Fundamental Pedagogy Jana Doležalová

Family characteristics 
According to V.Tamášová (2006), family is characterised as follows: 

It is a socially approved form of cohabitation; 

It consists of persons (parents and children) who have a blood relation, 
marital relation and/or adoptive relation; 

Family members live under the same roof in the same household; they 
mutually collaborate within the recognised distribution of tasks with the 
education of and provision for children being the most important tasks.
V. Tamášová also emphasises that family constitutes a social system of persons 
who pass their identity over to this system. This group is characterised by its 
interconnection, mutual relations established through partnerships/matrimony 
and kinship/parenthood and children (Tamášová, 2006).
According to Z. Matějček (1986), family is unique for its common past, common 
future and strong emotional ties established through mutual interactions and 
satisfaction of the basic human needs. 
Z. Matějček (1986) points to the importance of satisfying spiritual needs such 
as the need to be loved and accepted, the need for safety, the adult model, 
free expression without restraint and fear, the need for encouragement, praise 
and reward for self-confidence, a kind word, life optimism, belief in people and 
happy future, the need for general development. 

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71 
Family has irreplaceable significance for the child’s emotional development; it 
cannot be replaced by any other institution in this respect. Family is also the 
primary source of the quality of life of children. 
Family functions  
Family is responsible for child care but it also has other missions or tasks to 
fulfil. These are described as family functions. 
Pedagogical sources commonly define the following family functions: 

biological and reproductive function: to secure family continuation and 
enlargement; renewal of strengths; 

emotional function: to secure emotional needs and ties between and 
among family members for the child’s healthy development (in particular 
mental development); 

educational function (socialising, developing and cultivating) 
o 
socialising function: to prepare the child for life in the human 
society, for the child's integration in social relations and for finding 
one’s own place within society; 
o 
developing function: to develop all components of the child’s 
personality; 
o 
cultivating function: to refine and improve the child’s personality 
and nurture the child’s relations to other people, to nature and 
one’s self; 

caring and protective function: to care for the child with respect to the 
child’s mental development, health and hygiene; to protect the child 
from negative phenomena and people; to protect the child’s physical, 
mental and social health; to satisfy the child’s needs; to provide 
unconditional support against all troubles;
o 
domestication function: It is based on the caring and protecting 
function in childhood. It means to create the feeling of home, 
personality anchoring in life and the place one belongs to where 
one feels good and safe; 

economic function: to provide for the material conditions for life from the 
economic perspective; 

regenerative function: to provide for regeneration of strengths and 
relaxation of family members. 
Family functions can also be categorised by the persons performing these 
functions, and for whom they are beneficial and important. See Scheme 6. 

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72 
V. Tamášová states the following prerequisites for successful education: 
love toward the child; peaceful and balanced environment; both parents; 
homogenous leadership in family and at school; consistency; regular regimen 
and requirements adequate to the child’s abilities. However, not each family is 
successful in adhering to these prerequisites.
Each family has its habits, traditions, value orientation and the family climate. 
The family climate is an important factor since it has a decisive influence on the 
psyche, mental development and moral qualities of each family member 
(Fulková, Oberuč, 2004 In Tamášová, 2006).
We can see differences between families also with respect to other aspects 
from which family typology is derived, depending on: 

the number of generations; 

the share and involvement of parents in education; 

the adequacy of influence or complexity of influence; 

functionality. 
(Freely according to J. Malach, 2007) 
The basic types of family education will be characterised in detail in the 
following subchapter.