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Parent-child interaction : the parent's role in the preschool child's language development
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Type
Thesis
Author
Thomas, Lynette
Supervisor
Sobrielo, Amy
Ho, Wah Kam
Abstract
This study focuses on the verbal interaction between parent and pre-school child. The assumption here is that the language development of a pre-school child is largely influenced by his/her experience of language in the natural setting of the home and in the company of his/her major care-giver - which, in this study, is the mother. The research was carried out in Singapore with Singaporean families. Attempts were made to ensure that the multi-cultural, multi-ethnic nature of Singapore society was reflected in the dyads chosen.
The review of literature in this area has revealed the link between home environment and academic performance in general, and the importance of the parent's role in particular. In the specific case of language development in the pre-school child, studies are bringing to light the reciprocal nature of the mother's and her child's style of interaction.
The aim of this study was to observe mothers and their children in the home while they were engaged in an activity of their choice. The study attempts to find out the characteristics of the parent-child interaction that either encourage or hinder the language production of the pre-school child, and to discover which shared activities are most conducive to encouraging verbal expression. The interaction was recorded by means of audio-tape recorder and the researcher's field notes. An observation checklist of the characteristics of the language of both mother and child helped in the discovery of the relationship between the mother's language to her child and the child's own language performance.
In order to assess the parent's perceptions of their role in their children's learning as well as to obtain details of the home environment, open-ended interviews were used at the start of each set of three observation sessions for the six mother-child pairs. Analysis of the data revealed two crucial factors governing the quality of the parent-child interaction - the choice of activity and the parents' perceptions of their role as first educators of their children.
The context in which the interaction occurred seemed to determine the mother's style - either supportive or tutorial - which in turn influenced the participation of the child in the verbal exchange. Participant asymmetry was thus more likely when the mother adopted a dominant role and a tutorial style in the context of activities of explicit educational intent. On the other hand, a child who was given more frequent opportunities to participate in the interaction and initiate his/her own comments was more likely to have a supportive mother and this was more likely to occur in the context of open-ended talk revolving around reading stories, recalling the past and predicting future events.
Results of the analysis of the observations and interviews were written up into case studies for each of the six mother-child dyads.
It is hoped that the findings of the study, although not conclusive across a wider population, will offer some insight into how the pre-school child's language development is affected by the style of interaction he/she is most commonly engaged in. This could be of help to pre-school centres, most especially those which are hoping to implement a parent education programme, and also to their staff as they contemplate ways and means of developing an environment rich in opportunities to encourage language development in the pre-school child.
The review of literature in this area has revealed the link between home environment and academic performance in general, and the importance of the parent's role in particular. In the specific case of language development in the pre-school child, studies are bringing to light the reciprocal nature of the mother's and her child's style of interaction.
The aim of this study was to observe mothers and their children in the home while they were engaged in an activity of their choice. The study attempts to find out the characteristics of the parent-child interaction that either encourage or hinder the language production of the pre-school child, and to discover which shared activities are most conducive to encouraging verbal expression. The interaction was recorded by means of audio-tape recorder and the researcher's field notes. An observation checklist of the characteristics of the language of both mother and child helped in the discovery of the relationship between the mother's language to her child and the child's own language performance.
In order to assess the parent's perceptions of their role in their children's learning as well as to obtain details of the home environment, open-ended interviews were used at the start of each set of three observation sessions for the six mother-child pairs. Analysis of the data revealed two crucial factors governing the quality of the parent-child interaction - the choice of activity and the parents' perceptions of their role as first educators of their children.
The context in which the interaction occurred seemed to determine the mother's style - either supportive or tutorial - which in turn influenced the participation of the child in the verbal exchange. Participant asymmetry was thus more likely when the mother adopted a dominant role and a tutorial style in the context of activities of explicit educational intent. On the other hand, a child who was given more frequent opportunities to participate in the interaction and initiate his/her own comments was more likely to have a supportive mother and this was more likely to occur in the context of open-ended talk revolving around reading stories, recalling the past and predicting future events.
Results of the analysis of the observations and interviews were written up into case studies for each of the six mother-child dyads.
It is hoped that the findings of the study, although not conclusive across a wider population, will offer some insight into how the pre-school child's language development is affected by the style of interaction he/she is most commonly engaged in. This could be of help to pre-school centres, most especially those which are hoping to implement a parent education programme, and also to their staff as they contemplate ways and means of developing an environment rich in opportunities to encourage language development in the pre-school child.
Date Issued
1991
Call Number
P118 Tho
Date Submitted
1991