Out-of-home Child Care Research: A Cultural Perspective

Abstract

This paper analyses the cultural context of inquiry and research into the effects of out-of-home child care on children’s development. In particular, it attempts to show how the study of such child care has been shaped by a Western world view in which white, middle class values and social ideology are particularly salient. The effects of this cultural context can be seen in the basic assumptions of studies on out-of-home child care, in the questions these studies pose for investigation, and in the motivation of the investigators engaged in this line of research. These in turn determine the research designs, the units of analysis for the examination of children’s functioning and of the child care environment, the operational definitions of variables, and the statistical procedures employed in many of these studies. The analysis begins by examining cultural variations in societal attitudes to out-of-home child care as a function of cultural context and basic assumptions concerning childhood, development, and the role ascribed to the family and the community at large in children’s development. The paper then proceeds to examine the relationship between cultural context and its valued developmental goals and the developmental outcomes studied in child care research. The relationships between goals set for child care, cultural beliefs concerning child-rearing practices, the definition of “quality of care” and the study of the relationship of home and child care, in child care research, are also examined. It then explores the major research questions and methodology concerning the effect of child care on development in the Anglo-American child care research tradition. The paper concludes with a discussion of implications for culturally sensitive routes to studying child care.

An Exploration and Comparison of Infant Feeding Practices in Home and Center Contexts

“…Similarly, parents were more likely to report using cooperative feeding practices when they were from Caucasian backgrounds, were married, or were college educated. These findings align with previous research that has found responsive, individualized care to be highly valued among white, middle-class and higher income caregivers (Rosenthal, 1999). The project also reinforced findings from previous studies with older children that demonstrated that one's parenting style (i.e., Authoritarian, Authoritative, or Permissive) or child-rearing beliefs tend to mirror the control and responsiveness exerted during mealtime interactions with young children.…”

“…As Rosenthal (1999) has noted, the guidelines for "quality care" in the United States are heavily rooted in white, middle class values and social ideological goals and may not always align well with the goals and practices of the families who have children in care. For example, in Western societies where individual achievement and expression tend to be valued, adults' sensitivity and responsiveness to children's individual needs are widely accepted as important aspects of caregiving.…”

Similarity of Mothers’ and Preschool Teachers’ Evaluations of Socialization Goals in a Cross-Cultural Perspective

“…In terms of child-rearing beliefs, preschool teachers' views were more congruent with those of nonmigrant mothers than they were with migrant mothers. Additionally, it shows that the preschool teachers tend to promote socialization goals in conformity with Western child care philosophy, as described by Rosenthal (1999). It would be desirable to implement a wider spectrum of cultural orientations in early child care to address multiple child-rearing beliefs and to reduce the dominance of a single cultural orientation.…”

Communication Issues Faced by Parents Who have a Child Diagnosed with Cancer

“…Some studies have found differences between Blacks and Hispanics, and Anglos and Hispanics (Kazak & Nachman, 1991). Culture, although not studied systematically, has been seen as an important consideration in morbidity and mortality rates as well as compliance with cancer, treatments/ prognoses, and so on (Johnson, 1998;Pask, 1997;Rosenthal, 1999).…”