Problem of children’s value orientation “The value of a person is not in what he has done for himself, but for others.” (Albert Einstein)

Value

Value can be understood as an inner force that guides our behavior. Every person is unique, has different values and a different value orientation. These values develop and change throughout life. In childhood, children do not understand values to a large extent and are not aware of their meaning. Yet they can still understand responsibility for their marks or their behavior, as one of the values they do understand themselves. The most difficult period in terms of values is adolescence. In this period, major physical changes occur, as well as transformations in the individual’s psychological sphere—mood swings, feelings, and also values.

Among the most important values in a person’s life are health, family, love, friends, and happiness. In modern times, however, many people consider money the most important. To have lots of money means to be successful and influential. It gives a feeling of freedom and apparent happiness. Some people think that with money they can buy everything they need. The truth is that money makes some things easier for us, but it should certainly not be at the top of our value hierarchy. It is a fact that money moves the world, but we should not let money move us. It is much more important to have people by our side whom we care about and who can and are willing to help when we need them. Every person should have their dreams and ideals and should not give them up. We should fulfill our dreams, but as we all know, this is not always easy. With proper ordering of life values, a person can focus on fulfilling their dreams. Just as health is of great importance to someone who is ill, freedom has extraordinary importance for someone imprisoned. The values hierarchy and their order are different for each of us. Values are an essential part of life and a strong source of motivation and meaning.

With the concept of value, we encounter it relatively often in professional literature from various scientific disciplines, but also in practical life. The concept appears most often in works from philosophy, sociology, economics, pedagogy, and of course psychology. Because of their nature and character, values are therefore an interdisciplinary category, as they are a central focus of many scientific disciplines. Each value contains three components: thinking, feeling, and volition (the cognitive, affective, and volitional component).

There were times when the values hierarchy was strictly fixed and its significance had to be followed. But today we can determine the order of values ourselves and act accordingly. On the other hand, in contemporary times, the media have too much influence on value orientation, models, and direction of individuals, youth, and families.

E. Spranger presents the idea of supra-individual value awareness, which includes six basic values reflecting different forms of people’s experience and behavior. The importance of each of these values depends on the individual’s degree of prioritization. On this basis, he defined six value orientations, or life forms:

  1. Theoretical - strong emphasis on searching for truth through an empirical, critical, and rational approach;
  2. Practical - emphasizes practical values that are usable in real life, resembling the enduring stereotype of the average American businessman;
  3. Aesthetic - in the highest place of the value hierarchy are form and harmony, and the enjoyment of every original experience;
  4. Social - love for other people, later revised to include only altruism and philanthropy;
  5. Religious - or mystical, related to the unity of all experiences and the effort to understand the cosmos as a whole;
  6. Power - concerned with personal power, influence, and fame, originally called political, but not necessarily limited to the field of politics (Šútovec, J. a kol., 1994).

Every person has something of these six value orientations. However, one of them may be more pronounced than the others. Theoretical life orientation manifests itself in a person’s search for truth and knowledge; the person will read a lot, study, and be interested in facts. Practical life orientation will emphasize real life, experiences, and living each day to the fullest. Aesthetic life orientation will be shown in a sense for beauty and harmony; the person will enjoy art. Religious life orientation will be directed toward religion. And power-oriented life orientation will focus on power, influence, and fame.

Division of values

D. Dobrovolská and J. Duplinský (1981) present a basic division of values into positive, negative, and neutral values. The main criterion for this division is the emotions that values evoke in people. Positive values are, of course, those that evoke positive emotions; negative values evoke negative emotions. Neutral values are those that do not evoke either positive or negative emotions, so they have neither positive nor negative value.

For each individual, something else may be valuable. This depends on the conditions in which they grew up, how their parents raised them, what was important to them, and what they considered to be right. People are influenced by many factors, especially the family in which they grow up, peers with whom they spend time, media, and school. Values acquired in the family accompany us throughout life. We also carry those into our own families.

Specificity of values

The specificity of values lies in the fact that an individual must understand a value, must experience it, must gain personal experience with it, then evaluate it on that basis, and finally take it as one’s own—that is, internalize it.

We all, as a whole, make up society. Every society has its norms, rules, and values, which are passed from one generation to another. Since each generation develops under different social conditions and is guided by different norms and values, it is natural that generations differ from each other. I remember that when I was a child, I ran around outside all day, we played in the street and made up games; everyone on the street knew everyone else. Today, children prefer computers, tablets, and the internet. They favor imaginary friends over real ones. Yes, one must admit that the street is no longer as safe as it used to be, but the internet is not entirely free of traps either. It is necessary to explain to children in an appropriate way the dangers they face, without causing them excessive fear. Knowing what children do, how they spend their free time, guiding them toward the right values, and maintaining an open relationship with them is the basis of a successful society. Values should be instilled in children from early childhood. A person’s values are influenced throughout life. Yet it is interesting how values change over time. The most important value for every person was and always will be the family.

Some children may not have proper time spent on them. The most common mistake that can occur in family upbringing is related to the lack of time that parents devote to their children. Parents try to compensate for this lack with material gifts. And when they begin to show interest in their child, it may already be too late. They do not know the right way to communicate; they do not know whom their child meets, what their opinions are, or their wishes and ideas. Parents then do not know how to respond, how to behave, and become unduly strict and shout. However, they do not realize that their own authority and the lack of freedom children feel in the family caused the child to create their own world. Therefore, it is extremely important that parents spend enough time with their children, and often talk, especially about important matters, so they can get closer to their world and give children space for their own self-expression. This supports the child’s own thinking and healthy personality development.

We hear increasingly more about negatives that influence a child’s values, but also the child itself. We are referring to socio-pathological phenomena that are appearing more and more often among children, especially in school. It is therefore important to speak openly about these issues, discuss the options if something like this occurs, and especially how children should handle it. Teachers have at their disposal framework educational programs for educational and upbringing work that can help students when they face negative values.

I see the negative impact in how much the mass media and rising crime affect children. A change in lifestyle, slowing down life, and viewing the individual as a unique person could help. Guiding children toward a proper use of free time through sport, clubs, preference for nature, and time outdoors rather than in front of television or the internet. Teaching children responsibility for their behavior and for their school performance.

Conclusion

Direct contact with other people is extremely important for everyone. Rare are the moments when a person can spend time with their family, friends, and loved ones. These are moments of a unique opportunity for mutual getting-to-know-you and for reflecting on the correctness of our value orientation. In the end, humanity’s values have not changed all that much. Values from the past, such as health, family, love, and happiness, remain equally important to us in today’s 21st century as well. It is up to us whether we can appreciate and be aware of them, follow them, and correctly determine their importance.

Author: Mgr. Dominika Hošová List of bibliographic references

DOBROVOLSKÁ, D., DUPLINSKÝ, J. Hodnotová orientace vysokoškoláka z hlediska současné koncepce hodnot. Praha: Státní pedagogické nakladatelství v Praze, 1981. 145s. ISBN 14-351-82. KOŠČ, M. 2009. Základy psychológie. Bratislava : SPN, 2009. 118s. ISBN 978-80-10-01677-8. ŠÚTOVEC, J. a kol. 1994. Psychológia a pedagogika. Martin : Osveta, 1994. 369s.