ASPECTS OF SINGLE-CHILD EDUCATION AND SOCIALIZATION IN CONTEMPORARY FAMILIES

Abstract

The work addresses issues related to single-child education and socialization in the contemporary family from a theoretical and a practical perspective.

The research purpose is to design a global synthetic profile of the educational climate in the single-child family, and to demonstrate that the intellectual and the socio-economic level, together with the parents’ attitude can influence the education and socialization of the only child. Throughout the descriptive-constatative research, several methods of data collection and interpretation and research tools have been used: the questionnaire, the social survey carried out at the child’s home, the constatative experiment, the psycho-social observation and statistical analysis.

The sample comprises 46 parents and 46 only children that are primary school attenders, aged between 7 and 11. The analysis of the data obtained in the research confirms the general and the specific hypotheses regarding the differences between the attitude of single-child and multiple-child families toward education and socialization.

The main problem within the educational climate of the single-child family is that of the balance between authority and responsibility, affection and discipline, guidance and independence.