Respect for oneself, for one another, for property and for the world is needed within the global context. In line with global trends, the South African government has consistently included these principles in its policy documents over the last 20 years. While media reports suggest that the behaviour of learners, specifically in secondary schools, reflect disrespect we acknowledge that media reporting can be biased. Thus, a survey was conducted in 11 secondary schools from 3 provinces. The aim of this study was to evaluate the behaviour of learners in the schools through the experiences and observations of the participants, taking into account the various contextual factors within which the South African school system functions. An international questionnaire, adapted for the South African context, was administered to a non-probability sample of 690 learners. We found that in line with media reports, the behaviour of secondary schools learners to be in dissonance with the values of global citizenship and as portrayed in the curriculum documents of South Africa. Particularly in more privileged schools, learners seem to be engaged in destructive behaviour, such as consuming alcohol on the school premises, and destroying school property. [For the complete Volume 12 proceedings, see ED597979.]