The role of culture in early childhood: An examination of diverse parents' beliefs and practices in relation to their preschool -aged children

The growing diversity among children and families in the United States requires that policy makers, schools and practitioners advance their understanding of the child-rearing practices across these diverse populations. This dissertation is comprised of three papers that work toward better understanding the beliefs and practices of diverse parents and their preschool-aged children. Specifically, the first two papers examine the parenting beliefs and practices of Mexican immigrant and Mexican American mothers raising preschool-aged children. The third paper examines diverse parents' kindergarten school readiness beliefs and how their school readiness beliefs relate to their home reading practices.;The first two papers stem from home observations with 24 Mexican immigrant and Mexican American mothers interacting with their four-year-old children. Twelve home visits occurred over 15 months. Additionally, mothers were interviewed about their experiences growing up, parenting and goals for their children. The observational and interview data were analyzed qualitatively to understand mothers' parenting practices and beliefs. The first paper focuses on mother's practices. I did not find one clear parenting style among the sample. Rather, mothers utilized a mix of practices, some observed previously in research and others that seemed more unique to Mexican families. In particular, I found variation in mothers' use of inductive, highly power assertive and culturally specific practices. The second study found that both generations of Mexican mothers value respect and proper behavior from their children. Talk emerged as one of the main parenting strategies employed by parents. However, in contrast with previous literature, within our diverse sample talk included the use of reasoning, negotiating and valuing their children's opinions. Overall, the studies found that Mexican immigrant and Mexican American mothers are adapting and changing their practices in response to their ecological contexts.;The third paper analyzes diverse parents' school readiness beliefs in the ECLS data set through a hierarchical linear model. Findings show that African American parents have higher readiness beliefs than those of White parents. Neighborhood ethnic composition (e.g. African American and Asian) are also related to parents' readiness beliefs. The study also found a positive relationship between parents' readiness beliefs and their home reading activities.