Reviews of "Contexts for Learning": Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Date: Thu, 14 Dec 1995
From: Teresa M. Meehan (meehan1@unm.edu)
Subject: CONTEXTS- Chapter 10

Review of Chapter 10, _CONTEXTS FOR LEARNING_.
Rogoff, B., Mosier, C., Mistry, J. and Goncu, A., "Toddlers' Guided Participation with Their Caregivers in Cultural Activity."
by Teresa Meehan

In this chapter, Barbara Rogoff and her colleagues focus the discussion around some of the similarities and variations in "guided participation" (Rogoff, 1990) they observed among toddlers and their caregivers from two distinct cultures--middle-class U.S. (Salt Lake City) and a Mayan town in Guatemala. This study represents a preliminary analysis of a small data set that will eventually be part of a larger set of data involving mother-toddler dyads from Guatemala, India, Turkey, and the United States.

SUBJECTS: The subjects included in the preliminary analyses were eight Mayan toddlers and their caregivers and eight U.S. toddlers and their caregivers. The toddlers ranged in age from 12 to 16 months and 20 to 23 months, and there were an equal number of boys and girls. Half of the Salt Lake City group were Mormons. Half of the Mayan group were Catholics, and the remaining half of each group claimed to be Protestant. In addition, the mothers belonging to the Salt Lake City families were more affluent and had higher levels of education (high school or college) than the Mayan mothers (third grade or less).

PROCEDURE: The interactions between the toddlers and their caregivers were videotaped during home visits while the dyads engaged in predetermined problem-solving activities: 1) working a wooden nesting doll; 2) making a tortilla or hamburger out of playdough; and 3) "taking care of" a plastic baby doll.

ANALYSIS: In an attempt to "capture local family goals and practices," the authors made a detailed ethnographic transcription of each episode (p. 231). The collaborative research team then developed categories that they believed "portrayed the crucial similarities and differences across communities" (p. 231). (A more detailed description of the method of "pattern analysis" can be found in Rogoff & Gauvain, 1986).

RESULTS: According to Rogoff et al: "There appear to be striking cultural differences in the means available for children to observe and participate in culturally important activities as well as to receive instruction outside the context of skilled activity. These differences relate to variations in the explicitness and intensity of verbal and nonverbal communication and the interactional status of children and adults" (p. 237).

Verbal and Nonverbal Communication

Rogoff et al found that, although the toddlers from both cultures received instructions and were shown how to complete each task, the Salt Lake City caregivers engaged in a greater amount of "parental talk" than the Mayan caregivers. Interestingly enough, the Mayan toddlers relied more on nonverbal communication (especially gaze and postural changes), much like their caregivers. Rogoff et al state: "The emphasis of Western researchers on talking as the appropriate means of adult-child interaction my reflect a cultural bias that overlooks the information provided by silence, gaze, postural changes, smells, and touch" (p. 238).

Interactional Status

The authors of this chapter also found that children's and adults' roles as conversational partners varied between the two cultures. They note that in the U.S., children are often treated as status equals (especially in play situations) but in the Mayan community, adults limit their interactions with children to work situations. It is up to the older children in the community to play with the younger children. These differences in roles impact the conversational exchanges that take place between the toddlers and the caregivers. For instance, the Salt Lake city caregivers structured the dialogic interaction so that the toddlers were given ample opportunity to participate as a conversational peer. The Mayan toddlers, on the other hand, "never took a peer conversational role with their parents" (p. 242).

CONCLUSION: Rogoff et al conclude that there are both similarities and differences in guided participation across cultures. Among the similarities is the interdependence of toddlers and their caregivers in cultural activities. The dyads work together to determine their roles and responsibilities as participants in everyday problem-solving situations. The variations observed across the two cultures is attributed to "what is being learned" combined with the differing values, goals, and practices of each community (p. 249). In other words, the activity of"guided participation" appears to be a cross-cultural phenomenon, but individual communities "vary in the goals of development and the nature of involvement of children and adults" (p. 249).

References:
Rogoff, B. (1990). _Apprenticeship in thinking. Cognitive development in social context_. New York: Oxford University Press.

Rogoff, B., & Gauvain, M. (1986). A method for the analysis of patterns, illustrated with data on mother-child instructional interaction. In J. Valsiner (ed.) _The individual subject and scientific psychology (pp. 261-90). New York: Plenum.

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