Chopsticks and clothes: Chinese heritage parents' perspectives on young children's technology use as a tool for language and cultural learning

This paper presents Chinese heritage parents' perspectives on young children's use of technology as a tool for language and cultural learning. Growing up with Confucian heritage culture, some Chinese parents have particular cultural beliefs about learning that value effortful learning practices and the social context of learning. However, some Chinese parents believe technology is just a tool for entertainment and keeps children away from social interaction, which leads to their preference of print-based literacy practices at home. Four parents from different families whose children were between the ages of four to five participated in this study. These parents were interviewed about their experience and history of using technology and their thoughts about technology as a tool for language and cultural learning. Four narratives were constructed to describe parents' experiences, histories, opinions, cultural values and beliefs. Parents' perspectives were influenced by a variety of intertwined factors, including their own childhood language learning experiences, their histories of using technology, their cultural values and beliefs about learning, the purpose of technological experiences, and the quality of available technological resources. Pedagogical implications for using technology with children and communicating with parents are discussed.     

Mexican parents’ and teachers’ literacy perspectives and practices: construction of cultural capital

This article examines the relationships among the literacy practices engaged in by first-grade children and parents at home and the ways in which these practices are communicated, shaped, and fostered by teachers and administrators in two different sociocultural environments in urban Mexico. The differences observed between the home literacy experiences of children in a working-class and a middle-class community included transgenerational communication of assumptions regarding literacy and schooling, as well as attitudes associated with the parents’ own school experiences. Class-based expectations on the part of teachers not only shaped interactions with parents, but were also reflected in the way the national curriculum was delivered, with a greater emphasis on rote skills and traditional reading instruction in the working-class community. The authors argue that the school plays a role in the co-production of cultural capital in the home through its shaping of some of the literacy practices that children and families undertake.     

Gaining a Better Understanding of Self: A Self-Study in Cultural Competence in Teacher Education

ABSTRACT

This articles describes a year-long self-study in cultural competence. Armed with the understanding that “teachers first need to know their own cultures,” a small group of faculty researchers engaged in systematic self-study to better understand their own cultural competence in an effort to enhance teacher candidates’ cultural competencies. The overarching goals of the study were: for faculty researchers to better understand their own cultural competence and for faculty researchers to better understand their ability to create safe spaces in which teacher candidates could develop deeper understandings of their cultural competencies. Hence the faculty researchers worked collaboratively for the broader purposes of re-imaging classrooms as communities that foster new and more equitable opportunities for teaching and learning.     

多媒体教学模式对大学英语教师的素质要求

大学英语的改革离不开高素质的师资,英语教师的素质高低直接影响到教学质量,教师的思想道德素质,业务水平及文化素养直接影响着教学效果。英语老师在多媒体教学环境下应该具备怎样的素质以及如何提高自己的素质是目前大学英语教学研讨的一个重要课题。     

Associations of Warmth and Control of Filipina Domestic Helpers and Mothers to Hong Kong Kindergarten Children's Social Competence

Research Findings: Across 63 Hong Kong families, both Filipina domestic helpers and mothers separately rated their own caregiving style (warmth and control) and kindergarten children's social competence. Results indicated that Filipina helpers rated themselves as higher in warmth than mothers did. In addition, self-rated warmth of both caregivers, and Filipina domestic helpers' self-perceived control were correlated with children's social competence. With ratings of warmth and control from both Filipina helpers and mothers included in separate regression equations, mothers' warmth was a strong unique correlate of all measures of children's social competence. However, Filipinas' warmth was uniquely associated with children's responsibility only, whereas their control was uniquely associated with children's assertion and responsibility. Practice or Policy: Results extend previous research on the importance of nonparental caregivers for children's social development in a new cultural context.     

Cumulative Risk,the Mother–Child Relationship,and Social-Emotional Competence in Latino Head Start Children

Research Findings: Supportive mother–child interactions promote the development of social-emotional competence. Poverty and other associated psychosocial risk factors have a negative impact on mother–child interaction. In spite of Latino children being disproportionately represented among children living in poverty, research on mother–child interactions among economically disadvantaged Latino families remains scarce and results are mixed. The current study used an ecological approach to examine the relationship between maternal cumulative risk, child developmental delay, observed and self-reported quality of the mother–child relationship, time spent in Head Start, and teachers’ and parents’ ratings of social-emotional competence among 106 Latino Head Start children and their mothers. Cumulative risk showed a negative association with observed maternal supportiveness and self-reported quality of the mother–child relationship. Cumulative risk had negative and positive indirect effects, respectively, on child social competence and problem behavior through perceived quality of the mother–child relationship. This association only occurred when parent ratings of child behavior were used. Time spent in Head Start moderated the association between observed maternal supportiveness and social competence. Practice or Policy: Implications for providers and researchers attempting to improve social-emotional competence in disadvantaged Latino children by enhancing positive and supportive parenting practice are discussed.     

Mexican American Mothers’ Conceptualization of Autonomy Support and Psychological Control in the Context of Cultural Values

This qualitative study explored the intertwining relationships among the concepts of parental autonomy support, parental control, and cultural values for Mexican American families. The study was guided by the following questions: (1) What elements of parental autonomy support are identified in Mexican American parents’ involvement in their children’s academic performance? (2) How do Mexican American parents conceptualize “autonomy support” and “parental control”? Sixteen Mexican American mothers expressed their own goals and strategies for home-based parental involvement to support their adolescents’ academic performance, and responded to the prototypes of autonomy support parenting and use of psychological control. Four themes emerged from the data to explain the participants’ practice: (1) Explain the expectations for behavioral and academic pursuit through persistent “telling” and “reminding”; (2) Respond to children’s feelings from parents’ perspectives; (3) Encourage with provisions, praises, and criticisms; and (4) Allow choices upon trust in child’s sense of responsibility. Discussion is focused on how Mexican-American mothers’ conceptualization of “autonomy support” and “parental control” is influenced by the cultural values of educación and respeto. Culturally appropriate autonomy support training is suggested for effective intervention programs for Mexican-American parents.     

Book reviews

This study examines Black student and parental perceptions of exclusionary practices of Black school principals. I ask why students and parents viewed two Black principals as contributing to abusive and exclusionary school environments that marginalized Black students. After a two-year ethnographic study, it was revealed that exclusionary behaviors toward Black students—which was viewed as “abuse” by students and parents—was a reproduction of the district's racism, and thus adds new considerations for discussions around the value of racially-like (i.e., all Black) educators and students. Parents perceived these two Black principals as dealing more harshly and rigidly with the Black students and their families; moreover, analysis of the interview data revealed that the principals rejected the cultural and social capital, and proclivities of Black students, and blamed Black students for their lower achievement and unique behaviors. I draw significant attention to the larger contexts of White supremacy and racism as I examine how Black principals negotiate their own roles, how they understand their own treatment of urban Black students, and how they are (knowing or unknowingly) reproducing oppressive practices of White supremacy on Black students in school.     

Intergroup Socialization: The Influence of Parents’ Family Communication Patterns on Adult Children’s Racial Prejudice and Tolerance

The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of family communication environments on children’s intergroup socialization. Adult children (n = 200) reported on their parents’ conformity and conversation orientations and their own racial attitudes and intergroup orientations. Results evidenced ingroup bias, social dominance, and identification with parent as mediators of the positive relationship between conformity orientation and racial prejudice and the negative relationship between conformity orientation and racial tolerance. Results also revealed that children from consensual and protective families harbor the most racial prejudice and least racial tolerance. Future directions related to intergroup contact interventions, racially diverse families, and qualitative assessments of parent–child interactions are discussed.     

Associations of Warmth and Control of Filipina Domestic Helpers and Mothers to Hong Kong Kindergarten Children's Social Competence

Research Findings: Across 63 Hong Kong families, both Filipina domestic helpers and mothers separately rated their own caregiving style (warmth and control) and kindergarten children's social competence. Results indicated that Filipina helpers rated themselves as higher in warmth than mothers did. In addition, self-rated warmth of both caregivers, and Filipina domestic helpers' self-perceived control were correlated with children's social competence. With ratings of warmth and control from both Filipina helpers and mothers included in separate regression equations, mothers' warmth was a strong unique correlate of all measures of children's social competence. However, Filipinas' warmth was uniquely associated with children's responsibility only, whereas their control was uniquely associated with children's assertion and responsibility. Practice or Policy: Results extend previous research on the importance of nonparental caregivers for children's social development in a new cultural context.     

Reducing risk for children in changing cultural contexts: recommendations for intervention and training

OBJECTIVES: This paper proposes guidelines to both parents and professionals for the prevention and reduction of risk associated with cultural differences, conflicts and misinterpretations. These guidelines are based on a conceptual framework derived from the multicultural reality of Israeli society and are supported by a growing corpus of studies on cross-cultural child development, immigration and minority families. METHOD: The paper is based on a conceptual model followed by practical implications for training and intervention. RESULTS: Central to this paper is the concept of the "adaptive adult" which serves as a guiding metaphor for the organization of socialization goals, child-rearing ideologies, perceptions and values of socializing agents in a given culture or group. Childcare practices are defined as adaptive strategies, that is, means for socializing children to become "successful adults." The paper describes different types of "adaptive adult" metaphor (e.g., past and future oriented), and discusses images held by groups who have experienced either a duality of private and public culture or changes in their cultural contexts. The paper further explores and exemplifies the potential contributions of the proposed framework for a five step intervention plan with parents and for training of professionals in multicultural contexts. CONCLUSIONS: Children of families in changing cultural contexts are often considered to be at risk for maltreatment. This is because such families may experience sociocultural and socioeconomic change and a loss of their former support networks. Parental acculturation stress and related dysfunction might also affect children. The risk increases when children are exposed to systems with conflicting socialization goals and with contradictory definitions of desirable child-care or supervision frameworks. Conflicts and clashes between parents and socializing agents have been found to have long-term detrimental effects on children and families. Cultural differences may also result in misinterpretation of parental behaviors and misdiagnosis of abuse and neglect. Such conflicts and misinterpretations can be avoided if both parents and social agents learn to understand and to respect their cultural differences, so that together, they can devise ways to bridge them.     

A cross-cultural study of parents' perceptions of early childhood programs

Cross-cultural studies in early childhood education assist in expanding perspectives and gaining increased understanding and appreciation of programs in other countries. Because both Sweden and the United States are interested in parent involvement in early childhood programs, a survey was conducted to assess parent's perceptions of these programs. Following a review of family life and early childhood education in Sweden and the United States are the specific components of the cross-cultural study. A stratified random sample of parents whose children were involved in early childhood programs was done in St. Louis County, MN, United States, and Kronobergs Lan, Småland, Sweden. In the first section of the five-part survey, parents indicated the degree to which they agreed or disagreed with statements about such areas as governmental support of children and families. Parents in Sweden felt more support of the government, whereas parents in the United States used early childhood programs as a support mechanism to increase their confidence. In the other four sections of the survey, parents rated the importance of various types of parental involvement and the importance of various materials, activities, and caregiver actions in their children's programs. In general, parents in Sweden valued informal contact and inner-directed creative materials and activities. Parents in the United States valued more confining activities such as rote counting, community-based experiences, and compliance with adult expectations. The influence of the macro-society on parents' perceptions as well as microsystem interactions and environments is evident in this study. As early childhood educators learn about and adapt new ideas to their own programs, the potential of cross-cultural studies becomes realized in improved opportunities for young children and their families.     

Developing cultural humility through experiential learning: How home visits transform early childhood preservice educators’ attitudes for engaging families

Research calls for teacher education to prepare early childhood educators for the needs of diverse and marginalized young children and their families in the U.S. With an increasing cultural divide between teachers and students, some early childhood educators may demonstrate limited understanding for how diverse cultural, linguistic, racial, and socioeconomic backgrounds inform the daily functions of families of young children. In this article, we examine how the use of experiential learning vis-à-vis conducting a home visit with a family from a diverse and marginalized background can shape early childhood preservice teachers’ (PST) development of cultural humility, an important component of cultural competence. During this experiential learning, PSTs engaged in critically reflective practices to uncover and challenge their implicit biases. While discovering the strengths and challenges among their home visit families, PSTs also learned what they had in common with the families. PSTs noted how the home visit process informed their work as future early childhood educators.     

The Minnesota Adoption Studies: genetic differences and malleability

In 1974 we launched 2 large adoption studies for 2 quite different purposes. The Transracial Adoption Study was designed to test the hypothesis that black and interracial children reared by white families perform on IQ and school achievement tests as well as other adoptees because they are reared in the culture of the tests and the schools. In addition, transracial families provided a sample with large numbers of adopted and natural children in the same families. Sources of individual differences among siblings could be studied without fear of possible differences between adoptive families and those with their own children. The Adolescent Adoption Study was designed to assess the cumulative impact of differences among family environments at the end of the child-rearing period. All of the children were adopted in the first year of life and averaged 18.5 years at the time of the study. A comparison sample of families with their own adolescents was also studied. Black and interracial children scored as well on IQ tests as adoptees in other studies. Individual differences among them, however, were more related to differences among their biological than adoptive parents, whether they lived together or not. Young siblings were found to be intellectually quite similar, whether genetically related or not. Adolescents' IQ test scores were similar to those of their parents and siblings only if they were biologically related. Our interpretation of these results is that younger children are more influenced by differences among their family environments than older adolescents, who are freer to seek their own niches.     

Numeracy‐related exchanges in joint storybook reading and play

Studies of the processes by which parents encourage early numerical development in the context of parent–child interactions during routine, culturally relevant activities at home are scarce. The present study was designed to investigate spontaneous exchanges related to numeracy during parent–child interactions in reading and play activities at home. Thirty‐seven families with a four‐year‐old child (13 low‐income) were observed. Two types of numeracy interactions were of interest: socio‐cultural numeracy exchanges, explaining the use and value of money or numbers in routine activities such as shopping or cooking, and mathematical exchanges, including counting, quantity or size comparisons. Results indicated that high‐income parents engaged in more mathematical exchanges during both reading and play than did low‐income parents, though there were no differences in the initiation of socio‐cultural numeracy exchanges. The focus of parental guidance related to numeracy was conceptual and embedded in the activity context, with few dyads focusing on counting or numbers per se. The findings suggest the importance of parent education efforts that incorporate numeracy‐related discourse in the context of daily routines to augment young children’s numeracy development.     

An Interrogation of the “If Only” Mentality: One Teacher’s Deficit Perspective put on Trial

In this article, I interrogate a previous and harmful “If Only” mindset I held as an early childhood literacy teacher. I describe the “If Only” mentality as the idea that if only the parents and families of the students I taught changed, schools and teachers could serve their children better. This deficit way of thinking led to a number of mistakes I made as a still-new, white, middle-class, monolingual Reading Recovery teacher who was unprepared to value the home and community literacies of a population of students and families from linguistic, cultural, and economic backgrounds other than my own.     

Just picking it up? Young children learning with technology at home

We describe a two year empirical investigation of three‐ and four‐year‐old children's uses of technology at home, based on a survey of 346 families and 24 case studies. Using a socio‐cultural approach, we discuss the range of technologies children encounter in the home, the different forms their learning takes, the roles of adults and other children and how family practices support this learning. Many parents believed that they did not teach children how to use technology. We discuss parents' beliefs that their children ‘pick up’ their competencies with technology and identify trial and error, copying and demonstration as typical modes of learning. Parents tend to consider that their children are mainly self‐taught and underestimate their own role in supporting learning and the extent to which learning with technology is culturally transmitted within the family.     

民族高校图书馆打造核心竞争力的优势与方法——以西南民族大学图书馆为例

对高校图书馆核心竞争力的探讨和研究一直是图书馆界关注的热点。民族高校图书馆作为高校图书馆的重要组成部分,因其馆藏文献资源等方面的特殊性而有别于其他高校图书馆。民族高校图书馆应利用自身优势和特色打造核心竞争力,更好地服务于教学科研和民族地区文化建设。     

How teachers’ values affect their evaluation of children of immigrants: Findings from Islamic and public schools

This study examines the implications of how teachers’ views of immigrant parents predict their ratings of first-grade students’ academic competence and behavioral problems. Teachers rated 191 first-grade immigrant students attending Islamic and public schools in the Northeast United States. The results showed that when teachers perceived parents as having discrepant value differences, they rated students more negatively both in terms of academic competence and behavioral problems, even after controlling for student gender and ethnicity, parental education and parental school involvement. Surprisingly, teachers in Islamic and public schools did not differ in their perceived value differences with parents. The type of school students attend, however, moderated the effects of teachers’ perceived value differences on their academic ratings, but not on their behavioral ratings. While both Islamic and public school teachers rated students’ academic competence equally high when they perceived little or no value differences with parents, public school teachers held lower academic expectations than Islamic school teachers with increased value differences. These findings suggest a mechanism by which children from immigrant families enter a path of diminished expectations, albeit through slightly different levels in Islamic and public school settings.     

Finnish Mothers’ and Fathers’ Constructions of and Emotions in Their Daily Lives

This article focuses on parents’ construction of and emotions in their everyday lives. The study brings into focus the meanings in the foreground of everyday life, while also revealing new insights into cultural beliefs and prejudices. Interviews were conducted with five nuclear and four divorced families, and each participant (N?=?18) was interviewed twice. The second interview was a photo-narrative interview, for which each participant took photographs pertaining to their daily life. Content and thematic analysis were applied to the data. Three main categories of everyday life emerged from the data: family daily life, couples’ daily life, and one’s own daily life. The importance of and pleasure derived from one’s own daily life were emphasized as the foundation of well-being for both the individual and the whole family.