1.4 Methods and Mechanisms

If educational practice points to the existence of an educational relation mainly between a child and his parents, as educators, the form it takes is considered as a way of treatment. It should be stressed here that educational practices do not rest only on one dimension of the method of dealing with a child; on the contrary, the majority of Western and Islamic studies agree on the existence of a number of dimensions that govern these methods, specifically represented by the following : control, easy communication and the necessity of the parents' maturity and affection. They emphasise the fact that there are a lot of different types and forms of pedagogical methods that cannot be enumerated because of the following considerations :

- The large number and diversity of these methods go to such an extent that it is difficult to classify and define them accurately. These studies go from concentrating on models of authoritarian, democratic and permissive practices (Baurvind, Allès-Jardel 1997) to specifying models of weakly—, firmly— or flexibly— structured practices (Lautrey 1989) to emphasising models of tolerant, disciplinary, relational and anarchic practices (Kellerhals, Montandon 1990-91) and finally to stressing modes of rejection versus acceptance, negligence versus care, deprivation versus gratification, oppression versus understanding, rigor versus leniency, discipline versus tolerance, and rigidity versus flexibility, etc. (Hassan 1979, At-Tayib 1990).

- There are disparities among these models and practices within various studies to such an extent that it is difficult to talk about them in the same way because educational practices are themselves an interactional process in which both the parents and their children have a share. The parents are more or less aware of the fact that they are adapting the methods of their intervention with regard to this child or that according to his/her sex and age.

The diversity of these practices and methods which depend on the cultural and socio-economic environments of the parents and also on the child's sex, his age and the personality of his father or mother. All these factors have an impact on the parents' conceptions that are behind their educational practices. Their expectations may vary according to their social status, for whenever it is high their educational practices tend to be liberal and when it is low they tend to be authoritarian or anarchic.

Therefore, in spite of the large number and diversity of the parents' educational practices and the disparity of their methods, we can still concentrate on three fundamental models in which are found the specimen suitable for expressing the various types and methods of parental, educational practices in the Muslim World :

1.4.1 The Model of Weak Practice

This is the model of educational practices that are not governed by any consistent conduct or fixed general rules guide the behaviours and deeds of a child. He does not, for instance, know when to go to bed. Nothing prevents him from watching television or performing an act when he likes it. He has complete freedom to do whatever he wants whenever he likes it. Actually, this model, which is considered as the less appropriate and the most harmful in terms of educating a child because it creates a disequilibrium in the development, education and adaptation of the latter, is the one which often includes the educational practices of parents coming from the lower social strata, as far as the cultural and socio-economic levels are concerned. Because of their poor material conditions and their limited or non-existent cultural competencies, these parents treat their children either with some kind of vacillation which sometimes reaches a degree of contradictory attitudes toward similar situations, or with some sort of changing moods in which the parents' psychological state plays a decisive role, or with some kind of complete neglect of the child's reality and his body, emotional and knowledge needs. A child who grows under the conditions of an educational practice which neglects him and does not pay the least attention to him on the level of emotional warmth, satisfaction of his biological needs, and educational supervision is bound to have no components of a balanced personality, capable of good adaptation, the confrontation of life's problems in all their aspects and meetings its various challenges.

1.4.2 The Model of Vigorous Practice

This model refers to a permanent conduct which is governed by fixed rules that do not change no matter what happens. Therefore, the child has to go to bed at a fixed time; he can neither watch television except when allowed by his parents, nor can he have any activities except those approved by them. This model includes the educational practices of parents belonging to social groups of a low or non-existent, economic and cultural levels. In other words, these educational practices are adopted by parents whose financial and cultural status is usually unfit for the satisfaction of the child's needs, his adaptation and development. These practices are, according to some researchers (Hassan 1970, At-Tayib 1990), usually characterised either by the authoritarianism of the parents and their domination and all that goes with them, such as deprivation, rigor, harshness, punishment; or by exaggeration in terms of care and protection and all that goes with them such as taking excessive care of the child' health and education, being alarmed of his mates' influence on him; or by arbitrariness, lack of coherence, clarity and any established frame of reference and all that goes with them, such as restricting a child's movements and freedom. Actually, the child who experiences such a model will definitely have a weak personality, mainly characterised by a feeling of inferiority, lack of confidence, fear and helplessness; hence his failure to adapt to and integrate his social environment, to acquire knowledge and confront life's problems. This leads him to anti-social behaviours that take the form of deviant reactions, such as theft, vandalism, aggression and vagrancy.

1.4.3 The Model of Flexible Practice

This model refers to those fixed conducts or general rules adopted by certain parents, but which can change according to circumstances. Thus, for instance, a child has to go to bed at a fixed hour; but if the following day is a holiday, he can stay late. He watches television whenever he wants, but he has to respect certain conditions, such as the type of programs, the time of their broadcasting and length. He can also perform any activities he likes provided that he respects certain conditions. What all this amounts to is that the rules are not rigid; on the contrary, they are modelled according to circumstances and events. If this practice combines the characteristics of both the rigorous and weak models, it is the most suitable for appropriate education and is found with parents coming from wealthy and privileged social groups. This model includes the educational practices of parents belonging to high socio-economic and cultural strata or the middle ones at most, because "these social groups can satisfy all the needs of their children, who have in most cases ample chance to have a better upbringing and education" (At-Tayib 1990, p.21).

Indeed, this model of flexible practice has the necessary conditions for appropriate parental, educational practices which provide a regulated satisfaction of a child's needs and consist according to the majority of researchers (Bandura 1973, Lautrey 1989, Kafani 1989, Abdelfettah 1992, At-Tayib 1990), in the following : flexibility, freedom, acceptance, tolerance, justice, dialogue, commitment, rationalism, supervision and parental warmth. A child who grows up within the context of this flexible educational practice is usually distinguished by the characteristics of a balanced personality mainly displayed in self-confidence, a high self-esteem, assuming responsibility, a sense of security, competence in knowledge acquisition and communication, capacity to solve problems and the confrontation of various situations in life.

It is on the basis of these definitions which are intended to point out the main models of educational practices that shape a child's education in Muslim societies that we should stress the three following conclusions (At-Tayib 1990, pp. 24-30) :

a) The findings of the majority of Western and Islamic psychological studies agree on the fact that the model of flexible, educational practices has a more positive effect than the two models of weak and rigorous practices.

b) Since the kind of model of practice the parents choose, plays a positive or negative role according to their economic and cultural levels, this implies that parents, living in an authoritarian society, will certainly resort to some kind of harshness and rigor in the treatment of their children, while parents, living in a democratic and open society, will certainly resort to some sort of leniency and tolerance.

c) If authoritarianism and harshness are characteristics of a rigid educational model while democracy and tolerance the characteristics of a flexible one, harshness and rigor are not so much inherent characteristics of lower social groups as two means used to preserve some  kind of equilibrium among family members, when life conditions are very hard. Similarly, flexibility and tolerance are among types of educational practices used  within a family, when the parents have many possibilities for choice in attempting to attain a specific objective or realise the satisfaction of some desire.