Department of psychology, faculty of education, Institute for Humanities and Cultural Studies.
Abstract
Iranian society and family have undergone many changes during the last half century. Now there is this basic question that behind these changes, what are the values of Iranian parents for their children? This study was done using descriptive phenomenology method. The sample group consisted of 22 mothers with 3- and 4-year-old children living in Tehran. A semi-structured interview was used to collect data. Results showed politely, independence, legality in daily life, individual care, expression Self-expression and cooperation are most parental values among middle class Iranian mothers. The findings of this study can be seen as the product of the a) some characteristics of preschool children such as insufficient development of self control, b) some cultural traditions of Iranian society such as tendency to be honorable, c) some demographic characteristics of the sample groups such as their gender and level of education, and d) some social changes in recent years such as child-centered. An important key is that these finding are not interpreted as weakening the traditional values in the contemporary Iranian family, but it mean the continuation of the same values but as new format.
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