The research reported in the papers of this issue reveals the power of parental ethnotheories in regulating basic biological processes, genetic predispositions and, in general, in orchestrating child development to optimally fit the local circumstances, including institutional settings such as preschools and schools. Crucial to this power is the alignment with broader cultural themes in the wider society, the frequent repetition of the key messages by different persons, the incorporation of these messages in continuous discourse among parents, and the alignment of parental and professional discourses. Ethnotheories, as they are supported and embedded in communities, are strong regulators of development, and whatever be their precise content, strong ethnotheories support optimal development. The strength of proximal processes in child development to actualize potential depends on the consistency of these processes over time and on the coherence of these processes across the microsystems of the child (Bronfenbrenner & Morris, 2006). The “three R’s” of Dutch child rearing is an example. It is not in an absolute sense that this ethnotheory is conducive to optimal child development—not more than other ethnotheories—but it is the strength

中文翻译：

---

民族理论在不断变化的社会中的力量：对父母的跨文化研究的评论：在儿童照料和教育中的应用

该期论文的研究报告揭示了父母民族理论在调节基本生物学过程，遗传易感性以及总体上协调儿童发展以最适合当地情况（包括学前班和学校等机构环境）的能力。这种力量的关键是与更广泛的社会中更广泛的文化主题保持一致，不同人士频繁重复关键信息，将这些信息纳入父母之间的持续话语中以及使父母和专业话语保持一致。民族理论在社区中得到支持和嵌入，是发展的强大调节器，无论其确切内容如何，​​强大的民族理论都支持最佳发展。儿童近端过程发挥潜能的力量取决于这些过程随时间的一致性以及这些过程在儿童各个微系统中的一致性（Bronfenbrenner＆Morris，2006）。荷兰儿童抚养的“三个R”就是一个例子。从绝对的意义上说，这种民族理论并不有助于其他方面的理论发展，但有利于儿童的最佳发育，但这是一种优势。