"Don't Just Tell Me the Answer": Ethnicity, Gender and Parents' Science Scaffolding

• Published in: Journal of Latinos and education Vol. 21; no. 1; pp. 24 - 38
• Main Authors: Short-Meyerson, Katherine, Sandrin, Susannah, Meyerson, Peter, White, Lindsey
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Philadelphia Routledge 01.01.2022; Taylor & Francis Ltd
• Subjects: Barriers; Comparative Analysis; Content Analysis; Cultural Context; elementary; Elementary School Students; English (Second Language); Enrichment; Ethnicity; family; Gender Bias; Grade 4; Hands on Science; Hispanic Americans; Hispanic culture; Hispanic students; Informal Education; informal/popular education; Latino/a children and families; Outreach Programs; Parent Child Relationship; Parent Influence; Parent participation; Problem Solving; Qualitative research; Science Activities; Science education; Science Interests; Scientific Attitudes; Second Language Learning; Socioeconomic Status; Spanish
• ISSN: 1534-8431; 1532-771X
• DOI: 10.1080/15348431.2019.1612397

This study examines interactions of fourth graders and their parents during informal science activities to understand the parental influence on children's science interests, attitudes, and participation. Sixteen Latino/a parent-child dyads and 16 Non-Latino/a parent-child dyads, matched on socioeconomic status (SES), participated in this qualitative study. Content analysis elucidated themes including parental intrusive support, aiming for deeper understanding, questioning by parents and children, language challenges, parent and child affect, and parent-dominated, child-dominated, or collaborative problem solving. Potential differences in cultural context and gender biases are explored and approaches to parental outreach and enrichment are discussed.