The Influence of Education Context and Beliefs on the Teaching Behavior of African American Mothers

• Published in: Journal of black psychology Vol. 25; no. 4; pp. 490 - 503
• Main Authors: Harris, Yvette R., Terrel, Denise, Allen, Gordon
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Thousand Oaks, CA SAGE Publications 01.11.1999; SAGE PUBLICATIONS, INC
• Subjects: Academic Achievement; African Americans; Beliefs; Black American people; Black Mothers; Black people; Child Rearing; Childrearing Practices; Education; Educational Attainment; Educational Strategies; Family Environment; Influence; Interpersonal Relationship; Learning Motivation; Level of education; Memorization; Memory; Metacognition; Mother Attitudes; Mothers; Parent Child Relationship; Parent-child relations; Parenting Styles; Parents as Teachers; Preschool Children; Preschool Education; Problem Solving; Psychology; Questionnaires; Recall (Psychology); Southern States; Spatial Ability; Tasks; Teaching; Teaching Methods; Young Children
• ISSN: 0095-7984; 1552-4558
• DOI: 10.1177/0095798499025004002

The goal of this study is to examine the influence of maternal education level, context, and maternal beliefs on the teaching behaviors of African American mothers. In addition, the relationship between maternal teaching and children’s mastery of the information is explored. Fifty-one African American mothers were observed teaching their 4-year-old preschool children three memory tasks and were administered a three-part questionnaire to determine their metamemory beliefs, their assessment of their children’s memory competence, and the amount of time they engaged in memory activities with their children. The results of the MANOVA applied to the data reveal that maternal teaching varied significantly according to education level and context. Several of the maternal strategies are predictive of the preschoolers’mastery of the information as well. Explanation of the findings and directions for future research are discussed.