Abstract
This paper presents a study that aims to help early childhood educators understand the cultural context in early language and literacy development. It examines how mothers in Chinese and American Indian families support their young children’s emergent literacy development during everyday interactions. Twenty mother-child dyads in each cultural community participated in the study. The results of the study indicate that Chinese and American Indian mothers differed greatly in the ways they supported their children in early literacy. The Chinese mothers tended to privilege print-based literacy interactions more than the American Indian mothers. The American Indian mothers tended to privilege the literacy interactions that were based on oral narratives of life and personal experiences. Moreover, the mothers in the two communities emphasized and supported different aspects of their children’s early literacy development. The Chinese mothers tended to support their children in explicit, event-specific and elaborative ways. In contrast, the American Indian mothers tended to support their children in implicit and contextual ways. This study suggests that early childhood educators must understand the specific meanings of early literacy in different cultural contexts to maximize the learning potential of every child in the early childhood education settings.
Resumen
Este documento presenta un estudio cuyo propósito es ayudar a los educadores de la infancia temprana a entender el contexto cultural en el desarrollo temprano del lenguaje y la lecto-escritura. Examina como las madres de familias chinas e indias americanas apoyan el desarrollo de la lecto-escritura temprana en las intracciones cotidianas. Veinte parejas madrehijo de cada comunidad cultural participaron en el estudio. Los resultados del estudio indican que las madres chinas e indias americanas difieren grandemente en la forma en que apoyan a sus hijos en la lecto-escritura temprana. Las madres chinas tendieron a privilegiar las interacciones de lecto-escritura basada en lenguaje impreso más que las madres indias americanas. Las madres indias americanas tendieron a privilegiar las interacciones de lectoescritura basadas en narrativas orales sobre experiencias de vida y personales. Además, las madres de las dos comunidades enfatizaron y apoyaron diferentes aspectos del desarrollo temprano de lecto-escritura. Las madres chinas tendieron a apoyar a sus hijos de manera explicita, especifica del evento y elaborada. En contraste, las madres indias americanas tendieron a apoyar a sus hijos de forma implícita y contextual. Este estudio sugiere que los educadores de la infancia temprana deben entender los significados especificos de la lectoescritura temprana en diferentes contextos culturales para maximizar el potencial de aprendizaje de cada niño en los escenarios educativos de la infancia temprano.
Résumé
Cette étude vise à aider les enseignants du préscolaire à comprendre le contexte culturel dans lequel s’opère le développement précoce du langage et de la faculté à lire et à écrire. Elle examine le rôle que les mères de familles chinoises et indiennes d’Amérique jouent dans l’émergence de l’apprentissage du lire et de l’écrire de leurs jeunes enfants au cours de leurs interactions quotidiennes. Vingt paires mère-enfant de chaque communauté ont participé à l’étude. Les résultats obtenus indiquent que les mères chinoises et indiennes d’Amérique diffèrent grandement dans l’aide qu’elles apportent à leurs enfants au cours du développement de l’apprentissage à lire et à écrire. les mères chinoises ont plus tendance à privilégier les interactions basées sur la chose imprimée que les mères indiennes d’Amérique. A l’inverse, ces dernières préferent baser leurs interactions sur des narrations orales portant sur la vie en général ainsi que sur leurs expériences personnelles. De plus, les mères des deux communautés privilégient différents aspects du développement précoce de l’écriture et de la lecture de leurs enfants. L’aide que les mères chinoises apportent à leurs enfants est plutôt explicite, élaborant et se concentrant sur des événements spécifiques, alors que les mères indiennes ont tendance à aider leurs enfants de façon implicite et en contexte. Il ressort de cette étude que les enseignants du préscolaire doivent impérativement comprendre le fonctionnement exact des mécanismes d’apprentissage du lire et de l’écrire dans des contextes différents, et ce afin d’optimiser le potentiel d’apprentissage de chaque enfant dans un environment éducatif préscolaire.
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Wang, Xl., Bernas, R. & Eberhard, P. Variations of maternal support to children’s early literacy development in Chinese and American Indian families: Implications for early childhood educators. IJEC 34, 9–23 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03177319
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03177319