Integrating Values Education into Teaching: Perspective from Subject Teachers of IPDC An Empirical Study on Holistic Student Transformation and Character Building under NEP 2020

Aim/Purpose: This study explored how subject teachers of the Integrated Personality Development Course (IPDC) integrate core human values and character education into higher education practices, examining its impacts on student holistic development within contemporary educational contexts in India. It specifically focused on how instructors implement the IPDC curriculum to foster self-awareness, digital discipline, resilience, and civic virtues among undergraduate students. Introduction/Background: Values education is crucial for shaping students' ethical compasses and life skills in the modern era. Growing evidence suggests a concerning trend of moral decline, digital addiction, and academic stress among youth, highlighting the urgent need for structured holistic frameworks. While the National Education Policy (NEP 2020) mandates value-based education, traditional methods often treat values as detached theories. The IPDC framework solves this by providing a systematic, media-rich, and practical approach to personality development, though empirical studies on its classroom operationalization remain scarce. Methodology: This research employed a qualitative, descriptive phenomenological approach, focusing on the pedagogical experiences of ten seasoned IPDC instructors with a minimum of five years of higher education teaching experience. The study was conducted across various affiliated colleges of a prominent technological university in Gujarat, India. Data were gathered via semi-structured interviews and subjected to thematic analysis across three operational phases: pre-teaching (planning), during-teaching (delivery), and post-teaching (reflection). Findings: The findings revealed that in the pre-teaching phase, teachers intentionally structured value modules using relatable modern narratives, interactive workbooks, and multimedia resources. During the teaching phase, instructors connected core modules (e.g., 'Remaking Yourself', 'Facing Failures') to students' real-life challenges through cinematic case studies, open dialogues, and active mentor-mentee modeling. In the post-teaching phase, teachers observed substantial positive shifts in student behaviors, including enhanced digital discipline, resilience against failure, stronger familial bonds, and heightened civic responsibility. Contribution & Recommendations: This study offers a replicable model for higher education institutions seeking to align with NEP 2020 goals. It underscores the power of media-driven, interactive value instruction over passive lecturing, and recommends institutionalized faculty development programs (FDPs) to sustain ethical instruction.