Maternal Teaching During Play With Four-Year-Olds: Variation by Ethnicity and Family Resources

Mothers' spontaneous teaching of their 4-year-olds was observed during block play in 230 dyads from low-income African American, Mexican, Dominican, and Chinese backgrounds. Blocks contained graphics that could be used to teach concepts in literacy, math, construction, or body/color. Coders not...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published inMerrill-Palmer Quarterly Vol. 59; no. 3; pp. 361 - 398
Main Authors Tamis-LeMonda, Catherine S, Sze, Irene Nga-Lam, Ng, Florrie Fei-Yin, Kahana-Kalman, Ronit, Yoshikawa, Hirokazu
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Wayne State University Press 01.07.2013
Subjects
Acculturation
Affective Behavior
African Americans
Alphabets
Chinese Americans
Color
Comparative Analysis
English (Second Language)
Ethnicity
Feedback (Response)
Human Body
Immigrants
Language Usage
Latin Americans
Literacy
Low Income
Mathematical Concepts
Mexican Americans
Mothers
Observation
Parent Child Relationship
Parents as Teachers
Preschool Children
School Readiness
Second Language Learning
Skill Development
Socioeconomic Status
Spelling
Video Technology
Online AccessGet full text

Cover

More Information
Summary:Mothers' spontaneous teaching of their 4-year-olds was observed during block play in 230 dyads from low-income African American, Mexican, Dominican, and Chinese backgrounds. Blocks contained graphics that could be used to teach concepts in literacy, math, construction, or body/color. Coders noted how often mothers taught each of the concepts, and whether they taught at basic ("This is an "A"") or advanced ("C-a-t spells cat") levels. Additionally, mothers' negative and positive affect and feedback were coded. Ethnic differences were seen in the concepts that mothers taught, the levels of their teaching, and the amount and valence of mothers' feedback and affect towards their children. Within immigrant families, English-language use was positively associated with amount of teaching, engagement in advanced teaching, and feedback to children. The sociodemographic characteristics of families shape parents' structuring of learning opportunities for children and in turn influence children's developing skills and school readiness. (Contains 3 tables, 2 figures, and 1 footnote.)
ISSN:0272-930X
1535-0266
1535-0266
DOI:10.1353/mpq.2013.0016