The research examines the attitudes to national culture and traditions, and a system of values. Analyses were conducted in 2003 (a sample of 325 students), and in 2008 (a sample of 379 students), and in 2013 (a sample of 368 students). It was assumed that (1) there are differences between three groups in acceptance of attitudes and (2) that attitudes to national culture and tradition depend on the value system. The Rokeach’s concept provides the theoretical background. The results of research allow stating that most students underline the significance of national heritages. The lowest acceptance of national heritage was observed in 2008. Moreover, attitudes depend on the value system: a positive attitude to culture and traditions of the own nation is connected with the higher preference of collective values, whereas the acceptance of cultural integration with the western countries is linked with individual values.

The main aim of this research is a diagnosis of attitudes to national culture and traditions. It has been assumed that attitudes depend on a system of values and variation on ’conservatism -openness to change’ dimension. The sample consists of 368 students. The theoretical framework is based on the concept of Schwartz and his Portrait Values Questionnaire (PVQ) has been used. The diagnosis of attitudes is made with a set of contrasting beliefs about the role of culture and national traditions (Reykowski). The results confirms one of the stated hypothesis: students who support cultural openness towards the West, better appreciate values which constitute ’openness to change’, i.e. ‘self-direction-thought’, ‘self-direction-action’, and ‘stimulation’. The second hypothesis stating that the embrace of one’s cultural heritage is linked with the acceptance of the value ‘conservatism’ is not confirmed. A statistically significant difference is ascertain according to one conservative value type, i.e. ‘humility’ and it is significant only for one attitude.

The Author has demonstrated that Samoan youth is not indifferent to cultural universals, despite attempting to co-create them in the course of a multi-cultural dialogue and globalization processes. The study was founded on research results conducted through local observations and a questionnaire distributed among students of the Faculty of Education at the National University of Samoa in Apia. The research aimed to learn about the opinions, aspirations, attitudes, and value systems of Samoan students as they represent the educated elite of the 21st-century generation. The interviewed approve of contemporary civilizational novelties, as long as those do not harm the traditional culture. The socialization process in the Samoan youth has been occurring on a borderland between upbringing, traditional family-tribal, and the modern state-citizen education in schools and social life. Family and traditional customs are still vivid despite being more open to contemporary civilization and state developments. Although cautious towards novelties that might threaten the Samoan culture, these attitudes may be assessed as a reformatory. Based on the results obtained in Samoa, it is justifiable to state that the process of cultural transformation universalization has been occurring there in many areas of reality.

The article includes research results that were taken into consideration in order to diagnose beliefs concerning values disclosed by academic teachers and the youth studying in education majors. Nowadays, value issues are oft en taken up, because in the postmodern culture the concern about axiological orientations of people is becoming quite common. The imperative of implementing the value system is strongly attributed to the professional role of the teacher and that is why this phenomenon is worth exploring. Therefore, a part of analysis is included concerning inclinations of the researched people, what they think about selected values and what is the most precious value for them.