How Yucatec Maya Children Learn to Help at Home

Abstract

Children’s household contributions have been studied across cultural communities, mostly on the basis of maternal reports. Less is known about children’s views of their contributions. This study examines Yucatec Maya children’s ethnotheories of learning to help at home and their motivation for helping. We interviewed 38 7- to 11-year-old children in two communities in the Yucatán Peninsula, México. Children in both communities contributed substantially to their families by regularly taking the initiative to help with family work. Children explained that they like to help and that helping is a shared responsibility among family members. Children’s sense of belonging and responsibility to the family seemed to be the driving forces in their contributions, as they pay attention to the needs of the family and take the initiative to learn and help. These findings demonstrate the relevance of studying children’s ethnotheories to understand cultural variations on learning to help at home.

Yucatec Maya mothers' ethnotheories about learning to help at home

“…Similar to mothers' reports in this study, Yucatec Maya children also reported learning by observing others work and taking the initiative to help (Alcalá et al, 2021). For example, children mentioned that they learn to cook or take care of a younger child by observing others and getting involved.…”

“…Our sample consisted of 23 mothers of children who participated in the study and were enrolled from the local elementary schools (Alcalá et al, 2021). There were 15 from Chan Cah and 8 from Nunkiní.…”

“…We focus on three research questions: Data reported here are part of a larger study that included both mothers and children from two villages in the Yucatán peninsula, Chan Cah, Quintana Roo and Nunkiní, Campeche. Findings from the children's ethnotheories have been reported recently (Alcalá et al, 2021). Chan Cah and Nunkiní vary in their participation in the global economy, level of urbanization, agricultural practices, and presence and length of formal schooling.…”

When Learning Is Life Giving: Redesigning Schools With Indigenous Systems of Relationality

“…Indigenous systems of relationality—the ethics, worldviews, beliefs and practices, and moral precepts of being in relation with the rest of the living world—are the cornerstone of Indigenous knowledges as well as Indigenous families and communities (Cajete, 2015). Through these systems of relationality, young people learn what it means to be a responsible family member and person in the world (Alcalá et al, 2021), the nature of relational responsibility, and how to participate in communal life through everyday social and cultural experiences (Cajete, 2015). Passed down from one generation to the next, relational frameworks are deeply embedded within Indigenous knowledge systems and support the health and well-being of Indigenous peoples (Elliott-Groves et al, 2020).…”

A cultural lens on Yucatec Maya families’ COVID‐19 experiences

“…While there are of course many aspects of children's and families' lives that differ across these settings, we focus on three domains of the Yucatec Maya cultural framework characterizing children's roles in family life (Gaskins, 2020). Gaskins (2020) has recently synthesized the ethnographic record on Yucatec Maya families to posit core domains that ordinarily organize Yucatec Maya children's lives: children's autonomy, belonging, and family work (also see Alcalá et al, 2014Alcalá et al, , 2018Alcalá et al, , 2021Coppens et al, 2016;Cervera, 2016;Gaskins, 1999Gaskins, , 2000Gaskins, , 2006Gaskins, , 2014b. While in fact these three domains are integrated into a unified childhood experience, they are helpful analytical tools to allow us to articulate cultural differences in the ground rules of family life.…”