maternal teaching strategies
in four cultural communities
implications for early childhood teachers
Xiao-lei Wang
Pace University, New York, USA
Ronan Bernas
Eastern Illinois University, USA
Philippe Eberhard
William Paterson University, USA
A B S T R ACT
This article examines maternal everyday teaching strategies in Chinese,
American, Hutterite, and Native American cultural communities. It moves
beyond a theoretical framework based on distancing by suggesting that
effective adult teaching strategies are contextually and culturally
determined. The authors urge early childhood educators to make efforts to
understand the complexity of a child’s home learning environment and to
maximize the learning potential of every child by taking advantage of
his/her funds of knowledge in early childhood education settings.
culture, distancing behavior, funds of knowledge, maternal
teaching strategies
K E Y WO R D S
Representation is a basic intellectual function which enables children to
picture the world mentally and think about an object even in its absence (Cole
et al., 2001; Duckett, 1981). When a child is capable of transferring an
experiential event into a mental event, he/she is competent in representation
(Sigel et al., 1993: 211–24). Representational competence is essential in a
child’s cognitive development and school success. Over the years, researchers
have suggested that such competence is largely influenced by parents’ and
teachers’ teaching styles in the formal and informal learning environment. To
journal of early childhood research
Copyright © 2005, Sage Publications (www.sagepublications.com)
Vol 3(3) 269–288 [ISSN 1476-718X DOI: 10.1177/1476718X05056525]
journal of early childhood research 3(3)
table 1 types of distancing strategies categorized by levels
High-level distancing
Medium-level distancing
Low-level distancing
Evaluate consequence
Evaluate competence
Evaluate effect
Evaluate effort and/or performance
Sequence
Reproduce
Describe similarities
Describe differences
Label
Produce information
Describe, define
Describe interpretation
Infer cause–effect
Infer effect
Generalize
Transform
Plan
Infer similarities
Infer differences
Symmetrical classifying
Asymmetrical classifying
Enumerating
Synthesizing within
Classifying
Demonstration
Observe
Confirmation of a plan
Conclude
Propose alternatives
Resolve conflict
Source: Sigel et al. (1993)
examine which aspects of adult teaching styles are associated with children’s
representational competence, Sigel and his colleagues (e.g. Sigel et al., 1993:
214) identified three levels of adult distancing in teaching: high, medium, and
low (see Table 1). They put forward that when adults ask more cognitively
demanding questions that encourage children to extend their thoughts beyond
the information given (such as make inferences), they create a higher mental
distance for their children and when adults ask questions that involve
minimal representation (such as labeling and describing), they create a lower
mental distance for the children (e.g. Barnes and Fitzgerald, 1986;
McGillicudy-DeLisi, 1988; Sigel, 1982: 47–86; Sigel et al., 1993: 211–24). In
essence, the main idea of the distancing theory is that the more high-level
distancing strategies the adults use, the more likely the children will be
competent in representational thinking. In the past 20 years or so, studies
conducted in the United States and Europe have confirmed that children
whose parents and teachers frequently use high-level distancing strategies
show more representational competence than those whose parents and
teachers frequently use low-level distancing strategies (e.g. Cassidy, 1989;
Duckett, 1981; Fitzgerald and Barnes, 1986; Gonzalez, 1999; Groenendaal et
al., 1997; Labrell et al., 2000; McGillicudy-DeLisi, 1988; Sigel, 1982; Sigel et al.,
1993).
While the link between parental distancing strategies and children’s
representational competence is evident in the current literature in the United
States and Europe, does it mean that such a link is necessarily present in the
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Wang et al. maternal teaching strategies
families of some other cultural communities? Given that parents vary greatly
in their teaching styles in different cultural communities (e.g. Azuma, 1994:
275–84; Barnard and Solchany, 2002; Harkness and Super, 1995; Ho, 1994:
285–309; Jacobs and Reyhner, 2002; Levy, 1996: 123–42; LeVine, 1974; Neitzel
and Stright, 2003; Plumert and Nichols-Whitehead, 1996; Rogoff, 1990, 1993:
121–53; Steward and Steward, 1973; Tharp, 1994: 87–105), it is imperative for
us to look into the parental teaching styles and their impact on children’s
cognitive development in different communities. Thus, the purpose of this
study is to examine the distancing theory in different cultural communities. In
particular, it examines whether the distancing strategies used by parents in
the everyday context are solely responsible for children’s representational
competence or whether other factors in parent–child interactions need to be
considered. We believe that the information gained from this study will help
early childhood teachers better understand their children from diverse
backgrounds and be responsive to the cultural differences children bring to
the classroom.
methods
research sites and participants
We included four cultural communities in this study: a Chinese-middle class
community in Nanjing, the People’s Republic of China; a white American
middle-class community in Chicago, USA; a Hutterite community1 in South
Dakota, USA; and a Native American community in the Standing Rock
Reservation in South Dakota, USA. We selected these four cultural communities as our research focus because of their distinct cultural differences in
childrearing beliefs and educational attitudes (e.g. Decker, 1993; Ho, 1994:
285–309; Hostetler, 1967, 1997; Jacobs and Reyhner, 2002; LeVine, 1974;
Tharp, 1994; Wang et al., 1995: 411–33).
Eighty mothers and their children participated in the study (20
mother–child pairs per cultural community). We balanced the gender of our
participating children by having 50 percent girls and 50 percent boys in each
community. The main reason we included only mothers in this study is that
past literature has reported that compared with fathers, mothers’ distancing
teaching strategies are more saliently related to young children’s representational competence (e.g. Gonzalez, 1999; Labrell et al., 2000). The mothers in
each community were contacted and recruited by native-speaking research
assistants. Consent forms were obtained. Both the Chinese and white
American mothers had a college education. The Hutterite mothers had nine
years of schooling and the Native American mothers had seven. The mean
age of the mothers in the four communities was as follows: 31 years (SD = 24
months) for the Chinese, 36 years (SD = 48 months) for the white American,
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journal of early childhood research 3(3)
25 years (SD = seven months) for the Hutterite, and 26 years (SD = 24
months) for the Native American. The mean age of the children in all four
communities was four and a half years (SD = five months).
research design
To examine whether the mothers’ distancing behaviors are solely responsible
for the children’s representational competence or whether other factors in
their interactions need to be considered in our sample, we carried out this
research project in three separate studies. In Study 1, we identified the types
of distancing strategies used by the mothers in everyday interactions with
their children. In Study 2, we studied whether the mothers’ distancing
behaviors in the everyday context influenced the children’s representational
competence. In Study 3, we explored the various aspects of the mothers’
teaching strategies in specific interactive contexts.
study 1
method
data collection
The researchers and research assistants visited the homes of the participating
families in each community five times to become acquainted with the
mothers and children before the data collection began. To facilitate mother–
child interaction during the data collection period, the researchers and
research assistants provided the mother–child pairs with a large bag of toys
such as a form fitter, a shape and color sorter, a bus with plastic figures,
puzzles, a Gazoobo toy, and color blocks. Previous cross-cultural studies (e.g.
Wang et al., 1995: 411–33) have indicated that children who play with these
kind of toys are likely to ask for assistance and mothers are likely to offer help
and guidance. In such an interaction context, mothers’ ‘teaching’ behaviors
can be easily seen. Among the four groups of children, only the American
children had prior experience playing with these toys (though not exactly the
same toys) and the other three groups of children did not have prior
experience with these toys. The naturalistic interactions between the mothers
and the children were video-recorded (eight sessions in four weeks). A total of
1294 hours of video-recorded data were collected and used for Study 1 (M =
16.20 hours per mother–child pair).
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Wang et al. maternal teaching strategies
data transcription, coding, and reliability
The recorded data were first transcribed verbatim by four trained native speakers
(original coders). Then, the mothers’ distancing behaviors were identified and
coded with a coding scheme that was developed based on previous research
(e.g. Labrell et al., 2000) by the same group of coders. When the transcription
and coding were completed, reliability checks were conducted. A new group
of four coders (reliability coders), who were from the same cultural and
linguistic background respectively as the original coders, independently coded
30 percent of the randomly selected data. The average agreement between the
original coders and the reliability coders for transcription is 93 percent across
the four communities (Chinese 95 percent, American 93 percent, Hutterite 92
percent, and Native American 93 percent). The average agreement for
maternal distancing behavior is 89 percent across the four communities
(Chinese 87 percent, American 91 percent, Hutterite 84 percent, and Native
American 92 percent).
results
Because the total number of behaviors differed among the mothers, the
percentages rather than the frequencies of distancing strategies were obtained
to allow for making comparisons. Table 2 displays the percentages of
distancing strategies used by the mothers in the four groups. There were
significant differences across the four groups in engaging in high- and
medium-distancing strategies, F(3, 76) = 538.10, p =0.000.2 82 percent of the
American mothers’, 39 percent of the Chinese mothers’, 22 percent of the
Native American mothers’, and 8 percent of the Hutterite mothers’ behaviors
were high and medium distancing in nature. A Tukey test conducted to
examine pair-wise differences further showed that the groups differed from
each other significantly, p =0.000.
Given that the mothers differed greatly in their use of distancing strategies,
we will examine in the next study whether the mothers’ distancing strategies
will indeed impact their children’s representational competence.
table 2 percentage of distancing strategies used by the mothers
Culture group
Chinese
American
Hutterite
Native American
High (%)
Medium (%)
Low (%)
20
49
3
10
19
33
5
12
61
18
92
78
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journal of early childhood research 3(3)
study 2
method
data collection
To determine the representational competence of the children in the four
communities, we asked the children who participated in Study 1 to perform
four sets of cognitive tasks that were modified from the previous studies (e.g.
McGillicuddy-De Lisi, 1985; Piaget and Inhelder, 1971; Piaget and Szeminska,
1952; Sigel, 1982). The four cognitive tasks were: static reproduction imagery,
anticipatory imagery, conservation, and categorization. The purpose of these
cognitive tasks was to examine whether a child was able mentally to represent
objects. For example, in the static reproduction imagery task, the children were
asked to copy four patterns with different plastic pieces based on four models.
To complete this task, they had to be able to understand the relationship
between the model patterns and the pieces they were asked to put together. In
the anticipatory imagery task, the children were asked to predict the next
pieces needed to finish four patterns. To complete this task, the children had
to be able to imagine which piece would go next before they could proceed. In
the conservation tasks, the children were asked to answer a series of
conservation questions. To complete this task, children had to understand that
properties and amounts stay the same even when physical appearances were
changed. For example, in the number conservation task, the children had to
be able to understand that the numbers of buttons were still the same even
after they were rearranged. In the categorization task, the children were asked
to sort blocks based on their colors, sizes, shapes, and materials (i.e. plastic or
wood). To complete this task, the children had to be able to understand that
size, shape, color, and material belonged to different categories. We videorecorded the children while they were carrying out these tasks.
data coding and reliability
The video-recorded data were coded based on whether a child was successful
in completing the tasks or whether he/she was not successful. Given that the
children made several attempts for each task, the percentage of successes was
obtained and used for analysis. The data were coded by the four coders in
Study 1 (original coders). Then, the four reliability coders in Study 1
independently coded 30 percent of the data (randomly selected). The average
agreement between the original coders and the reliability coders is 93 percent
(91 percent for the static reproduction imagery tasks, 93 percent for the
anticipatory imagery tasks, 90 percent for the conservation tasks, and 97
percent for the categorization tasks).
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Wang et al. maternal teaching strategies
results
The percentages of successful attempts for each of the four cognitive tasks are
displayed in Table 3. An average of these successes across the four tasks was
also obtained as an overall measure of representational competence. There
was an overall significant difference across groups in performance on the
static reproduction imagery tasks, F(3, 76) = 316.42, p =0.000. A Tukey test of
pair-wise differences further showed that the groups differed from each other
significantly on the static reproduction imagery performance.
There were also significant differences across the groups on successes in
the anticipatory imagery tasks, F(3, 76) = 353.17, p =0.000. A Tukey test of
pair-wise differences further indicated that except for the Chinese (73
percent) versus the American (71 percent) children, all other pair-wise
differences were significant, p =0.000.
When the performance on the conservation tasks was examined, there were
also significant differences across the groups, F(3, 76) = 211.36, p =0.000. A
Tukey test of pair-wise differences showed that except for the Hutterite (21
percent) versus the Native American (20 percent) children, all other pair-wise
differences were significant, p =0.000.
In the categorization tasks, there was also an overall significant difference
among the groups, F(3, 76) = 208.29, p =0.000. A Tukey test of pair-wise
differences revealed that except for the Chinese (75 percent) versus the
American (71 percent) children, all other pair-wise differences were significant, p =0.000.
The four groups also differed significantly in overall representational
competence, F(3, 76) = 1,220.56, p =0.000. A Tukey test of pair-wise differences indicated that groups significantly differed from each other in
representational competence, p =0.000.
Does distancing predict representational competence? This question was
first examined within each cultural community. Correlations between the
percentages of high-medium distancing behaviors and performances on each
of the four cognitive tasks were obtained. Results of Pearson’s r tests, however,
table 3 percentage of successes in attempts for each cognitive task
Cultural Group
Chinese
American
Hutterite
Native American
SR Task
(%)
AI Task
(%)
CV Task
(%)
CT Task
(%)
Overall
Representational
Competence (%)
80
52
47
20
73
71
38
9
62
30
21
20
75
71
49
22
73
56
39
17
SR=static reproduction imagery, AI=anticipatory imagery, CV=conservation task, and CT=categorization task
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journal of early childhood research 3(3)
figure 1 high–medium distancing and overall representational competence
Ethnicity
8080
Chinese
Representational Competence
Representational competence
American
7070
Hutterite
Native American
6060
5050
4040
3030
2020
1010
0
20
40
60
80
100
High–medium
distancing
High-Medium Distancing
indicated that there was no significant relationship between distancing and
representational competence within each group. The same was true when the
correlation between the overall representational competence measure and
high–medium distancing percentage was examined within each group. These
non-significant results may have been due to the fact that while the distancing
strategies differed significantly between groups (as shown in Study 1), there
was not much variation in distancing strategies within each of the groups. The
same is observed in representational competence. There were significant
between-group differences in representation (as reported above) but hardly
any variation within each group. The lack of within-group variation in
distancing strategies and representation is vividly illustrated in Figure 1.
Given that the various communities differed significantly on both distancing
and representational competence, the relationship between distancing and
representational competence was examined between groups. Table 2 shows
that the American mothers’ behaviors were largely high and medium in
distancing (82 percent). This was followed by the Chinese mothers (39
percent) then by the Hutterite mothers (22 percent). The Hutterite mothers
engaged in the least proportion of high- and medium-distancing strategies
(8 percent). In terms of representational competence, Table 3 shows that the
Chinese children displayed the highest representational performances
(73 percent). This was followed by the American (56 percent), the Hutterite
(38 percent), and the Native American (17 percent) children. Does the
group ranking in distancing predict how the groups of children rank in
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Wang et al. maternal teaching strategies
representational competence? Results of a Kendall’s tau test indicated that
there was no significant correlation between the rankings in distancing and
representation, p =0.38.
The analyses conducted above, however, represent across-the-board
comparisons and do not take into account or control for the educational levels
of the mothers. Past research reminds us that mothers’ education levels are an
important factor in influencing how they interact with their children (e.g.
Rebello, 1999; Ruffman et al., 2002; Saar and Niglas, 2001; Schneider et al.,
1997). Since the Chinese and American mothers had similar education
achievements (all the 40 mothers had 16 years of education), we believe that a
comparison between them is more meaningful. As Table 2 shows and the
results of a Tukey test reported earlier indicates, the American mothers used
significantly more high and medium levels of distancing strategies than the
Chinese mothers. When the Hutterite mothers were compared with the Native
American mothers (seven to nine years of schooling), the Native American
mothers used significantly more high and medium levels of distancing
strategies than the Hutterite mothers.
If we use distancing theory as a model to predict the representational
competence of the children in the four communities, we would assume that
the Chinese children would not do as well as the American children and the
Hutterite children would not do as well as the Native American children. Data
shown in Table 3 and Figure 1, however, reveal the opposite. Why did the
Chinese children, whose mothers used significantly more low-distancing
strategies than the American mothers, not perform worse than the American
children in the four cognitive tasks? In fact, the Chinese children performed
even better than their America counterparts in some tasks. A similar question
can be asked about the Hutterite and Native American samples. Distancing
theory does not seem to adequately explain the association between the
mothers’ distancing behaviors and their children’s representational
competence. It is, therefore, imperative that we consider some other factors in
the mother–child interaction process that might predict representational
competence.
study 3
method
data and coding
In Study 3, we re-analyzed the videotaped mother–child interaction data used
in Study 1. This time we focused on the mother–child interactive processes.
We were particularly interested in how the mothers used certain teaching
strategies and why they used them in a given context. To make this analysis
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journal of early childhood research 3(3)
possible, we identified and coded the mother–child interactions into different
interaction episodes based on previous mother–child interaction studies (e.g.
Wang et al., 1995, 2002). An interaction episode is defined as a task-related
activity centering on a specific theme (activity). It ends when the child or the
mother shows no more interest to continue or when either one shifts his or
her attention to other activities. The following is an example of an interactive
episode between a Chinese mother and her child:
(Context: Mother and child are playing with a Gazoobo toy.)
Child: (Uses the brown key to open the blue door.)
Mother: Stop doing that. You are wrong. Do you see? The colors are different.
(Takes the brown key from the child.)
What is this color?
Child: (No answer.)
Mother: Hey, do you hear me. What’s this color?
Child: Don’t know.
Mother: Brown.
Mother: What is this color? (Points at the brown cage.)
Child: Brown.
Mother: Now, look, look carefully.
What is this? (Points at the brown key.)
Child: Key.
Mother: What do we use a key for?
Child: To play.
Mother: No! To open a door.
Look what happens when I put the brown key in the brown keyhole
(Opens the door and locks it.)
Tell me again, what is the use of a key.
Child: To open the door.
Mother: This is a brown key. The brown key is for the brown door.
Now, you can try to open the door. (Gives the key back to the child.)
Child: (Opens the door and takes out a brown monkey from the cage.)
Mother: (Takes the key ring from the child.)
What is this color? (Holds a blue key.)
Child: Blue.
Mother: Blue key is for what door?
Child: Blue door.
Mother: Try to open it.
Child: (Succeeds in opening the door and gets out a blue whale.)
Mother: Good child. You should remember that the color of the keys always match the
color of the doors.
Child: (A visitor enters the room. The mother stands up to greet her.)
Using episodes as basic coding units allows us to measure the mothers’
interaction styles in several aspects:
• How frequently did the mothers initiate interactions? The result of this
measure can inform us whether the mothers were ‘active’ or ‘passive’ when
they interacted with their children.
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Wang et al. maternal teaching strategies
• Did the mothers try to elaborate on the interactions initiated by the
children? The result of this measure can help us understand how the
mothers responded to children’s initiation.
• How many turns did the mothers take in an interaction episode? The result
of this measure can help us understand whether the mothers wanted to
‘take the stage’ or whether they wanted their children to ‘take the stage’.
• How long did the mothers spend in an interaction episode? The result of
this measure can tell us whether the mothers or the children were spending
more time in an episode.
• What were the types and purposes of the teaching strategies the mothers
used and what were the interaction patterns? The results of these measures
can help us see how the mothers’ ‘teaching’ was organized.
reliability
Coding reliability for Study 3 was conducted by having the four reliability
coders independently code 30 percent of the data (randomly selected). The
reliability between the original coders and the reliability coders is as follows.
Episode identification: 78 percent agreement for Chinese, 80 percent for
American, 77 percent for Hutterite, and 81 percent for Native American.
Frequency of initiation: 87 percent agreement for Chinese, 91 percent for
American, 90 percent for Hutterite, and 85 percent for Native American.
Frequency of elaboration: 91 percent agreement for Chinese, 89 percent for
American, 82 percent for Hutterite, and 90 percent for Native American.
Mean number of turns: 93 percent for Chinese, 92 percent for American, 92
percent for Hutterite, and 91 percent for Native American. Interaction
duration: 88 percent agreement for Chinese, 93 percent for American, 88
percent for Hutterite, and 95 percent for Native American. Teaching strategy:
91 percent agreement for Chinese, 92 percent for American, 91 percent for
Hutterite, and 91 percent for Native American. Interaction pattern: 91 percent
agreement for Chinese, 83 percent for American, 89 percent for Hutterite, and
81 percent for Native American.
results
initiation by mothers
There was an overall significant difference in the percentages of initiation by
the mothers, F(3, 76) = 493.38, p =0.000. A Tukey test of pair-wise differences
indicated that except for the Chinese (88 percent) versus the Hutterites (92
percent), the groups differed significantly from each other, p =0.000. Thus,
when making comparisons of groups within the same educational level, the
Chinese mothers initiated significantly more task-related interactions
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table 4 mothers’ initiation percentages, elaboration percentages, mean turns and times per
episode
Culture group
Chinese
American
Hutterite
Native American
Initiation
percentage (%)
Elaboration
percentage (%)
Mean number
of turns
Mean time
(seconds)
88
39
92
10
66
40
51
8
13
5
18
2
71
60
67
16
(88 percent) than the American mothers (39 percent), and the Hutterite
mothers (92 percent) initiated significantly more interactions than the Native
American mothers (10 percent).
elaboration
There was an overall significant difference in percentages of elaboration by
the mothers, F(3, 76) = 438.54, p =0.000. A Tukey test of pair-wise differences
further showed that cultural groups differed significantly from each other,
p =0.000. Table 4 shows that when the children initiated task-related interactions, the Chinese mothers were significantly more likely to sustain (elaborate
on) them (66 percent) than the American mothers (40 percent), and the
Hutterite mothers were significantly more likely to sustain them (51 percent)
than the Native American mothers (8 percent).
number of interaction turns
As far as the number of turns the mothers took in each interaction episode,
there were also an overall significant difference across the groups, F(3, 76) =
128.50, p =0.000. A Tukey test of pair-wise differences indicated that the
groups differed significantly from each other, p =0.000. The Chinese mothers
took significantly more turns (M = 13) than the American mothers (M = 5),
and the Hutterite mothers took significantly more turns (M = 18) than the
Native American mothers (M = 2).
time spent in task-related interaction
There was an overall significant difference in time spent in task-related
interactions, F(3, 76) = 183.39, p =0.000. A Tukey test of pair-wise differences
indicated that except for the Chinese (M = 71) versus the Hutterites (M = 67),
and the Americans (M = 60) versus the Hutterites, the groups differed
significantly from each other, p =0.000. The Chinese mothers spent a longer
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time interacting with their children than the American mothers in each
episode, and so did the Hutterite mothers compared to the Native American
mothers (M = 16). See Table 4.
types of teaching strategies
Table 5 lists the types of teaching strategies used by the mothers. One-way
ANOVA’s conducted on these different types revealed overall significant
differences among the groups. Tukey’s pair-wise comparisons also further
indicated the following significant differences: The Chinese mothers used
more requests for attention and information, immediate guidance, provision of
specific information, correction, and demonstration strategies than the American
mothers. The latter used more deferred guidance, provision of contextual
information, proposition of alternatives, and asking open-ended questions
strategies than the Chinese mothers. The Hutterite mothers used more
requests for attention and information, immediate guidance, provision of specific
information, correction, and demonstration strategies than the Native American
mothers. The latter used more deferred guidance, provision of contextual
information, proposition of alternatives, asking open-ended questions, and
relinquishing of learning responsibility to children strategies than the Hutterite
mothers.
Putting the four groups together, we can see some distinct cultural patterns.
The Chinese and Hutterite mothers were remarkably similar despite the
cultural and education differences. They actively took charge of the
table 5 percentages of teaching strategies used by the mothers
Types of teaching strategies
Request for attention
Request for information
Immediate guidance
Deferred guidance
Provide contextual information
Provide specific information
Correction
Demonstration
Propose alternatives
Ask open-ended questions
Relinquish learning responsibility
to children
Other
Chinese
(%)
American
(%)
Hutterite
(%)
Native American
(%)
4
21
26
3
3
13
8
18
1
1
0
1
6
4
27
7
4
4
3
25
17
2
5
11
32
2
0
17
19
13
0
0
0
0
2
2
4
43
0
1
2
5
6
32
2
1
1
3
Note: The types of teaching strategies that occurred only once were grouped under the Other category.
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journal of early childhood research 3(3)
interaction by requesting attention and information, providing immediate
guidance, providing specific information, demonstration, and correction. The
American mothers took a different approach: they asked questions, proposed
alternatives, and they provided guidance only when their children had tried
and failed (deferred guidance). The Native American mothers helped their
children learn by providing contextual information and requesting children to
explore and find their own answers. These differences are further evident
when we look at the interaction patterns in the next part.
interaction patterns
Table 6 describes the characteristics of the interaction patterns demonstrated
by the mothers in the four communities, while Table 7 shows the percentage
of interaction patterns that were either mother-directed, child-sensitive, or
child-directed. There was an overall significant difference in percentages of
mother-directed teaching strategies across the groups, F(3, 76) = 1,145.66,
p =0.000. A Tukey test of pair-wise differences further indicated that the
groups differed significantly from each other. The Chinese mothers preferred
to use mother-directed interaction patterns (87 percent) more than the
table 6 maternal interaction patterns
Mother-directed
• Mothers decide and dominate
the direction of interaction.
• Mothers lead the interaction by
providing information (such as
labeling, description, and
demonstration).
• Mothers follow through the
initial interaction goal by
repeatedly focusing the child on
the learning target (e.g. request
children to label, describe,
observe, and demonstrate).
• Mothers evaluate the children.
282
Child-sensitive
• Both mothers and children
decide and determine the
direction of interaction.
• Mothers either lead an
interaction or follow
children’s initiation.
• Mothers are sensitive to
children’s responses in
interaction and modify the
original teaching goal to suit
the children’s needs.
• Mothers propose
alternatives and help the
children plan strategies.
• Mothers put cognitive
demands on children
through questioning,
generalizing, and
comparison, etc.
• Mothers evaluate children’s
competence.
Child-directed
• Children decide and determine
the direction of the interaction.
• Children lead the interaction.
• Children learn through trial and
error.
• Mothers relinquish responsibility
for a task to children.
• Mothers do not provide feedback
to children’s performance.
Wang et al. maternal teaching strategies
table 7 percentage of mothers’ use of different strategies
Cultural group
Chinese
American
Hutterite
Native American
Mother-directed (%)
Child-sensitive (%)
Child-directed (%)
87
7
78
2
8
75
14
23
4
18
8
75
American mothers did (7 percent). Likewise, the Hutterite mothers favored
mother-directed interaction patterns (78 percent) more than the Native
Americans (2 percent).
The results of Study 3 give us some insight into why the Chinese children
(compared to the American) and the Hutterite children (compared to the
Native American) performed well in the four cognitive tasks (in Study 2)
despite their mothers’ frequent use of low-distancing strategies. It seems that
in some contexts, the low-distancing strategies can be effective. Look at the
earlier example again. If we read it carefully, we can see that the Chinese
mother tries to make sure that her child understands the correct procedures of
the given task. In the interaction, she requests and produces information, she
corrects the child immediately when he makes mistakes, she demonstrates
how to operate the child’s toy, and she offers information on operating it (e.g.
‘What’s this color?’; ‘look what happens when I put the brown key in the
brown keyhole’; ‘you are wrong. Do you see?’ ‘The colors are different’; ‘this is
a brown key. Brown key is for the brown door’; ‘blue key is for what door?’
‘You should remember the color of the keys always match the color of the
doors’; ‘what do we use a key for?’ ‘Tell me again what the use of a key is’).
Even though she frequently uses these low-distancing teaching strategies, the
child profits from them by learning how to operate the toy and understanding
the cause–effect relationship.
discussion
The distancing theory asserts that there is a clear link between adults’
distancing behaviors and children’s representational competence. Even
though this theory has been supported by many studies in the United States
and Europe, it has not been examined in other cultural contexts. Our study,
conducted in four different cultural communities, does precisely that. It
shows that mothers’ distancing strategies are not solely responsible for
children’s representational competence. Rather, children’s representational
competence is influenced by the ways caregivers interact with them in a
specific learning context.
By examining some specific interaction contexts such as: the frequency of
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initiation; the frequency of elaboration; the number of turns per interaction
episode; the duration of interaction; and the interaction patterns; we can see
more clearly how adults orient their children in a learning situation. We also
gain a better picture of why some children performed well in some cognitive
tasks despite their mothers’ frequent use of low-distancing strategies. For
example, each time the Chinese mother initiates interactions, she in fact
provides more opportunities for the child to be exposed to the information she
wants him to learn. When she elaborates on her child’s initiations, she
actually helps him expand the information. When she takes more turns in the
interaction, she really provides her child with more directions. The longer
interactions with her child allow her to request more information from the
child and to provide him with more specific information, demonstration, and
immediate guidance. When she engages in the mother-directed interaction
style, she strives to provide clear guidance for her child. All these seemingly
low-distancing strategies help the child in that specific learning context.
As for the other cultural communities in our study, the picture is different:
the American children benefit from their mothers’ high-level distancing
strategies (compared to the Chinese children), the Hutterite children benefit
from their mothers’ low-distancing strategies (compared to the Native
American children), and the Native American children benefit from their
mothers’ high-distancing strategies (compared to the Hutterite children).
Thus, the issue is not what distancing strategies an adult displays when
teaching a child but how the adult uses them in a specific environment in
order to maximize learning.
implications for early childhood teachers
We believe the information gained from our study has some practical
implication for early childhood teachers.
First, teachers have to realize that parental teaching styles are complex.
They need to take into consideration several aspects of parental teaching
strategies (such as how they initiate an interaction, how they elaborate on
children’s initiations, how they are engaged in an interaction, and what types
of strategies they use in an interaction) before they can understand how
teaching is organized and practiced in different cultural communities. Teachers
must take time and make efforts to explore parental teaching strategies and
incorporate them into their daily interactions with young children.
Second, teachers need to understand that children form their learning styles
in their everyday interactions with parents, other adults, and peers in their
communities (Rogoff, 1990; Vygotsky, 1978). It is through these constant and
consistent interactions with adults and peers that children appropriate, adapt,
and practice their cognitive behaviors. Teachers must know that it takes years
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Wang et al. maternal teaching strategies
for a child to form his/her learning style. It also takes time for him/her to
adapt to a new one. Teachers must be aware of these factors and take
advantage of children’s existing cognitive schemes and funds of knowledge
(e.g. Moll, 1988, 1992) when interacting with them in early childhood
education settings.
Third, teachers must know that there is no single definition of effective
teaching. As our study shows, effective teaching is different from one context
and culture to the next. Adults organize their teaching based on particular
cultural beliefs, values, goals, and practices. As teachers, we must strive to
familiarize ourselves with the variety of cultural beliefs in childrearing and
education and we must adjust our teaching styles to the different needs of
children. From our interviews with the mothers who participated in our
study, we can clearly see why they interacted with their children in a
particular style. For example, when asked what roles adults and children
should take in the learning process, the typical answer from the Chinese and
Hutterite mothers was: ‘Young children do not have the ability to finish a task
on their own. Adults should direct them and show them so that they know
how to do it next time.’ The typical answer to the same question from the
American mothers was: ‘Children can explore and learn on their own. Our
role is to guide them, but not do things for them.’ The typical answer from the
Native American mothers was: ‘Children need to make mistakes before they
can learn something valuable.’
Finally, our societies have become increasingly diverse. On the one hand,
the diversity of our children brings challenges to teachers. What makes
understanding parental teaching differences and their impact on children’s
learning styles particularly challenging is that there are no easy solutions for
teaching diverse children. On the other hand, the diversity our children bring
to early childhood settings enriches the learning environment, both for the
teachers and the children. If early childhood teachers plan culturally
responsive curricula, children’s learning potential will be greatly enhanced.
notes
1. The Hutterites are a group of communally living Anabaptists of German ancestry.
They distinguish themselves from the surrounding world through their religious
beliefs, customs, dress code, and language. Persecuted for their difference,
particularly their religious convictions, the Hutterites migrated to the North
American continent in the 1870s. To avoid the influence of the outside world, they
founded their colonies on the isolated farmlands of eastern South Dakota and
western Canada. Today, there are about 40,000 Hutterites living in many selfcontained colonies in the United States and Canada (Decker, 1993). The Hutterites
are trilingual in Hutterish, German, and English.
2. A one-way ANOVA was conducted on the y’ = 2 arcsin (y1/2) transformation of the
proportion data. The transformation was conducted in all the succeeding proportion
data. See Winer et al. (1991).
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journal of early childhood research 3(3)
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correspondence
Dr Xiao-lei Wang, School of Education, Pace University, 861 Bedford Rd. Pleasantville,
New York 10570, USA. [Email: [email protected]]
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