Ecological Correlates of the Educative Style of Afro-American Children

Abstract

In the research on the influence of the physical environment of the home on the development of children, factors such as the presence of age-appropriate play materials, the access to physical and visual exploration in the environment, and the amount and intensity of noise stimulation have been found to influence cognitive development associated with educative competence. Other factors include the amount of personal space, temporal regularity, and the type and intensity of social interaction.1 Feuerstein2 asserts that the impact of these factors is dependent upon the experience and intent of the mediating adult who frames, selects, focuses, and interprets the experiences in ways that produce the culturally appropriate educative style. Wachs,3 however, hypothesizes that it is the specific environment interacting with the organismic variables which determines the impact upon the child regardless of the sociocultural mediating experiences. Not included in either view is a theory on whether or not the child develops a