THE CENTRAL AGENCY AND EDUCATIONAL RESPONSIBILITY TO THE LEARNER,THE FAMILY AND THE COMMUNITY

During several of the sessions of the Council of Jewish Education at the annual Conference of Jewish Communal Service held in Baltimore, June 2–5, 1985, the critical relationships of the central agency for Jewish education were examined. The symposium that follows represents three of the papers delivered at the conference with an introduction by Dr. Elliot Schwartz, who coordinated the CJE sessions.     

Narrative elaboration and participation: two dimensions of maternal elicitation style

This study investigated the narrative scaffolding styles of Spanish-speaking and English-speaking mothers as they engaged their preschool-aged children in family reminiscing and book sharing interactions. Specifically, the study examined the dimensions of narrative elaboration and participation in mothers' scaffolding styles across the 2 narrative tasks. Cluster analyses identified 2 styles of maternal scaffolding for each context, differing in the degree to which mothers elaborated, the manner in which they did so, and the extent to which they encouraged child participation. Findings highlight the importance of both narrative elaboration and narrative participation as defining dimensions of maternal scaffolding styles. Results are discussed in relation to variations in socialization practices and the role these practices might play in children's development.