Urban and rural grandmothers (n = 20) in Botswana participated in focus groups to learn their expectations for the acquisition of skills by preschool children. Their expectations for self-care, traditional politeness, and participation in household chores were dramatically earlier than developmental timetables reported for Western middle-class populations. There are some differences, however, in the urban and rural grandmothers' expectations. Rural grandmothers had earlier expectations for self-care skills and participation in household chores, and they had more specific expectations for mastering Setswana cultural customs. In addition, some urban grandmothers, who were generally more educated, described using more reciprocal communication, and they believed in playing with their grandchildren, whereas the rural grandmothers' communication was more instructional, and they insisted that children should play away from adults. Strikingly, there was no mention of school readiness goals or activities by either group, suggesting a "cultural misfit" between the standard early childhood curriculum, largely imported from the United States and other Western countries, and the cultural backgrounds of Batswana families. To create a more workable partnership between preschool teachers and grandparents-important caretakers of young children, both traditionally and currently-will require efforts to acknowledge and promote the values and expectations of both groups.

中文翻译：

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祖母对博茨瓦纳的幼儿期发展期望

博茨瓦纳的城市和农村祖母（n = 20）参加了焦点小组，以了解他们对学龄前儿童获得技能的期望。他们对自我保健，传统礼貌和参与家务劳动的期望大大早于西方中产阶级人口报告的发展时间表。但是，城市和农村祖母的期望有所不同。农村祖母对自我保健技能和参与家务劳动的期望更高，而对掌握塞斯瓦纳文化习俗的期望更高。此外，一些通常受过较高教育的城市祖母描述使用更多的双向交流，他们相信与孙子们一起玩耍，而农村祖母则与孩子玩耍。交流更具指导意义，他们坚持认为孩子应该远离成年人玩耍。令人惊讶的是，这两个团体都没有提到学校的准备目标或活动，这表明，从美国和其他西方国家大量进口的标准幼儿课程与巴茨瓦纳家庭的文化背景之间存在“文化失调”。为了在学龄前老师和祖父母或幼儿的重要照顾者之间建立一个更可行的伙伴关系，无论是传统上还是现在，这都需要努力，以承认和促进这两个群体的价值观和期望。