Child Rearing in a Group Setting: Beliefs of Dutch, Caribbean Dutch, and Mediterranean Dutch Caregivers in Center-Based Child Care

Child care centers in Western countries are becoming increasingly culturally diverse, regarding both professional caregivers, children, and their parents. Child-rearing beliefs, which differ between cultures, are found to affect process quality and children’s developmental outcomes. The first aim of...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of cross-cultural psychology 2009-09, Vol.40 (5), p.797-815
Main Authors: Huijbregts, Sanne K., Tavecchio, Louis, Leseman, Paul, Hoffenaar, Peter
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Belief & doubt
Beliefs
Caregivers
Carers
Child care
Child Care Centers
Child Rearing
Childrearing practices
Children
Collectivism
Cross cultural studies
Cross-cultural analysis
Cultural Context
Cultural Differences
Cultural diversity
Cultural groups
Culture
Day care centers
Ethnicity
Goals
Groups
Immigrants
Individualism
Interviews
Medical personnel
Multiculturalism & pluralism
Netherlands
Socialization
Sociocultural factors
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Summary:Child care centers in Western countries are becoming increasingly culturally diverse, regarding both professional caregivers, children, and their parents. Child-rearing beliefs, which differ between cultures, are found to affect process quality and children’s developmental outcomes. The first aim of this study is to investigate cultural differences in caregivers’ cultural child-rearing beliefs through a semistructured interview. The second aim is to explore the relation between the centers’ cultural context and caregivers’ beliefs. Participants are 61 caregivers (20 Dutch, 20 Caribbean Dutch, and 21 Mediterranean Dutch) working in Dutch child care centers with 2- to 4-year-olds. Cultural differences between Dutch and immigrant caregivers are evident. Dutch caregivers mentioned independence as a socialization goal most, whereas Mediterranean Dutch caregivers stressed collectivistic child-rearing goals most. More years of experience and a positive orientation toward the Dutch society made caregivers value individualistic child-rearing goals more. Working in an ethnically diverse context made both immigrant and Dutch caregivers express collectivistic beliefs more. The results further demonstrate that all cultural groups valued dimensions of both individualism and collectivism, providing further support for the multidimensionality of child-rearing beliefs.
ISSN:0022-0221
1552-5422
DOI:10.1177/0022022109338623