CULTURE, CONTEXT AND SOCIALISATION

LECTURE OUTLINE

IntroductionCulture and context as meaning

* Parental threat* Parental control and acceptance

Features of context* Societal values* Parental goals, beliefs, values

The developmental nicheConclusions

Parental Threat, Control and Acceptance

Azuma (1986)Trommsdorff (1985)Lau and colleagues (1987, 1990)Kagitcabasi (1970)

Features of context: Societal values

Children’s work– Whiting and Whiting (1975)– Nsamenang (1992)

Value of Children Study

Features of context: Parental goals

Achievement expectationsHess et al. (1980)

Obedience and conformityLevine et al. (1994)

Class differencesKohn (1969)

Features of context: Parental beliefs and values

Maternal role perceptions(Shand, 1985)

Parents as teachers (e.g., Chao, 1994; Laosa, 1980)

The Developmental Niche(Super & Harkness)

The Developmental Niche: Assumptions

The child’s environment is organised as part of a cultural system

The child has an inborn disposition

The Developmental Niche: Subsystems

Physical and social settingCulturally regulated customs of child-

rearingPsychology of caregiver

The Developmental Niche: Operating Principles

Three components operate as a systemEach subsystem is functionally embedded

in other aspects of human ecologyEach subsystem is involved in a process of

mutual adaptation with the individual child

The Developmental Niche: Framework for Empirical Research

Peer relations in Canada and China(Chen, Rubin & Li, 1995)

Concluding Questions

Why is it important to understand human development in a cultural context?

Can theory and research on culture and development be integrated into an over-arching conceptual framework?