Instructional Ribbing as a Cultural Practice for Guiding Children.

Valued cultural practices of marginalized communities are often critiqued by dominant cultural communities. In this study, U.S. Mexican-heritage mothers who had experience in Indigenous ways (and limited schooling and parenting classes) espoused instructional ribbing-a cultural practice involving indirectly guiding children's behavior through mock threats or lighthearted teasing to help them see how their misbehavior impacts others-as a positive, familiar practice that encourages active learning. However, European American mothers were very critical. Indications of cultural change came from U.S. Mexican-heritage mothers with experience in two cultural systems-Western schooling / parenting classes and Indigenous ways. Half viewed instructional ribbing positively, and half were negative and often referred to what they learned in parenting classes as a source of their change from prior generations. The value of instructional ribbing in some communities may be undermined by experience in dominant cultural systems where its familial and communal value and supports are not understood.

Young Children's Attention to What's Going On: Cultural Differences.

This chapter examines children' attention to surrounding events in which they are not directly involved, a way of learning that fits with the cultural approach of Learning by Observing and Pitching In. Research in instructional settings has found that attention to surrounding events is more common among Indigenous Guatemalan Mayan and some US Mexican-heritage children than among middle-class children from several ethnic backgrounds. We examine this phenomenon in a quasi-naturalistic setting to see if the cultural variation in young children's attention to surrounding events in which they were not directly involved extends beyond instructional settings. During a home visit focused on their younger sibling, 19 Guatemalan Mayan and 18 middle-class European American 3- to 5-year olds were nearby but not addressed, as their mother helped their toddler sibling operate novel objects. The Guatemalan Mayan children more frequently attended to this nearby interaction and other third-party activities, whereas the middle-class European American children more often attended to their own activities in which they were directly involved or they fussed or showed off. The results support the idea that in some Indigenous communities of the Americas where young children are included in a broad range of family and community endeavors, children may be especially inclined to attend to ongoing events, even if they are not directly involved or addressed, compared to European American children whose families have extensive experience in Western school ways.

Mexican-heritage children's attention and learning from interactions directed to others.

The study builds on ethnographic research noting an emphasis in many Indigenous communities of the Americas on learning through keen observation of and participation in ongoing community activities. Forty-four U.S. Mexican-heritage 5- to 11-year-old children whose families likely have experience with Indigenous ways more frequently attended to and learned from a toy construction activity that was directed to another child, compared to 36 U.S. Mexican-heritage children whose mothers had extensive experience with Western school (and related European American practices). The results support the idea that children whose family history emanates from Indigenous communities of México may be especially oriented to learning by observing ongoing events, and that this method of learning may be less commonly used by children whose families have extensive experience with schooling (and related Western practices).