Julie A. Braly

ED 342X – Child Development and New Technologies

Professor Barron and Professor Perez-Granados

Parent Interview-Home technology usage

Ben and Dan Valdano

INTRODUCTION

In late January, 2005 we conducted a semi-structured interview

with Suzanne Valdano, the mother of two young boys. The interview questions centered around the role that technology plays in their family’s life, and the extent to which her sons, Ben and Dan, use technology in learning and in play. The information from the interview will be analyzed from two distinct theoretical perspectives: the developmental niche framework proposed by Charles Super and

Sara Harkness (1999) and Barbara Rogoff’s guided participation

model (1990).

FAMILY BACKGROUND

Ben, age 4, and Dan, age 7, are brothers, living with their mother and father in Marin County, California. The Valdano household may be categorized as upper-middle class. The father, Martin, is 42 years old and has an MBA. He works full time as a Camp Director while the mother Suzanne stays at home with the children. Suzanne is 35 years old, and she has a BA in International Relations from UC Davis. Although Martin was born in Cordoba, Argentina, and is fluent in Spanish, English is the only language spoken at home. Spanish is incorporated into conversations when extended family visits.

Since the time of the original interview, the Valdano family has added a new member to their family - a baby girl. However, she is not mentioned in the interview responses since she was born after the interview occurred. Ben attends pre-school five days a week at the Marin County Jewish Community Center, while his older brother, Dan, attends first grade at the Brandeis Jewish Day School.

THEORETICAL FRAMEWORKS

Developmental Niche Framework

The developmental niche framework, as proposed by Super and Harkness, emphasizes integration of two important forces in the development of the child: culture and the individual. Super and Harkness recognize that while traditional psychology has attempted to map child development using a variety of theoretical foundations, the role of culture and environment has been consistently neglected in these theories.

Super and Harkness maintain that anthropologists who study cultures, “tend to keep great distance from the individual.” In “The Environment as Culture in Developmental Research,” they assert that while some theoretical perspectives do provide allowances for the importance of culture in the development of the individual child, “not one of them successful accommodates two essential ideas, namely the integration of various elements in the child’s cultural environment and the endogenous forces in individual development.”

The developmental niche framework acknowledges the ways that cultural forces work together with a child’s individual disposition to create a single child’s developmental experience. At the center of their model is the individual child. However, the child is surrounded by the three subsystems of the developmental niche: physical and social settings, cultural customs of child rearing, and caretaker psychology. These three elements work together, and against one another, in a dynamic system which is how Super and Harkness define the cultural environment of the child’s experience.

Information gathered from the parent interview will give insight into each of these subsystems in the particular cases of Ben and Dan Valdano.

Physical & Social Settings

Ben and Dan spend the majority of their time either at home with their parents and each other, or at school. The schools do not have technology programs in place for either children of this age group.

However, the Valdanos have a number of technological tools at home. The family owns a computer with internet access that both of the boys work on, and they have several video game consoles, as well.

The boys’ parents have put strict limits on watching television – no television during the week, only on weekends.

Dan, age 7, is much more interested in video games than his younger brother, Ben, age 4. Dan has a Gameboy and a Leapster, and his parents buy him “educational” games to use with these products as well CD-Rom games for the computer. Ben is less drawn to video games, preferring to play with action figures and create his own stories and games.

Suzanne reports that Dan uses his computer games as a time to “detox,” or unwind, from his day at school and spend some time alone, immersed in his own world.

“I want him to relax in front of technology, if it were up to him it would be in front of the TV. I want something interactive since he loves computers and computer games I get him CD-Rom’s that actually have an educational component.”

Suzanne says her motivation is to have her oldest son be engaged in some type of learning even when he is “just sitting there.” This kind of parental influence may be regarded as “thematic elaboration” according to Super and Harkness. While Suzanne understands her child’s need to decompress after school, it is made clear that relaxation should take place within a context of continued engagement and learning.

As illustrated in the Dutch parents study (Super et al, 1996), Suzanne has created a daily routine that allows Dan to internalize his mother’s value of continuous learning with his own predisposition for solitary activity. In this case, the technology of educational CD-Roms successfully facilitates the integration of Suzanne’s parental belief system and Dan’s temperament. Suzanne does not prescribe a set activity for her younger child, Ben, because he engages in pretend book reading and imaginary play which she believes are positive activities.

According to the Kaiser Family Foundation. (2003) Children and Electronic Media Survey, Suzanne’s attitude of favoring reading (even if it is pretend) over other activities reflects the feelings of the majority of parents in the study. Ninety-six percent of parents consider books to be “very important” to a child’s intellectual development. This is compared to only forty-three percent of parents who consider educational computer games to be of critical importance.

Customs of Childcare

Dan and Ben are both in school each day from 9 to 3. Neither of the boys are involved in regular after school care because Suzanne is a stay-at-home mom. She does arrange play dates for them with friends on some weekday afternoons, and she is clear that computers and video games are not allowed during these times. Suzanne sees video games as primarily a solo activity and wants her sons to interact with their friends during their play dates. Suzanne says of her older son Dan:

“If he has a play date there is no technology involved, they go off and they play in the backyard, if it were up to him he would gravitate towards some kind of technology”.

While Suzanne favors educational technology over electronic games and television, she favors social activities over technology of any kind. This hierarchy of activities is not stated explicitly but would be described by Super and Harkness as an unconscious mandate, “carried out with little conscious effort and usually seem to the caretaker to be the obvious and natural thing to do”.

In terms of child care, the emphasis on sociability and community are consistent. Both of the Valdano boys attend Jewish schools that reinforce the family’s religious beliefs from home. This creates a deep sense of cultural consistency between home and school – there is a common set of beliefs, customs, and behavioral expectations that run between the two places where Dan and Ben spend most of their time. Play dates and school events are seen as extensions of this community as well as social outlets.

Caregiver Beliefs

Suzanne says that she and her husband Martin value their involvement in their children’s education. They both help with Dan’s homework and have regular meetings with the boys’ teachers. Since reading is a large part of first grade learning, book reading has become an integral part of their night time rituals.

“They see me reading all time and Martin, so it’s definitely a part of the culture of our house…and so we have Dan read to use five to ten minutes a night which is about all he can handle and then we read about three to four books of his choosing.”

The culture of reading that permeates the Valdano household can be seen as an example of “contemporary redundancy”. Super and Harkness describe contemporary redundancy as “the mutually reinforcing repetition of similar influences from several parts of the environment during the same period of development.” For first grader Dan, this reinforcement comes from a cycle of modeling behavior by his parents, to after school CD-Roms, to night time reading practice and to school where his reading ability is continually assessed by teachers and reported back to his parents.

Guided Participation

While Super and Harkness focus on the caregiver’s goals, psychologist Barbara Rogoff, focuses on how caregiver interactions shape the learning environment through intentional and unintentional instruction as well as by structuring learning opportunities. Rogoff suggests that parents mediate their child’ s activities even if they are not always aware of their actions. This mediation supports or hinders a child’s participation is referred to as “guided participation”. “Guided participation” acknowledges that children learn in shared endeavors that occur in a variety of settings. These settings can occur outside of the classroom and reflect the practices of the community.

Structuring Situations & Transferring Responsibility

Suzanne sets limits on the use of technology but she also uses it as a tool of empowerment for her son Dan. Dan has an auditory processing disability and has trouble following verbal instructions. Suzanne wants Dan to develop a sense of mastery and self-confidence. This desire reflects her values as she says, “I want them to respect themselves enough to do well in school and I want them to love learning.” She uses technology to help facilitate Dan’s “love” of learning.

“Kids learn differently and he is a type of kid that needs other ways of learning that isn’t just someone talking in his face about reading or following along with someone reading. I think in some ways it eliminates his performance anxiety… this builds his confidence which helps him in school. He loves mastering things on the computer and is proud of himself when he gets things right and gets to the next ‘level’ of the game.”

Directing a child to use educational software can be seen as part of a caregiver’s belief system but in some situations it can also be seen as an effort “guided by the values and practices of their cultural communities”. Rogoff explains that, “Learning is a process of changing participation in community activities. It is a process of taking on new roles and responsibilities.”

By structuring her son’s participation in an excerise of mastery and success, Suzanne is helping him redefine his role as a challenged learner. The specifics of the learning become secondary to Dan’s new role as master and teacher. Aside from building confidence, using the software enables Dan to assume the role of teacher to his technologically challenged younger brother and parents. Dan is an example of how technology provides new opportunities for children with different learning styles, according to Perez-Granados, “children themselves will lead the way in helping us understand how these types of artifacts might best fit into their learning and development because they are highly motivated, engaged explorers of new technologies”.

Forms of Guided Participation

In a recent seminar at Stanford University, Rogoff described “intent participation” as “opportunities to observe the on-going process and pitch in“. This is an apt description of what transpires between Dan and Ben as they engage with educational software. When Dan first started using the computer his parents remained close by to intervene when he encountered difficulties. As Dan became more autonomous the parents continue to circulate in and out of the room but generally leave him alone. Now the computer is Dan’s domain of expertise and where his younger brother, Ben, watches intently.

“Mostly, Ben uses it (the computer) as a way to play and bond with his older brother whom he worships. He lets Dan take charge and is just happy to watch him and occasionally try it when Dan offers him chance.”

Suzanne reported that Ben has gained a certain amount of confidence with technology from watching his older brother and uses the software when Dan is away from the home. He imitates his older brother’s verbal expressions such “that’s cool” while playing although he is not adept as his older sibling. Using the computer together has functioned as a type of apprenticeship. Rogoff writes,”Children’s learning through observation of ongoing activities in everyday life resembles the structure of learning and assisting of mastery in apprenticeship.”

CONCLUSION

Technology is incorporated into the Valdano family in very specific ways. It is used to provide activities that replace television, it is used to build a sense of autonomy and confidence, and it is used as forum for bonding and teaching between the brothers. This reflects a proactive approach to technology that places technology within the context of larger values. Suzanne expresses these values,

“I want both my children to remain kind, sensitive, soulful, curious people that make positive choices for themselves.... Curiosity is what makes children amazing sponges and gives them the passion to figure out and investigate their interests.”