan, Walker-Gleaves, & Walker-Gleaves, 2015) with the SVM. Findings were interpreted in-depth, utilising the SVM. The data analysis used inductive and deductive processes and is therefore described as abductive (Mayer, 2011). Findings were validated through constant reflection and discussion amongst the researchers throughout the study period (Yin, 2009, p. 45).
Quality criteria, based on Lincoln and Guba's (1985) concept of trustworthiness, were taken into account. Further, the researchers aimed at establishing the quality of this research through performing systematic searches for and appraisals of research evidence (Richter Sundberg, Garvare, & Nyström, 2017). Similar criteria, such as confirmability, credibility, transferability and dependability were used to establish rigour and support trustworthiness (Shenton, 2004).

Ethical Considerations
Ethical considerations include respect afforded to, and rights of, the interviewee, creation of informed consent, confidentiality, anonymity and transparency (Powell, Fitzgerald, Taylor, & Graham, 2012). Informed consent Value-Orientations in Family Therapy Trainees 650 was provided by the participants and the SFT institution. Ethical clearance was provided by the European University Viadrina in Frankfurt (Oder), Germany, and by the SFT institution.

Results
The following presentation of findings shows the VOs that were indicated in the questionnaires by the FTTs over a period of three years and in total. These VOs were then analysed and interpreted within the frame of the SVM. The tables in each section provide an overview of Vos, coded and clustered according to the SVM.

Value-Orientations in Family Therapist Trainees Over Three Years
The most frequently mentioned value domain is "Benevolence", with 192 statements in the data set. "Benevolence" refers to the preservation and enhancement of the welfare of people with whom one is in frequent personal contact. FTTs work mainly with people and one major aim of FT is usually to preserve and/or enhance other people's welfare. Therefore, the high frequency of statements regarding "Benevolence" is not surprising.
The values mentioned most frequently in this value domain are "honesty" (63 statements), "reliability" (35 statements), "friendship" (28 statements), "trust" (24 statements) and "sincerity" (11 statements). FTTs highlight honesty through, for example, this statement: "It is important for me to be honest when I work with my clients" (honesty). In terms of reliability, FTTs emphasise, for example: "I am a very reliable person and I like to work with people and help them." Another participant said: "In order to support people's well-being, you have to build trust in the relationship" (trust) and, "Sincerity is one of my most important values and it is also connected to honesty" (sincerity/honesty). The FTTs refer to the domain of "Benevolence", particularly with regard to the clients and in the development of the relationship between themselves as therapists and their clients. Secondly, the value domain, "Self-direction", is referred to frequently in the data (see Table 3). The FTTs referred to a number of different values within that domain. Most mentioned was the value "freedom", with 16 statements, followed by "openness" (15 statements), "mindfulness" (11 statements) and "authenticity" (10 state- The increase in statements regarding the value of freedom might be due to the fact that FTTs have, by this point, come to understand the interrelationships within their families, their dependencies and their individual ways of individualisation and freedom from restrictions and dependencies. This development relates to the values, such as "self-respect", "prosperity", "compassion" and "optimism", which are frequently mentioned in year 3 (not before). One FTT explains, for example: The high frequency of values in the domain "self-direction" shows the importance to FTTs of independent thought and action-choosing, creating and exploring, matters that are also important for the therapy practice. In some instances, the importance of being aware of the direction of the self is connected to a professional therapeutic practice and for FTTs to be clear about who they are and what they believe in order to become professional therapists. One participant mentions: "For growth I need to know what is important to me and I need to free myself from preoccupied thoughts and stereotypes." Value-Orientations in Family Therapy Trainees 652 The third most-mentioned domain is "Universalism", with 74 statements (see Table 4). "Universalism" relates to the understanding and appreciation of, as well as tolerance and protection for, the welfare of all people and for nature. As FTTs, participants need to relate to these universal values, particularly since they aim at understanding, appreciating and tolerating others. The values most frequently mentioned were "love" (33 statements), "tolerance" and "justice" (14 statements each), "acceptance" (4 statements), "equality" and "transparency" (3 statements each), "cohesion" (2 statements) and "humanity" (1 statement). Several participants emphasised statements such as, "Love is very important to me." Among the statements made by participants were: "Love is the basis to work with people. And only if I love, I can be tolerant." "When I have this deep love, then I can relate more easily to people." "Tolerance! However, this is not always easy!" "Love", as an overall approach to life and work, and within the work of FTTs, is the most important value, followed by "tolerance" and "justice", which are often integrated requirements in the profession of FT, where therapists work with individuals and families. FTs need to balance their own ideas and values when working with family systems with whom they might not share similar values and/or lifestyles. The value domain, "Tradition", was important for FTTs, particularly with regard to the values of "respect" (23 statements), "acknowledgement" (15 statements) and "faith" (14 statements) (see Table 5). "Respect" and "acknowledgement" are basic values with regard to ethical considerations when working in the FT contexts and were shown to be core values for FTTs. One participant explained: "I want to respect myself and others. That is not always easy, but I am learning." It is interesting that faith is the only value which increases in frequency within the three-year training period.
This might show that FTTs experience an increase in faith in terms of spirituality and, particularly, meaningfulness. All the other values mentioned decrease in frequency of being stated. Values such as "gratefulness", "hope", "commitment", "humbleness" and "ethics" are mentioned, but not very often.
One participant stated: "I need to believe in myself to be a good therapist. It is about believing and having faith ... in myself and in what I do ... and in the process."

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It can, however, be recognised that "humbleness" and "ethics", in particular, are mentioned only from year 2 onwards, for instance, "I want to behave in an ethical manner" or "To become humble is important to me ... humbleness ... and to be grateful".

This might relate to the increase of faith (including meaningfulness): FTTs experienced an increase in ethical
values and humbleness towards their own processes and their life. The value domain of "Conformity" (41 statements) closely follows the number of statements in respect of the value domain of "Tradition" (see Table 6). Here, the most important value refers to the "family" (25 statements).
The family is referred to as an important value (e.g. "Family is very important to me."), in terms of honouring family members and in terms of not violating any social expectations or norms relating to the family. Other values which fall into this value domain are "punctuality", "loyalty" and "harmony" (4 statements each). Finally, in 2 statements, "belonging" is mentioned, as are "discipline" and "politeness", with 1 statement each. The data show that the family is particularly important with regard to the value domain of "conformity". This is not surprising, particularly because FTTs are very aware of family issues and are sensitive regarding family relationships.
This connection is, for example, expressed in statements, such as: "Family. I think you must value people in the family and I just like to be with my family and do something with my family."

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The value domain of "Hedonism" is one that is not mentioned frequently in the data set (see Table 7). Examples of values referred to in the context of "Hedonism" are "happiness" (10 statements), "contentedness" (9 statements) statements, and "joy of life" (4 statements), "humour" (3 statements) and "fulfilled life" (1 statement).
This shows that, within the domain "Hedonism", mainly "happiness" and "contentedness" are important for FTTs  The domain "Security" is one of the domains not frequently mentioned by FTTs (see Table 8). "Security", if mentioned at all, is related mainly to health and the feeling of security due to being healthy and feeling healthy (9 statements):

"I think the environment needs to be safe and secure. Then you can feel healthy and connected and peaceful and this is a good basis."
Seven statements refer to security in terms of "peace", "peacefulness" and "calmness". Six statements refer to "safety" and only three statements highlight the importance of "continuity", mainly referring to the experiences of continuous learning and continuing positive experiences for example in a family or during the socialisation and enculturation processes.
"I feel secure when I have got long-term relationships, stable and enduring relationships which are good for me." With 25 statements altogether, "security" is one of the least mentioned value domains in this sample, probably due to the fact that it can be assumed that the participants belonged to the middle or higher class in society. All participants held a university degree and most of the participants were German-speaking German citizens and, like a majority of Germans, had been born and raised in middle or upper-class contexts within Germany. It might be assumed that security is important to them, but it is not mentioned more frequently, due to the fact that it is seen as "a given" and, therefore, hardly mentioned in this research as an important value domain. It is also interesting that only female FTTs refer to the value domain of "security". The value domain, "Achievement", was mentioned only in the context of seven statements and it is highlighted that this was particularly in years 1 and 2 (see Table 9). This means that, only in year 1 and 2, is "work" emphasised as an important value in 4 statements, whilst "professionalism" is highlighted in one statement each in the first two years and "effectiveness" as an important work value is mentioned once in year 2. This shows that the value domain, "Achievement", is less important as a value domain for FTTs and that the meaning of the profession seems not to be related to the value of "achievement" but seems rather to be related to other value sets, as mentioned above. Exemplary values, such as "success", "capability" and "ambition", as mentioned by Schwartz (1994), are not reported at all in the data, which shows that this sample does not relate to these values supporting the domain of "Achievement". The two value domains mentioned least frequently by FTTs are "stimulation" and "power" (see Table 10). One person, in year 2, emphasised "excitement" as an important value, stating:

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"I like it when I become excited and when I can start something new with excitement and learn." Only one person in year 2 mentioned "wealth" as an important value in the value domain of "power". Interestingly, the value domains, "stimulation" and "power" were highlighted by male participants. No female participant referred to the categories "stimulation" and "power". Value-Orientations in Family Therapy Trainees 656 The findings show that, with regard to the four value dimensions mentioned in Schwartz (1994, p. 24-25), FTTs mainly referred to value domains within the value-dimension of "self-transcendence" (266 statements), followed by the value domains within the value-dimension of "conservation" (109 statements), "openness to change" (86 statements) and, finally, the value domains within the value dimension of "self-enhancement" (35 statements) (see Table 11). This shows that caring for the well-being of others and acceptance of others as equals are highly important for FTTs, which is probably an advantage when working in therapeutic or social professions, as FTTs do. Further on, the second highest value domain of "self-direction" might also help FTTs to find their own, independent way of working with their clients in the value dimension of "openness to change". The second most frequently mentioned value dimension of "conservation" shows that values such as family, along with the applying of self-restrictions in order to fit in with the social norms and security/stability are highly important for FTTs, something that is probably reflected in the fact that they work primarily with families, the traditional core unit of the nation state. For FTTs, self-enhancement and their careers, their power and achievement are at least frequently mentioned and therefore interpreted as being of less importance. This fact, however, also includes the potential danger that FTTs might forget about themselves and their own, personal well-being whilst working with clients, by focusing on the well-being of the clients only.

Discussion
This study stands in the tradition of value research within the psychological discipline (Jambrak, Deane, & Williams, 2014;Rokeach, 1973;Schwartz, 1994), focusing on educational and training contexts (Boness, 2002;Patel, 2016) and responding to the aim of describing the development of VOs in FTTs. The study also supports the idea that VOs are dynamic, change over time and vary in importance (Gouveia, Vione, Milfont, & Fischer, 2015;Schwartz, 1994). According to Kluckhohn and Strodtbeck (1961), values comprise needs of individuals Mayer & Oosthuizen 657 as biological organisms; requisites of coordinated, social and interpersonal interaction; and security of functions concerning the well-being and the survival of groups. This study shows that the focus of FTTs, in terms of values, is based in the form of requisites of coordinated, social and interpersonal interactions.
Findings in this study show the frequency of VOs (Schwartz, 1994;Schwartz & Bilsky, 1987) -from most mentioned to least mentioned -to be: "Benevolence", followed by "Self-direction", "Universalism", "Tradition", "Conformity", "Hedonism", "Security", "Achievement", …"Stimulation" and "Power" (that is, power to regulate social interactions and behaviours) and all viewed from the perspective of FTTs. The value-dimensions (Schwartz, 1994;Schwartz & Bilsky, 1987) most frequently mentioned in this study, such as: "self-transcendence", "conservation, "openness to change" and "self-enhancement" show that, in terms of differentiation (Oishi et al., 1998), collectivist values ("self-transcendence", "conservation") seem to be more frequently mentioned and therefore more important for FTTs than individualistic values ("openness to change" and "self-enhancement"). This assumes that the value dimensions concerned are viewed as overall categories of value domains and values.) The focus on the social realm, the system, as the family, seems to be more important than the focus on the individual. The systemic perspective is therefore inherent in the value domains and dimensions mentioned.
The study does not provide information on the dialectics and contradictions of VO, as highlighted in previous research such as that of Hiratsuka, Suzuki, and Pusina (2016), or conflictual outcomes of differences in valuesets as described previously (Barsky, 2014;Berkel, 2005;Janssen & Van Berkel, 2015). Rather, it provides a descriptive, harmonic and integrated view on values over the three-year period. FTTs seem to be quite conscious and aware of their values and do not highlight their contradictions and dialectics, but rather present a harmonic and integrated value concept.
The VO described by FTTs in the study seem to fit positively with the development of the professional identity (Brody & Doukas, 2014;Drolet & Désormeaux-Moreau, 2016;Iacobucci, Dal, Lindell, & Griffin, 2013;Levy, Shlomo, & Itzhaky, 2014) of the FTT, taking the therapist-client relationship and treatment outcomes into account (Huang & Zane, 2016) and reflecting the strong motivation of FTTs to develop within their new field of training and expertise, contributing to general mental health and well-being (Jambrak, Deane, & Williams, 2014).
This study does not support the findings by Fegg et al. (2014) in terms of preferences in VO of HCPs, since FTTs score highest in "self-transcendence", whilst HCPs prefer "conservation" and "openness to change".
Moreover, this study does not provide any information on how the FTT values and value contradictions or conflicts influence the client and the client's system or symptoms, as described previously (Barsky, 2014;Hecker, Trepper, Wetchler, & Fontaine, 1995;Sanders, 2013).
Since, to date, hardly any studies could be found which examine the values of FTTs within a longitudinal and developmental research setting, either internationally or in Germany, only a few similar previous studies were available with which to compare the data. In comparison to occupational therapists (Drolet & Désormeaux-Moreau, 2016, p. 273), the findings this study presents for FTTs show that Vos have to be understood, particularly in terms of the FTTs' interest and in order to facilitate client-centred approaches ("Benevolence", "Universalism", "Tradition", "Conformity") as well as to foster inter-professional collaboration ("Achievement"). Reducing the ethical distress experienced by many HCPs and improving both an ethical professional practice and a cultural awareness (as mentioned by Drolet and Désormeaux-Moreau, 2016 for HCP) are not mentioned by Value-Orientations in Family Therapy Trainees 658 FTTs in terms of their VOs. Finally, it can be concluded that the FTTs studied in this research are well aware of their values as opposed to being unaware to the large extent emphasised by Fife and Whiting (2007) in their research on FTTs.

Limitations of This Study
The brevity of the discussion of findings within the context of existing literature shows that the findings should be viewed and interpreted against certain limitations of the study. The first limitation relates to the limited and explorative nature of the research as the researchers had access to only three sets of data over a period of three years. Secondly, the study is limited to a relatively small sample size. Thirdly, the study is limited with regard to the demographic and biographic composition of the sample, a clear cultural and religious bias (most of the participants are female, German and Christian). The study should therefore be replicated in different contexts and cultures and compared with the VO of FTTs in different countries. Fourthly, only a limited number of questions were asked in the questionnaire and no interviews could be conducted to explore the responses in more depth. Therefore, the depth of the statements is limited and could not be explored more deeply. Finally, the study's findings could be discussed only in the context of a limited literature review in terms of the specific context and setting of the study. This study is, therefore, clearly of an explorative nature.

Conclusions and Recommendations
This study aimed at exploring and understanding the development of VOs in FTTs over a three-year training course period. They show that FTTs focus mainly on VOs in the value domain of "benevolence", followed by "self-direction" and "universalism" and are therefore anchored in collectivist values rather than in individual ones. The least mentioned value domains include "power" and "stimulation". With regard to the Schwartz value dimensions, the dimension of "self-transcendence" is most frequently mentioned, followed by "conservation", "openness to change" and "self-enhancement". This shows that FTTs' VOs relate strongly to caring for the wellbeing of others, independent thought, action and acceptance of others as equals, and are therefore particularly socially directed.
Over the three-year period, minor value shifts were observed, specifically an increase in value statements such as "freedom" (self-direction) -which might relate to an increased understanding of personal family dependencies across the training period, and an increase in the value frequencies of "justice" (universalism), as well as "faith" (in terms of spirituality/meaningfulness), in the value domain of "tradition". All other VOs showed a decrease in the frequency of statements over the three-year period. With regard to future research, further investigations are needed and these should explore VOs and their change in FTTs in different institutions across a three-year training period. Studies should use mixed methods to explore the VOs, based on quantitative and qualitative methodological approaches, with this being achieved by using questionnaires as well as in-depth interviews. Follow-up studies with the FTTs should be conducted after they have worked as FTs, while VOs should be compared between FTTs and FTs, who have been in practice for a certain amount of time.
On a practical note, the development of VOs in FTTs should become a conscious process during the three-year training period. Trainers and FTTs need to increase their awareness regarding their VOs and the changes they experience with regard to their personal and professional development in terms of VOs. VOs could be consciously developed through self-reflections in the context of personality development and professionalism and the connection between the VO, the shift in the VO and the behavioural patterns of FTTs should be explored to Mayer & Oosthuizen 659 understand how VOs (shifts) influence and are influenced by behavioural patterns. VOs could be explored during the training through self-reflection, discussions in small groups, exercises, and the learning unit regarding the development of ethical behaviour in FT. Trainers in FT institutes also need to develop their awareness regarding the development of VOs and make it a conscious part within FT training, which influences and informs behaviour patterns which are established in FTTs during the three-year training course.

Notes
i) Fegg et al. (2014) used the Schwartz Value Survey questionnaire to explore the values of their samples. In this research, however, the study aims to explore the VO of FTTs through a qualitative, open-question questionnaire. The researchers here did not use the quantitative Schwarz Value Survey questionnaire due to the fact that qualitative data collection was intended.

Funding
The authors have no funding to report.