Abstract

Prior research shows that participation within communities of practice shapes children’s development of repertoires of practice—ways of engaging in activities within a cultural community. Families are a privileged community for learning because of the extensive time spent together, the intimate nature of family relations, and the importance of this time for learning before children enter schools. It is therefore important to explore how culture shapes children’s learning in the family context. I seek to understand what the concept of family culture explicates about young children’s learning through inquiry and how children participate in shaping family culture. Drawing on Nasir, Rosebery, Warren, and Lee’s definition of culture, I explore how family culture serves as substrate—resources for interaction—that can be built, reified, and transformed in interaction. Using the analytical lens of Domain of Value (DoV)—constellations of valued purposes and practices associated with collections of phenomena—I present a case study of two families and how an understanding of a family DoV contextualizes moments of learning through inquiry. This analysis supports understanding how the contextual horizon traced through interactional histories sheds light on practices children draw upon when inquiring about their world with others. Through this analysis I explore how family culture serves as context for learning and how children shape that culture. By explicating the role of family culture on children’s learning, this work contributes to understanding cultural variability. This work also pushes against monolithic representations of cultural communities and narratives of any singular “normal” developmental pathway. Finally, this work demonstrates the competence and brilliance of young children as they co-construct inquiry about their world, shape their family culture, and then connect to these cultural resources in new contexts.

摘要

先前的研究表明，参与实践社区塑造了儿童实践技能的发展——参与文化社区内活动的方式。家庭是一个享有特权的学习社区，因为他们在一起的时间很长，家庭关系的亲密性质，以及这段时间在孩子入学前学习的重要性。因此，探索文化如何在家庭环境中塑造儿童的学习非常重要。我试图了解家庭文化的概念对幼儿通过探究的学习以及儿童如何参与塑造家庭文化的解释。借鉴 Nasir、Rosebery、Warren 和 Lee 对文化的定义，我探索了家庭文化如何作为互动的资源——可以被构建、具体化、并在互动中转化。使用价值领域 (DoV) 的分析镜头——与现象集合相关的有价值目的和实践的星座——我展示了一个关于两个家庭的案例研究，以及对家庭 DoV 的理解如何通过探究将学习的时刻情境化。该分析支持理解通过互动历史追踪的情境视野如何阐明儿童在与他人询问他们的世界时所借鉴的实践。通过这项分析，我探索了家庭文化如何作为学习的背景以及儿童如何塑造这种文化。通过解释家庭文化对儿童学习的作用，这项工作有助于理解文化差异。这项工作还推动了文化社区的整体表现和任何单一“正常”发展途径的叙述。最后，这项工作展示了幼儿在共同构建对他们的世界的探究、塑造他们的家庭文化，然后在新的环境中连接到这些文化资源时的能力和才华。