An Introduction to the Role of Culture in Children’s Social World

Abstract

Over the years, children’s social development has generated much research interest, beginning with the early twentieth-century observational studies of children in nursery school settings. However, examination of those studies, and later ones, indicates that most research has focused upon children in the Western English-speaking world. Much less is known about children’s social development in other settings. The research presented in these chapters takes an expanded culture-specific view of children’s social development over the preschool years. By focusing on the significant role that the cultural context plays in shaping children’s social and emotional behaviors, a more representative picture of children’s adaptation to their social worlds is evident. What young children learn, how they are socialized, and how they navigate challenging circumstances are explored.