Mexican-Heritage Children's Attention and Learning From Interactions Directed to Others

The study builds on ethnographic research noting an emphasis in many Indigenous communities of the Americas on learning through keen observation of and participation in ongoing community activities. Forty-four U. S. Mexican-heritage 5- to 11-year-old children whose families likely have experience with Indigenous ways more frequently attended to and learned from a toy construction activity that was directed to another child, compared to 36 U. S. Mexican-heritage children whose mothers had extensive experience with Western school (and related European American practices). The results support the idea that children whose family history emanates from Indigenous communities of Mexico may be especially oriented to learning by observing ongoing events, and that this method of learning may be less commonly used by children whose families have extensive experience with schooling (and related Western practices).