culture and diversity
Mike Cole (mcole who-is-at weber.ucsd.edu)
Thu, 19 Mar 1998 09:06:29 -0800 (PST)
Mapparal (sorry, I am not sure of your name). Thanks for your note
concerning acculturation and changes in child rearing practices. It
jogs my cobwebed mnd into taking seriously the fact that I am supposed
to speak at AERA in a couple of weeks on the topic, "Cultural
Psychology: Can it help us think about Diversity." In the US your
precise question points at a fundamental condition of contemporary
American (and not only American) society: the fact that there is
mass emmigration across national borders means that people's sociocultural
contexts change dramatically and they must find a way to master enough
of the local cultural practices to interact effectively. It cannot
help but bring about change in child rearing practices, but the process
is an uneven, contested, multi-year one, not something that happens
easily.
mike