Teaching Through Collaboration: Flexibility and Diversity in Caregiver-Child Interaction Across Cultures

Teaching supports the high-fidelity transmission of knowledge and skills. This study examined similarities and differences in caregiver teaching practices in the United States and Vanuatu (N = 125 caregiver and 3- to 8-year-old child pairs) during a collaborative problem-solving task. Caregivers used diverse verbal and nonverbal teaching practices and adjusted their behaviors in response to task difficulty and child age in both populations. U.S. caregivers used practices consistent with a direct active teaching style typical of formal education, including guiding children's participation, frequent praise, and facilitation. In contrast, Ni-Vanuatu caregivers used practices associated with informal education and divided tasks with children based on difficulty. The implications of these findings for claims about the universality and diversity of caregiver teaching are discussed.

Automated summary

This study compared caregiver teaching practices in the United States and Vanuatu during a collaborative problem-solving task, revealing that caregivers in both populations adjusted their behaviors based on task difficulty and child age. U.S. caregivers exhibited a direct active teaching style typical of formal education, while Ni-Vanuatu caregivers used practices associated with informal education.