ISSN: 0976-3759

Volume X

Issue 07

ISSN: 0976-3759

Journal of SCHOOL SOCIAL WORK December 2013

Journal of SCHOOL SOCIAL WORK December 2013

ISSN: 0976-3759

Volume X

Issue 07

ISSN: 0976-3759

Journal of School Social Work Price Rs 20.00

A National School Social Work monthly dedicated to networking of parents and teachers.

Volume X Issue 7

December 2013
C ont e nt s

Page

Editorial Dr Laxmi 02 Parenting Styles Retold Deepti Redhu and Asmita 03 Social Work Perspective of Parenting Style Sasikala S and Dr Florance Shalini J 07 Social Work Intervention forAcademic Excellence John Packiaraj M 11 Attitude of Student-Teachers towards Teaching Profession Pachiyappan P and Dr Ushalaya Raj D 15 Parental Choice in Selecting Schools for Their Wards Dr Ramakrishnan N 21 Parenting Styles: Research Openings Dr Suman K Murthy 27

Focus: Parenting Challenges

Hony Special Editor: Dr Laxmi, MSW, Ph.D
Assistant Professor, DOS in Social Work, Pooja Bhagavath Memorial Mahajana P.G. Centre, Mysore, Karnataka, India Journal of School Social Work,

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Journal of SCHOOL SOCIAL WORK December 2013

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Journal of SCHOOL SOCIAL WORK December 2013

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26 Journal of SCHOOL SOCIAL WORK December 2013

26

Journal of SCHOOL SOCIAL WORK December 2013

ISSN: 0976-3759

Volume X Editorial Parenting: A Pleasant Challenge Parents play an important role in to respond to each negative the development of children. experience as though it were the end Parenting is a very big challenge in of the world. Managing such children modern times, but, a pleasant one and making them emotionally strong anytime. Every child is unique and individuals is an uphill task. Positive different. So, parenting approaches enforcement from the parents is very should also be unique. Parents face much required for the children and several challenges like economic, parents have to spend a lot of time social, psychological, academic and with their children. Examination is not health, of their own and concerning only for the children, it is also for the their wards. parents. The economic need of the present Health is an important component day children is quite high and they are of child development. Provision of demanding. Most of the parents find nutritious food is crucial to improve the it very difficult to say no to their health of the children. Making the children. Many times parents are children to eat homemade and responsible for such situations nutritious food by itself is a great because they fulfill their needs before challenge for the modern parents. they ask for it. Children are very fussy about eating In the social front, joint families are which can lead to malnourishment dwindling in number and nuclear and health problems. families are growing resulting in less The forces of modernization have opportunity for children to interact with a significant impact on shaping the others and to understand the rational development of children. importance of relationships. This Education of girls is very much deficit leads to adjustment problems. essential for the sustainable Majority of the parents come across development of the society. Though with childrens adjustment problems modern parents are very keen to after they enrol them to schools. provide education for their girl children Now-a-days children are very sensitive they are very much worried about their and such children can be highly security. Every day is a challenge for achieving. But, they are also the parents of girl child. Despite all exhausting for some parents. odds, modern parents do make their Emotionally sensitive children seem children healthy citizens of the society. 02 Journal of SCHOOL SOCIAL WORK December 2013

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Parenting Styles: Research Openings

Suman K Murthy* *Dr Suman K Murthy, Associate Professor, Dept. of Social Work, Pooja Bhagavat Memorial Mahajana Post Graduate Centre, KRS Road, Metagalli, Mysore 570016

Introduction: The nurturing environment at home, brings out the hidden talents of the child to bloom into a positive personality. On the other hand, negative atmosphere, lack of encouragement, deprivations and criticisms can form obstacles to the development of the childs potentials. Parenting styles refer to a group of behaviours exhibited by the parents in the upbringing of their children. Researchers distinguish between parenting patterns and parenting styles. Parenting pattern Vs. style: Parenting patterns, according to researchers, is the specific behaviours exhibited by the parents while they socialize with their children. The parenting style is referred to the emotional climate, parental responsiveness and demands. There is a vast body of literature and research on impact of parenting styles in the development of the children. During the early 1960s, psychologist Diana Baumrind conducted a study on more than 100 preschool-age children (Baumrind, 1967). Using naturalistic observation,

parental interviews and other research methods, she identified three important dimensions. The fourth dimension was added later based on the following parameters: Disciplinary strategies Warmth and nurturance Communication styles Expectations of maturity and control Authoritarian parenting : In this style of parenting, children are expected to follow the strict rules established by the parents. Failure to follow such rules usually results in punishment. Authoritarian parents fail to explain the reasoning behind these rules. If asked to explain, the parent might simply reply, Because I said so. These parents have high demands, but are not responsive to their children. According to Baumrind, these parents are obedience- and status-oriented, and expect their orders to be obeyed without explanation (1991). Authoritarian parenting styles generally lead to children who are obedient and proficient, but they rank lower in happiness, social competence and self-esteem. 27

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Volume X Authoritative parenting: demanding. They are nontraditional Like authoritarian parents, those and lenient, do not require mature with an authoritative parenting style behavior, allow considerable selfestablish rules and guidelines that their regulation, and avoid confrontation children are expected to follow. (1991). Permissive parents are However, this parenting style is much generally nurturing and more democratic. Authoritative communicative with their children, parents are responsive to their children often taking on the status of a friend and willing to listen to questions. When more than that of a parent. Permissive children fail to meet the expectations, parenting often results in children who these parents are more nurturing and rank low in happiness and selfforgiving rather than punishing. regulation. These children are more Baumrind suggests that these parents likely to experience problems with monitor and impart clear standards authority and tend to perform poorly for their childrens conduct. They are in school. assertive, but not intrusive and Uninvolved parenting: restrictive. Their disciplinary methods An uninvolved parenting style is are supportive, rather than punitive. characterized by few demands, low They want their children to be responsiveness and little assertive as well as socially communication. While these parents responsible, and self-regulated as well fulfill the childs basic needs, they are as cooperative (1991). Authoritative generally detached from their childs parenting styles tend to result in life. In extreme cases, these parents children who are happy, capable and may even reject or neglect the needs successful (Maccoby, 1992). of their children. Uninvolved parenting Permissive parenting: styles rank lowest across all life Permissive parents, sometimes domains. These children tend to lack referred to as indulgent parents, have self-control, have low self-esteem and very few demands to make of their are less competent than their peers children. These parents rarely (Kendra, 2013). discipline their children because they Ideal parenting style: have relatively low expectations of Kopko (2007) in a review on the maturity and self-control. According to parenting styles and adolescents Baumrind, permissive parents are highlights that the authoritative more responsive than they are parenting style has been considered 28 Journal of SCHOOL SOCIAL WORK December 2013

Issue 07 as an ideal parenting style which balances demands with freedom as it provides a balance between affection and support and an appropriate degree of parental control in managing adolescent behaviour. The review further comments that different parenting styles are adopted in different cultures. Further in the same family, siblings may receive different parental styles which is an area not researched by the researchers. Internal factors: The parenting styles depend on various parental internal factors such as mood and lack of sleep, as well as external factors such as stress and job responsibilities. Individual child characteristics also play an important role in parenting styles. The review notes by Kopko notes that, the researchers cannot devise experiments in which one group of teens is assigned to a set of parents who will solely parent in an authoritative manner and another group of teens is assigned to parents who will solely parent in an authoritarian manner. The role of heredity: Further, nature versus nurture debate also at some points in time mutually undermines or exaggerates the role of heredity and environment

which complicates the role of parenting in the upbringing of the children. Three dimensions of parenting: Barber and Olsen (2005) have identified three dimensions of parenting that appear to characterize parental influence across multiple cultural samples, both in industrialized and non-industrialized countries. Parental support, which refers to varied behaviours with affective, nurturing or companionate qualities, is especially relevant to the older child and adolescents degree of social initiative. Psychological control refers to parents actions that attempt to change the childs thoughts or feelings, ignores or dismisses the childs views and withdraws love or affection; such parental behaviour has been associated with the development of depressive symptoms later in a childs life. Finally, behavioural control refers to parents monitoring and knowledge of childrens activities and is relevant to the extent of the childs anti-social behaviour. Studies about Indian style: The research studies have pointed out that parenting is culture-specific, family-specific as well as parentspecific. When one looks at the studies related to parenting styles of Indian subcontinent, indigenous studies on 29

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Journal of SCHOOL SOCIAL WORK December 2013

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Volume X parenting styles are not many. A and normativeness of each style. The number of studies in the context of study found that Indian college migrant Indians parenting styles at students considered the parent different countries have been seen. demonstrating permissive parenting to All such studies have always kept the be more effective and helpful than US parenting styles module presented by college students. In contrast, US Baumrind, (1967) as the baseline for college students considered the classification. The universal parents demonstrating authoritative applicability of these findings has, and authoritarian parenting to be more however, been called into question in effective, helpful, and caring than recent years. Correlations have Indian college students. consistently been found for white Tools of the trade: North American middle-class families With regard to tools for measuring and sometimes for minority ethnic the parenting styles, a number of North Americans (Steinberg et al., questionnaires have been prepared 1992) with regard to Baumrinds based on the description of parenting proposed parenting styles. However, styles given by Baumrind, such as social class, gender and ethnicity have The Parenting Styles and Dimensions all been found to produce outcomes Questionnaire (PSDQ) by Robinson, that run counter to these patterns Mandelco, Olsen and Hart, (1995). A (Phoenix and Husain, 2007). number of case vignettes have also Perception of students: been designed to find out the Barnhart et al (2013) compared parenting styles of the respondents perception of parenting styles among based on the three parental styles. college students in India and America. Indian approach to parenting: The study examined perceptions of Research openings of Indian parenting style as a function of approach to life stages and child participants culture, participants rearing are related to the Ashramas gender, and parent gender in college of Brahmacharya, Grihastha, students in India and the United Vanaprastha and Sanyasa in which States. Using a new vignette-based the individuals were supposed to fulfill self-report measure that characterizes the four purusharthas of Life namely each of Baumrinds three parenting Dharma, Artha, Kama and Moksha. styles, participants rated perceptions The childhood denoted as Balya was of effectiveness, helpfulness, caring, from birth till the fifth year of age and/ 30 Journal of SCHOOL SOCIAL WORK December 2013

Issue 07 or further till the child was initiated into Brahmacharya ashrama through the Upanayana ceremony. Fomal and vocational education: In the olden days, those who did not go to Gurukulas for formal learning/ training learnt the trade of their ancestors by apprenticing themselves with parents or relatives of the joint family household. The transmission of values, ethics and culture was through the oral tradition of narrating stories, enacting the mythological stories, folk music and other art forms. The children were considered equivalent to God due to their innocence. Hence physical punishment was not prescribed, rather they were given full freedom to explore their surroundings without any hindrance. The education of girl child was not generally in formal settings and the girls were taught essentials of running the household chores from early ages by being with the womenfolk of the family. Western influence: Due to introduction of Western education, the Indian approach to parenting styles, transmission of knowledge and the above mentioned activities by the parents and elders have undergone a change. Women are now given an opportunity to undergo formal education which was a taboo in the olden days. The

changing role of women as home maker as well as wage earner has changed a number of roles that the women undertake in parenting. Thus there is a need to focus research on the child rearing and parenting styles in the past to record the traditional parenting styles of Indian culture. Further, the current parenting styles adopted by the Indian parents needs to be addressed. With the modern education, there is a lot of change in the educational process of the children. Now the focus has been on formal education starting with pre nursery/ non formal schooling. Thus the amount of time spent by the children in the company of parents and family has lessened. In this context, the influence of parenting styles on children needs to be examined. Conclusion: The role of TV in entertainment has gradually eroded the oral transmission/ narrative styles. The impact of this change in parenting style needs to be examined. Research studies focusing on the gender-specific parenting styles, needs to be undertaken in the Indian context. The parenting styles of rural/ urban and educated/ uneducated parents needs are to be explored. Indigenous studies on emerging parenting styles in the 31 Journal of SCHOOL SOCIAL WORK December 2013

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Volume X Journal of School Social Work English Monthly ISSN: 0976-3759 Registered with Registrar of Newspapers for India under No: TNENG/2004/14389 Postal Registration: TN/ CC (S) DN / 47 / 12-14 Licensed to post under: TN/PMG (CCR) / WPP - 663 / 12-14 Date of publication: 3rd Day of the Month The field of parenting styles throws context of the above mentioned factors need to be taken up for a lot of opportunities for research understanding various parenting styles which can update the parents on the in the Indian context. Such studies can best parenting practices. It can also throw light on the best parenting styles help in training the yet to be parents which can bring out the potentials of to develop positive parenting style to provide the best for their children. children.
References: Barber B, Stolz H and Olsen J (2005): Parental Support, Psychological Control and Behavioural Control: Assessing Relevance across Time, Culture and Method, Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development, Vol. 70, No. 4. Barnhart M. Caitlin., Raval V. Vaishali., Ashwin Jansari and Raval Pratiksha H. (2013): Perceptions of Parenting Style among College Students in India and the United States. Journal of Child and Family Studies. Volume 22, Issue 5, pp 684693. Baumrind D (1967): Child-Care Practices Anteceding Three Patterns of Preschool Behavior. Genetic Psychology Monographs, 75, 43-88. Baumrind, D. (1991): Effective Parenting during the Early Adolescent Transition. In P.A. Cowan and E. M. Hetherington (Eds.), Advances in Family Research (Vol. 2). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum. Chao R and Tseng V (2002): Parenting of Asians. In M. H. Bornstein (Series Ed.), Handbook of Parenting: Vol. 4 Social Conditions and Applied Parenting (2nd ed., pp. 59-93). Mahwah, New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Kendra Cherry.(2013): Parenting Styles- The Four Styles of Parenting. http:// psychology.about.com/ od/ developmental psychology/a/parenting-style.htm cited on 18.11 2013

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Published and owned by P. Jayachandran Naidu. Published from 8, Sridevi Colony, 7th Avenue, Ashok Nagar, Chennai 600083 and printed by T. Rajaguru at TRK Press, 39, Saidapet Road, Vadapalani, Chennai 600026. Editor: P. Jayachandran Naidu. 32 Journal of SCHOOL SOCIAL WORK December 2013

Journal of SCHOOL SOCIAL WORK December 2013