PRINCIPLE OF PREFERENCE OF VALUES

1. Preference for permanent values – Permanent values are preferred to that of transitory values. Sensuous pleasures are transient; pleasures of association and character are relatively permanent and enduring. As compared to pleasures of association and character the values of truth, beauty, goodness and religion are more enduring.

2. Preference for productive values - Productive values are preferred to that of nonproductive values. The intrinsic values enrich the self, harmonize and help in bring peace. They take self towards elevation. While extrinsic values are exhausted in the process of being used. The more extensive and universal they (values) are, the more productive they tend to become.

3. Preference for intrinsic values - Intrinsic values are preferred to that of extrinsic values.

DEVELOPMENT OF VALUES: Values are developed in an individual throughout his lifespan. There are certain processes through which values are developed. The methods or techniques adopted for inculcating values also vary based on the needs.

Process of Developing Values

1. Socialization:

• Socialization is the process by which human infants begin to acquire the skills necessary to perform as a functioning member of their society, and is the most influential learning process one can experience.
• Through this, a child is indoctrinated into his/her culture.
• It is a lifelong process of shaping an individual.
• Agency of socialization includes family, society, school, peer group, media etc.

2. Social Control:

• Even after socialization process, there will be some deviants. For instance, two children are brought up in the same family. One of them is very honest while another has got into the habit of stealing. In such cases, the good values can be sustained through appreciation, while the negative values can be eradicated through ostricization.
• Basically, social control follows the reward and punishment mechanism. Good act is rewarded while bad act is punished so as to eliminate the chance of its repetition.

Techniques for Developing Values

1. Allegoric Method: It involves moral story telling. Biography of some great personalities, Panchatantra stories etc can help in moral building.

2. Conscientization: It involves pricking the conscience of an individual against the wrong doings. It is a process of developing a critical awareness of one’s social reality through reflection and action. We all acquire social myths which have a dominant tendency, and so learning is a critical process which depends upon uncovering real problems and actual needs.

3. Intense Identification: It is based on the concept of mentorship. A mentor acts like a friend in inculcating values, unlike a philosopher who acts as a guide.

4. Profitable Association Method: It is based on fundamentals of symbiotic relationship and joint endeavor. It inculcates values of mutual respect, tolerance, harmony, equality etc.

5. Role Playing: It involves acting out or performance of a particular role, either consciously (training) or unconsciously, in accordance with the perceived expectations of society as regards a person's behaviour in a particular context.

Role of Family in Inculcating Values

Parents or family plays a dominant role in educating a child. Mother is the first teacher and Home is the first school. The newly born baby is dependent on parents who nourish and bring it up. The elders at home teach the developing baby behavior, dress codes, customs, and aspirations and so on. The minds of children develop in the major way through the process of non-formal education at home.

The family shapes the child’s attitude towards people and society, and helps in mental growth in the child and supports his ambitions and values. Blissful and cheerful atmosphere in the family will develop the love, affection, tolerance, and generosity. A child learns his behavior by modeling what he sees around him.

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